JERUSALEM, August 25, 2011 (WAFA) – United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Robert Serry, Thursday expressed his deep concern that the recently reestablished calm in Gaza and southern Israel is at risk due to the continuation of incidents.
Serry, who also deplored the loss of civilian lives, said that “in the interest of protecting the lives of civilians and for the calm to succeed, a complete halt to the firing of rockets from Gaza and a display of maximum restraint by Israel are required.”
He called on all sides “to immediately take steps to prevent any further escalation.”
After a short period of calm, cross-border clashes resumed on Wednesday when Israel killed two Islamic Jihad fighters. In response, armed groups in Gaza resumed firing of missiles on southern Israel towns.
M.A./F.J.
