The UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting to discuss the escalation, which has been marked by a spate of Palestinian stabbing attacks and an Israeli security crackdown. Troops manned roadblocks in Arab neighbourhoods of Jerusalem, a centre of unrest.
The violence comes at a time when a possible partition of the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean into two states – Palestine alongside Israel – is fading.
This has left many Palestinians frustrated because all paths to independence appear blocked. The tensions have also been stoked by Palestinian fears that Israel is trying to expand its presence at a major Muslim-run shrine in Jerusalem, a claim Israel has denied.
Taye-Brook Zerihoun, a senior UN official, told the Security Council that Israel's long rule over the Palestinians and diminishing prospects for achieving a Palestinian state have transformed "long-simmering Palestinian anger into outright rage." The current crisis cannot be resolved by security measures alone, Zerihoun warned.
Israel's new UN ambassador, Danny Danon, accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of "dangerous incitement" against Israel with what he called "hate-filled speech," including claims that Israel is trying to change the status quo at the hilltop Jerusalem compound.
Over the past month, eight Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, most of them stabbings. During the same period, 36 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire.
Most of the attacks on Israelis were carried out by Palestinians with no known ties to militant groups.
Thirty-seven Palestinians have been killed, including alleged attackers, since an upsurge in violence began at the start of the month. Hundreds more have been wounded in clashes with Israeli forces.
Israeli security forces have deployed massively in Jerusalem after two weeks of Palestinian attacks in the city and across Israel. Beginning Sunday, some 300 soldiers will reinforce police.
Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators clashed with the Israeli military at different locations along the Gaza border after Hamas and Islamic Jihad called for protests.(Agencies)
