UN Security Council to meet Monday on Jerusalem violence

The United Nations Security Council will meet on Monday to discuss the bloodiest spate of Israeli-Palestinian violence for years, diplomats said on Saturday.

Sweden, Egypt and France requested the meeting to “urgently discuss how calls for de-escalation in Jerusalem can be supported,” Sweden’s Deputy UN ambassador, Carl Skau, posted on Twitter.

Israel sent extra troops into the occupied West Bank on Saturday and raided the home of the Palestinian attacker who stabbed to death three Israelis on Friday, the military said.

Read: Arabs are too busy with in-fighting, says Al-Aqsa imam

Hours before the three Israelis were stabbed, three Palestinians were killed in violence prompted by Israel’s installation of metal detectors at entry points to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s walled Old City.

In Jerusalem on Saturday, Israeli police said they used riot gear to disperse dozens of Palestinians who threw stones and bottles at them. Television footage showed police throwing stun grenades and using a water cannon to break up the crowd.

Follow our live blog: Day of Rage at Al-Aqsa Mosque