Moscow is concerned about the growing number of civilian casualties caused by recent escalation between Israel and Palestine, and calls on both sides to exercise restraint, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
"We call on both sides to exercise restraint. Concerned about the increasing number of civilian casualties and the random shelling of civilians," Peskov told reporters at a daily phone conference in the capital Moscow.
Both sides must find the strength to reach a settlement of the problem, relying primarily on the existing resolutions of the UN Security Council, Peskov said.
Tensions have been running high in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem since last week, when an Israeli court ordered the eviction of Palestinian families, which was later delayed.
Palestinians protesting in solidarity with residents of Sheikh Jarrah have been targeted by Israeli forces.
The escalation resulted in airstrikes by Israel on Gaza, which has left scores of people dead and hundreds of others wounded.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the entire city in 1980 – a move that has never been recognized by the international community.
