A bloc of Muslim nations have urged UN Security Council intervention amid”violent and escalating attacks” by Israel against Palestinians.

Urging the council to fully implement previous resolutions on theIsrael-Palestine issue, the permanent UN representatives of Organization ofIslamic Cooperation (OIC) member states released a statement on Wednesday.

The group said that if it found the Security Council “fails to uphold itsresponsibilities to address this crisis” it would go to the UN GeneralAssembly to “rise up to its responsibilities,” including by resuming thetenth emergency special session to halt Israel’s “aggressions in theOccupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, ensuringprotection to the Palestinian people, and pursuing measures to hold Israel,the occupying Power, accountable for its grave breaches of internationallaw and human rights violations.”

The joint statement was sent by Niger’s UN Ambassador Abdou Abarry, who iscurrently serving as the chairman of the OIC group, to UN Secretary-GeneralAntonio Guterres, General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir of Turkey, andSecurity Council President Zhang Jun of China.

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Earlier, the group has unanimously adopted a Pakistan-proposed statementcondemning Israel and reaffirming support for Palestinians, as deadlyclashes in East Jerusalem and other areas escalate.

Tensions have been running high in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of EastJerusalem since last week when an Israeli court ordered the eviction ofPalestinian families. The decision was later postponed.

Palestinians protesting in solidarity with residents of the neighborhoodhave been targeted by Israeli forces.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexedthe entire city in 1980, in a move that has never been recognized by theinternational community.