UN chief wants review of Israeli use of force

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Israel on Tuesday to carry out a "serious review" on whether its security forces are resorting to excessive force in clashes with Palestinians.

Ban finds "the apparent excessive use of force by Israeli security forces" to be "troubling," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters as violence continued in Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

This "demands serious review as it only serves to exacerbates the situation leading to a vicious cycle of needless bloodshed," he said.

The UN chief was due to sit down with Security Council envoys for a luncheon meeting on Tuesday to discuss mounting Israeli-Palestinian violence.

A ministerial-level meeting of the Security Council on the crisis in the Middle East is scheduled for 22 October.