israel harrasses palestinians
© Reuters An Israeli border policeman checks a Palestinian man at a new roadblock in East Jerusalem October 15, 2015.
As Washington considers Israeli violence "excessive," the UN envoy to Palestine has said Palestinians must be protected.

U.S. State Department statements that Israel might be using "excessive force" to confront a wave of stabbing attacks has generated a storm of criticism by senior Israeli officials as tensions between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters exploded in the last two weeks.

Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon accused Washington of "misreading" the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and he said shooting "knife-wielding Palestinians" was self-defense, while Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan called the U.S. remarks "foolish," Reuters reported.

However, it's not only Washington that considers Israel's response to attacks and protests by Palestinians as excessive. The United Nations envoy in Palestine, Riyad Mansour, said last Thursday that the Palestinian Authority asked the organization to consider deploying a protection force in occupied East Jerusalem to help quell violence.

Mansour added that situation was "very explosive" and that the Security Council must find ways of "providing protection" to the Palestinians. Officials say at least 32 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israelis from Oct. 1 and it is said that seven Israelis have died in the same period.

Meanwhile, deadly clashes continue between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters in the occupied territories, analysts have warned about a possible third "Intifada" or Palestinian uprising against Israel's regime, which has deployed a series of harsh measures against civilians.

The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is due to travel to the region soon to try to calm the violence that has been further exacerbated by over what Palestinians see as increased Jewish encroachment on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, a holy site revered by all Muslims around the world and also respected by Jews and Christians, as well as settler harassment against Palestinians.