United Nations, May 14 (IANS): The UN Security Council will hold an open meeting on Sunday to discuss the escalation of tensions between Israel and Palestine.

Zhang Jun, China's Permanent Representative to the UN, tweeted that the meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency.

"China is deeply concerned about escalation of tensions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. UNSC should act now and send a strong message. Regret a Friday meeting was blocked by one member," said the tweet.

Diplomats said the proposal for a Friday meeting was blocked by the US.

The Norwegian Mission to the UN tweeted that Sunday's meeting was proposed by Norway, Tunisia and China.

China holds the Security Council presidency for the month of May.

Two rounds of closed-door consultations on the issue have been held by the Security Council.

Since the violence erupted on Monday, the Hamas militants in Gaza have so far fired more than 1,700 rockets at northern, central and southern Israeli towns.

Israeli troops, meanwhile, have struck 750 different targets in the Gaza Strip.

The tension between Israel and Gaza militants threatens to further escalate as the Israeli government is reportedly drafting a plan for a possible large-scale ground offensive in Gaza, similar to the one waged in 2014.

The latest wave of violent clashes between Israel and the Palestinians, the worst since 2014, was sparked by an Israeli plan to evict some Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem.