Foreign minister Evarist Bartolo called for a ceasefire in Gaza on Saturday during a meeting with his counterpart from the Palestinian National Authority. 

The two ministers agreed on the need for a ceasefire to stop the killing of so many innocent people, including children, the Maltese foreign ministry said in a statement. 

At least 139 people have been killed in Gaza and nine in Israel since tensions erupted into violence on Monday. Palestinian officials say half are women and children. 

Bartolo and his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki said on Saturday that the Palestinian people must be involved in any potential solution, which should include the right of Palestinians to live in their homes in East Jerusalem and to have full respect for the practice of the three religions in Jerusalem. 

They ministers expressed concern over the ferocity of the current unrest, and the fact that Israeli and Israeli-Arab neighbors who had lived together for many years in communities in Israel were turning against each other "with hatred and violence they had never shown before".

Bartolo reiterated Malta’s position in favour of the two states solution where Israelis and Palestinians live side by side in security and peace. He called for a halt to the attacks by both sides against each other. In this context, he expressed his appreciation to all those countries that are working to stop the fighting. 

He said he was in contact with foreign ministers of several other countries in the ongoing effort to stop the fighting, as well as the CallsMaltese ambassadors in Tel Aviv and Ramallah to assist and protect the Maltese living in the area.