US State Secretary John Kerry called Monday for an end to the wave of deadly Israeli-Palestinian violence but said “Israel has every right in the world to protect itself”.

“We want to see calm restored and we want to see violence stop,” Kerry said in Madrid.

He confirmed he would meet in the coming days with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

Kerry’s statement came after more than two weeks of relentless violence that has seen 41 Palestinians, including alleged assailants, and eight Israelis killed.

An Eritrean man shot and beaten during an Israeli attack has also died.

“We continue to urge everybody to excercise restraint,” Kerry told reporters at a joint press conference with his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo.