US President Barack Obama has warned that the sole way to settle the Israeli-Palestinian issue would be through a two-state solution.

Obama made the comments on Friday following the recent upsurge of violence in the occupied Palestinian territories. He also once again defended the Israelis in their ill treatment of Palestinians.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms violence directed against innocent people -- and believe that Israel has a right to maintain basic law and order and protect its citizens from knife attacks,” Obama said during a news conference at the White House.

“Over time, the only way that Israel is going to be truly secure, and the only way the Palestinians are going to be able to meet the aspirations of their people, is if they are two states living side by side in peace and security," he added.

Weeks of violence have left dozens of Palestinians and several Israelis dead, with officials in the UN, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, repeatedly calling for calm and an end to the bloodshed.

The clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces, which began in early October, were exacerbated by settler violence.

The fresh wave of tensions was triggered by the Israeli regime’s imposition in August of restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).

Palestinians are also angry at increasing violence by Israeli settlers, who frequently storm al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina. They say the Tel Aviv regime seeks to change the status quo of the compound.