UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday condemned a deadly attack in the Old City of Jerusalem, voicing his firm belief that a negotiated two-state solution is the only "just and lasting solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the attacks on Saturday, 3 October in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the killing of two members of an Israeli family and injuries to Israelis and Palestinians in subsequent incidents in various neighborhoods in Jerusalem," said a statement issued here by Ban's spokesman.

Two Israeli men were killed and two others injured in a stabbing and shooting attack on Saturday night, Israeli police said, who have reportedly restricted access to the Old City of Jerusalem.

"Recalling the recent deadly attack on another Israeli family in the occupied West Bank, and in light of the wave of extremism and violence sweeping the region, the Secretary-General is deeply concerned that these latest incidents signal a dangerous slide towards escalation," the statement said.

Deeply troubled by Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas, who has praised such attacks, the Secretary-General urged "all leaders to condemn violence and incitement, maintain calm and to do everything they can to avoid further escalation," the statement said.

"The Secretary-General firmly believes that a just and lasting solution to the conflict can be achieved only through pursuing a negotiated two-state solution," it said.

The two-state solution, widely backed by the international community, envisions a secure Israel living in peace with an independent State of Palestine.

"The United Nations stands ready to work with all parties to create the conditions on the ground, in the region and internationally to make meaningful negotiations possible," the statement said.

The Saturday attack came two days after a Palestinian militant shot and killed an Israeli couple driving on a West Bank road with their four children, who were unharmed in the attack.

Israeli authorities are still looking for the perpetrators of Thursday's attack, and have arrested seven Palestinians in the Nablus area in the West Bank Saturday.

There has been a mounting surge of violence between Israeli security forces and Palestinian protesters over the holy site of Temple Mount as the latter charge that Jewish extremists are trying to change the status quo.

Rocks and firebombs are hurled on a daily basis around Jerusalem, with sporadic stabbing attacks, especially around Jerusalem's Old City.

Israel occupied the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast War, while the Palestinians seek to establish their own state on the occupied lands, with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Tensions between Jews and Arabs in the area have increased amid the negotiation standstill between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, as the last round of peace talks ended abruptly in April 2014.

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