Mideast Peace Process in Danger – UN Envoy

New York, 24 Safar 1438/24 November 2016 (MINA) – UN Middle East envoy stressed that the continuing status quo in the occupied Palestinian territory reduces the prospect for sustainable and just peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Kuwait News Agency Kuna reported Thursday.

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov told the Security Council that the inaction in moving forwards with Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts has a cost, measured in “human lives and suffering.”

The situation on the ground is changing steadily and dangerously, he said, as proponents of Israeli settlement expansion feel emboldened, internal divisions among Palestinians flare up and the prospect of a future Palestinian state comes under threat like never before.

In his recent visit to Nablus, in the West Bank, Mladenoc said the harsh conditions he saw, combined with regular Israeli incursions and the lack of a permanent home, create a potential for violence.

The UN official told the 15-member body that what people need are courageous Israeli and Palestinian leaders who together can chart a clear strategy to peace and security

He urged all those who are committed to ending this conflict, including this Council, to consider carefully what it will take to advance the prospects for peace and to begin, in consultation with the parties, to develop an agreed path forward.

On his part, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien told the Council 70 percent of the population in the Gaza Strip currently receives some form of international assistance – yet their ability to deliver that assistance has become increasingly restricted

In the West Bank, he reported, the pace of demolitions and confiscations of Palestinian property by the Israeli authorities has far exceeded previous years on record – more than double this year compared to 2015. (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)