Media Home
UN Web TV
UN PhotoSecurity Council
The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question - Security Council, 9290th Meeting
With the converging Ramadan, Easter and Passover holidays now beginning, the senior United Nations official for Middle East peace urged Palestinians and Israelis to promptly crystalize agreements reached at two recent diplomatic meetings — their first direct talks in years — as he briefed the Security Council today about ongoing violence, expanded settlement activity and escalating rhetoric on both sides.
Tor Wennesland, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said the status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem must be respected at this holy and sensitive time for the region’s three major religions.nbsp;
He recalled that, on 26 February, senior officials from Jordan, Egypt, Israel, Palestine and the United States officials met in Aqaba, Jordan, to reaffirm their commitment to all previous agreements, and to work towards a just and lasting peace.nbsp;
However, the current situation on the ground reflects a different trajectory. nbsp;Outlining a rising tide of violent incidents and steps by Israel that run counter to Security Council resolutions, he noted in particular that Government’s decision to repeal part of the 2005 Disengagement Law, which had previously ordered Israeli settlers to evacuate parts of the occupied West Bank.nbsp;
Meanwhile, he said, demolitions and seizures of Palestinian-owned structures continued, and daily violence increased significantly, with casualties on both sides. nbsp;
Recalling the Council’s recent presidential statement reaffirming its commitment to a two-State solution and its opposition to terrorism and unilateral actions, he voiced concern over the continued Israeli settlement-expansion, which “further entrenches the occupation, fuels tensions and systematically erodes the viability of a Palestinian State as part of a two-State solution”.
As Council members and other representatives took the floor, many praised the parties’ recent engagement in their first direct talks in nearly a decade, echoing the Special Coordinator’s calls for all commitments to be turned into tangible progress on the ground. nbsp;Meanwhile, some expressed deep concern over Israel’s recent decision to legalize nine settlements in the occupied West Bank and to approve thousands of new housing units, actions which several delegates said are in direct contravention of resolution 2334 (2016) and international law.
