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UN Assistant-Secretary General Jens Toyberg-Frandzen on Monday warned the UN Security Council that violence in the Palestinian territories and in Israel will likely worsen if the peace process does not get back on track soon.
“Returning to negotiations has never been more important. Without a genuine commitment from the parties and an overall improvement in the lives of Palestinians, we should anticipate further deterioration of the security situation and an expansion of the current violence”, Toyberg-Frandzen told the council during a meeting about the Middle East.
The appeal follows US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to the Middle East, in an attempt to ease tensions in east Jerusalem. The flare-up has been watched with increasing concern just as efforts to reinforce a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after Israel’s 50-day war have run into problems.
Toyberg-Frandzen told the Security Council that there were “some signs of progress” over reconstruction but that “the overall state of affairs in Gaza remains volatile and fraught with potential pitfalls”.
Israel has agreed to let 800 truckloads of reconstruction material into the Palestinian enclave, up from the current 350 let, but $62 million worth of UN construction projects still need to be approved by Israeli authorities.
There has been very minimal progress in establishing a unity government between Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a move considered crucial to speeding up the reconstruction, Toyberg-Frandzen said. He also condemned the recent violence and warned that it could re-ignite the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Egypt will host fresh talks later in the month to try and consolidate the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
“The continued reality of the close to 50-year long occupation and the lack of progress towards the two-state solution ensure that the next round of violence is never too far below the surface”, Toyberg-Frandzen warned.