New York, Mar 22 2011 1:10PM
With Israeli-Palestinian negotiations remaining at a standstill and
violence increasing on the ground, a senior United Nations official
today called for urgent action to break the current impasse in the
search for Middle East peace.
"We urge the parties to demonstrate leadership and rise to the
challenge of making a historic peace," Assistant Secretary-General for
Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco told a meeting of the
Security Council.
The past month has been marked by an increase in violence and tensions
on the ground, while efforts to restart the Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations "have not produced visible results," he said.
"A decisive effort must now be made by the international community and
the Quartet to bring the parties back to negotiating the final status
issues towards implementing the two-State solution," he added,
referring to the diplomatic grouping consisting of the UN, European
Union, Russia and the United States which seeks to have two States –
Israel and Palestine – living side by side in peace and security
within recognized borders.
Talks between the two sides have been stalled since late September
following Israel's refusal to extend a 10-month freeze on settlement
activity in the occupied Palestinian territory. That decision prompted
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to withdraw from direct talks with
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which had only resumed a
few weeks earlier after a two-year hiatus.
Mr. Fernandez-Taranco said that the recent surge in violence,
including the 11 March murder of five members of an Israeli family
living in a West Bank settlement as well as the increased violence and
tensions in and around Gaza, must not be allowed to further undermine
the possibility of finding a way towards an agreement on final status
issues, or undermine the state-building achievements thus far.
"The wider region has continued to witness dramatic developments,
which add to the importance of redoubling efforts to break the
deadlock as progress towards peace and meeting the legitimate
aspirations of the Palestinian people to statehood could be an
important stabilizing force in the Middle East," he stated.
Turning to the situation in Gaza, Mr. Fernandez-Taranco said all
parties must exercise restraint, as he condemned last weekend's firing
of missiles and mortars towards Israeli civilian areas, and noted the
air strikes and incursions carried out by Israel that killed three
Palestinian civilians and two militants.
The situation of the 1.5 million Palestinian residents of Gaza also
remained a concern, he added, noting that current imports into the
territory represent only about one third of the weekly average prior
to the imposition of the Israeli blockade in June 2007.
The latest UN assessment of the humanitarian impact of the blockade
says that the measures announced by Israel last June to ease the
blockade has not resulted in a significant improvement in people's
livelihoods.
Because of the ongoing restrictions on the import of building
materials, only a small minority of the needed housing units could be
constructed, it adds. High unemployment levels and strong demand for
construction materials have left thousands of people with no
alternative but to risk their lives working in tunnels or in
access-restricted areas near the perimeter fence surrounding Gaza.
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