UN Envoy Reports 'largest' Expansion Of Israeli Settlements In Occupied West Bank In 2 Years,

Israel has taken "no steps" to stop illegal settlement activity as demanded by the United Nations Security Council and is pressing ahead with nearly 6,000 housing units in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem since late March, a senior UN envoy has said

UNITED NATIONS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Jun, 2019 ):Israel has taken "no steps" to stop illegal settlement activity as demanded by the United Nations Security Council and is pressing ahead with nearly 6,000 housing units in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem since late March, a senior UN envoy has said.

Nikolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator on the Middle East Peace Process, told the 15-member Council Thursday that "this constitutes the largest settlement advancement in two years." While Security Council resolution 2334 (2016) calls on Israel to "cease all settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory", he said that "no steps have been taken to this effect".

Mladenov said settlement expansion also constitutes "a flagrant violation of international law." He warned that unilateral annexation of all or parts of the West Bank would be "devastating" to the two-state solution.

"The persistent threat of war; unilateral actions that undermine peace efforts; and severe challenges to the fiscal viability of the Palestinian Authority" also gnaw into the scenario, Mladenov stated.

He updated the Council on the situation in the Middle East between 25 March and 10 June 2019, and highlighted that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) "continues to face significant financial challenges" and is operating on a projected shortfall of $211 million if its $1.2 billion budget for the year.

"This could impact operations, including UNRWA's ability to maintain food assistance to over one million Palestine refugees in Gaza", he explained, calling upon Member States to support its 25 June Pledging Conference in New York.

He said that Israel's National Infrastructure Committee rejected a series of objections against a controversial plan to construct a cable car between West Jerusalem and the Old City raising concerns among East Jerusalem's Palestinian residents that it "seeks to deepen Israeli control over the area".

Citing the absence of Israeli-issued building permits, Israeli authorities continue to demolish and seize Palestinian-owned structures across the occupied West Bank, according to Mladenov.

"As the Middle East Quartet already highlighted in its 2016 report, these permits are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain", he stated.

Noting "a very dangerous escalation of violence in Gaza, and continued violence in the occupied West Bank", Mladenov recalled that resolution 2334 also calls for "immediate steps to prevent all acts of violence against civilians, including all acts of terror, as well as all acts of provocation and destruction.

He outlined number of incidents, including some 700 projectile missiles that continued to be launched from Gaza, starting fires in southern Israel. And the Israel Defence Forces' (IDF) report that it hit over 300 militant targets in Gaza.

Mladenov cited Israeli aggression as well, such as the death of some nine Palestinians, including three children, on 30 March, when 50,000 Palestinians demonstrated for the anniversary of the Great March of Return; and the shooting death of a 15year-old Palestinian boy arrested for throwing stones, who, while blindfolded, attempted to escape.

Although the resolution also calls upon the parties to refrain from provocative actions, incitement, and inflammatory rhetoric, "unfortunately, such actions continued", lamented the UN envoy, detailing violations on both sides of the Palestinian question.

While updating the Chamber on efforts to address "the dire situation in Gaza", he stressed the need "to find a sustainable and comprehensive solution" to establish "conditions for a lasting peace".

In closing, Mladenov observed that a lack of progress to create conditions for the parties to return to meaningful bilateral negotiations "remains critical".

"Yet we must be clear," said the Special Coordinator, pointing out that "no amount of humanitarian or economic support will resolve the conflict" because it requires "political solutions".