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UN Council warned of 'dangerous deterioration' in Israeli-Palestinian conflict

UN Council warned of 'dangerous deterioration' in Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Alvaro de Soto
With donors balking at funding the Hamas-led Palestinian Government, tension between that administration and President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah, increasing violence and lawlessness, and continued settlement expansion by Israel, the situation in the Middle East has reached a volatile juncture, a United Nations official said today.

With donors balking at funding the Hamas-led Palestinian Government, tension between that administration and President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah, increasing violence and lawlessness, and continued settlement expansion by Israel, the situation in the Middle East has reached a volatile juncture, a United Nations official said today.

“We are witnessing a potentially dangerous deterioration of the situation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Alvaro de Soto, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, told the Security Council in the monthly briefing on the issue.

Mr. de Soto said that the funding crisis was a result the failure of the new Palestinian Government to commit to the principles of non-violence, recognition of Israel's right to exist and acceptance of previous commitments and obligations.

He said lawlessness had already become endemic in Palestinian areas, and is “worsening amid uncertainties concerning command and control of the security forces within the new dispensation.” There are signs of a struggle between the Presidency and the new Government, with President Abbas cancelling the Hamas appointment of a wanted militant to a senior position.

At the same time, he pointed to an alarming increase in violence since 30 March, with 29 Palestinians and 10 Israelis killed. The Israeli fatalities, along with the deaths of three internationals, resulted from two suicide bombings that, although condemned by President Abbas, were called legitimate resistance or a natural consequence of the Israeli occupation by Palestinian Cabinet ministers and spokesmen.

The Palestinian fatalities and injuries were the consequence of a range of Israeli military operations, including air strikes, artillery and tank shelling in northern Gaza, targeted killings, and ground operations in the West Bank. Israel claimed all these operations were against militants, but at least three children died, he said.

Israel has continued to “create facts on the ground” including settlement expansion and a route of the Barrier which deviates from the 1967 borders. The envoy warned that this raises “serious concerns” as to the possibility of achieving a viable and contiguous Palestinian State.

“The first challenge is to stabilize the security environment, where the primary responsibility rests with the parties,” Mr. de Soto said. “Both parties must abide by their obligations under international law, and refrain from actions that further escalate the situation and put civilians at risk.”

On the humanitarian side, he said it is likely that, in light of current developments, the scale of UN activities will increase. “UN programmes and agencies will continue to interact with their Palestinian Authority counterparts, to ensure that the United Nations serves the interests of peace and meets the needs of the Palestinian people as effectively as possible,” he said.

Mr. de Soto added that political and diplomatic contacts with the Palestinian Government may take place at the discretion of Secretary-General Kofi Annan. “The UN will continue to work with all concerned to try to find ways to ensure that the needs of the Palestinians are met,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Annan has invited the principles of the Middle East diplomatic Quartet – the United States, the European Union and the Russian Federation in addition to the UN – to New York on 9 May, to discuss the “new realities” of the long-running conflict.