Landmark elections in the Occupied Palestinian territory must be rescheduled soon and include East Jerusalem, three UN independent human rights experts said in a statement on Monday.
Amid increasing bloodshed and volatility in Gaza and Israel, UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet on Saturday appealed for a de-escalation in tensions and urged all sides to respect international law.
Expectations are high for the first Palestinian elections in 15 years, UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland told a virtual meeting of the Security Council on Thursday, urging international support for the process.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders, and their international partners, must urgently resume peace efforts “before it is too late”, UN Middle East envoy Nikolay Mladenov told the Security Council on Tuesday, echoing the Secretary-General.
A database of 112 businesses connected to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory has been hailed by an independent human rights expert as “an important initial step towards accountability and the end to impunity”.
A United States plan released this week to resolve the decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is “lopsided” and will only entrench occupation, an independent UN human rights expert said on Friday.
With unemployment in Gaza standing at 54 per cent, young people there are living “a daily existence in a nightmarish scenario”, according to Jamie McGoldrick, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory.
Mr. McGoldrick spoke to May Yaacoub about challenges facing UNRWA, the UN agency that assists the Palestinian people, which continues to face a staggering $200 million funding shortfall.
