UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council urged Israel and the Palestinians on Tuesday to avoid actions that can further inflame tensions in the volatile West Bank.
The statement was backed by both the United States and Russia in a moment of unity on a divisive issue, reflecting the widespread international concern at the escalating violence especially by Israeli forces and settlers.
The statement followed what UN Mideast envoy Tor Wennesland called “an alarming spike in violence” in the West Bank that led to numerous Palestinian and Israeli casualties. He warned the council that “unless decisive steps are taken now to rein in the violence, there is a significant risk that events could deteriorate further.”
Wennesland said he was particularly alarmed by “the extreme levels of settler violence, including large numbers of settlers, many armed, systematically attacking Palestinian villages, terrorizing communities,” sometimes with support from Israeli forces.
Council members called for restraint and “encouraged additional steps to restore a durable calm and de-escalate tensions.”
This year has been one of the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank in years, and last week saw a major escalation in settler violence. At least 137 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank in 2023. As of Saturday, 24 people on the Israeli side have been killed in Palestinian attacks.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, supported the council statement and US deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the council that the Biden administration shares Wennesland’s alarm.
He said the United Stated was “horrified by the brutal terror attack against Israelis” near the West Bank town of Eli on June 21 that killed four and injured several others and condemned it “in the strongest terms.” He also condemned “the recent extremist settler attacks against Palestinian civilians, which have resulted in a death, injuries and significant damage to their property.”
At a time of escalating violence, there was widespread council criticism of plans by Israel’s far-right government to build over 5,000 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and speed up settlement approvals.
Under international law, all Israeli settlements in occupied territory are illegal.
Wennesland warned that Israel’s “relentless expansion” of settlements is fueling violence “and is impeding access by Palestinians to their land and resources, reshaping the geography of the occupied West Bank and threatening the viability of a future Palestinian state.”
Wood said the United States is “deeply troubled” by Israel’s announcement of new settlement homes and reports that it is taking measures to expedite the planning and approval of settlements.
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia also expressed serious concern at the escalating violence, pointing to an Israeli raid on June 19 in the Jenin Refugee Camp that killed seven Palestinians, clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinians, and intensified Israeli activity to broaden and legalize settlements.
Nebenzia warned that the situation will remain “explosive” until negotiations resume on a two-state solution that sees Israel and the Palestinians living side by side in peace. He reiterated Russia’s call for a meeting with the Arab League and neighboring countries to give impetus to long-stalled talks.
UN urges Israel and Palestinians to halt West Bank violence in statement backed by US and Russia
https://arab.news/5w3m6
UN urges Israel and Palestinians to halt West Bank violence in statement backed by US and Russia
- Council members called for restraint and “encouraged additional steps to restore a durable calm and de-escalate tensions”
UN warns of abuse of Palestinians returning to Gaza through Rafah crossing
- Human Rights Office describes pattern of ill-treatment, abuse and humiliation of returnees by Israeli forces, and by armed Palestinians allegedly backed by Israeli military
- Meanwhile, reports continue of airstrikes, gunfire and shelling across Gaza, and Israeli forces demolish a UN-run school
NEW YORK CITY: The Rafah crossing on the border between Gaza and Egypt opened for a fourth consecutive day on Thursday, allowing a limited number of people to pass through.
However, the UN voiced concerns about reported mistreatment of Palestinians returning to the war-ravaged enclave.
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also said reports continue across civilian areas in Gaza of airstrikes, gunfire and shelling, resulting in casualties and damage to infrastructure.
And Israeli forces on Wednesday demolished Jabalya Preparatory Boys’ School in northern Gaza, OCHA said. Run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, it was the last remaining school in a compound of six. Its destruction means the entire educational complex has been razed to the ground.
A limited flow of people were allowed to use the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s main physical connection to the outside world, for four days in a row since it reopened on Monday, OCHA said. Only 98 returnees were received by UN teams inside Gaza between Monday and Thursday, it added, and the crossing remains closed on Fridays.
The UN Human Rights Office warned of what it described as a pattern of ill-treatment, abuse and humiliation of returnees by Israeli forces, and by armed Palestinians allegedly backed by the Israeli military.
According to accounts collected by the UN’s Human Rights Office, armed Palestinians handcuffed and blindfolded returnees, threatened and intimidated them, conducted searches and stole personal belongings and money. Returnees also reported violence, degrading interrogations and invasive body searches upon arrival at Israeli checkpoints.
The accounts point to conduct that violates the rights of Palestinians to personal security and dignity, and freedom from torture and other ill-treatment, the Human Rights Office said.
Meanwhile, the UN said it attempted to coordinate 11 humanitarian missions with the Israeli authorities on Wednesday and Thursday. Six were fully facilitated, but four faced lengthy delays at holding points along designated routes. Two of those missions were only partially completed, the other two eventually went ahead despite the delays.
A mission to monitor humanitarian cargo at the Kissufim crossing, east of Khan Younis, was denied on Wednesday after the crossing was closed.
The purposes of the missions included the collection of water, sanitation supplies, fuel and other items, medical evacuations through the Rafah crossing, and the transportation of returnees to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, OCHA said.
