UNITED NATIONS - A top United Nations official has expressed concerns over Israel’s illegal settlement activities, settler violence, and continued destruction of Palestinian homes.
“We continue to witness illegal settlement activities and settler-related violence. Demolitions of Palestinian-owned structures have continued, including punitive demolitions,” UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson said during a special meeting of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on Monday.
Speaking on behalf of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Eliasson warned Israeli authorities that the use of excessive force only further angers and frustrates the Palestinians, calling on them to use maximum restraint, especially in relation to lethal force against Palestinians.
“It is abundantly clear that Palestinians feel deep frustration over an occupation that has lasted nearly 50 years,” he noted.
Eliasson also stressed that security and hope in Gaza and in occupied West Bank, including East al-Quds (Jerusalem), is at a “very low point.”
“Simply put, the Palestinian people have waited too long,” he added.
The Israeli regime routinely orders the demolition of the houses of those Palestinians whom it accuses of being involved in attacks against Israelis.
The destruction of Palestinian homes and buildings comes as the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits an occupying entity from destroying private property or forcibly transferring the region's population.
Eliasson also warned against religious dimensions to the conflict, after tensions and violence related to the holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem erupted in the recent weeks.
He stressed the need to preserve the status quo at the Haram al Sharif/Temple Mount, in accordance with the agreements between Israel and Jordan and with the special role of the King of Jordan, as Custodian.
Further, Eliasson also welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s repeated assurances that Israel has no intention of changing the status quo and urged the Israeli leader to accompany this commitment by actions to defuse the situation and to restore confidence.
Additionally, he condemned the recent wave of “heinous attacks, stabbings, shootings and attacks causing immense suffering among Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
At the same time, he acknowledged the security problems Israel faces, but reminded the Israeli authorities that using excessive forces feeds anger and frustration and urged the security services of the country to exercise maximum restraint, particularly, for the use of lethal force.
He also called for greater participation of the international community to break the impasse and urged the diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East peace process to continue its efforts to preserve the viability of a Palestinian State and establish conditions for a return to meaningful negotiations.
“On 29 November 2012, the State of Palestine joined the United Nations as a non-Member Observer State. Today, 136 countries recognize the State of Palestine and its flag flies at the United Nations next to those of Member States.
However, these diplomatic advances are not felt by children in Gaza, or by the Palestinians of Nablus and Hebron,’ Eliasson said.
The UN deputy chief added that the region is gripped with a “glaring lack of hope that their lives will change for the better and that they will be citizens of a State which will ensure their freedom and well-being.”
Lastly, ahead of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Mr. Eliasson urged all parties to reaffirm their commitment to bring about peace in the region, which can also contribute to international peace and security.