He added that “the comments of the UN Secretary General encourage terror”. There is simply no justification for Palestinian or any other forms of terror.
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In his speech, Ban Ki-moon explained that oppressed people naturally react to occupation.
Speaking at the UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East in NY on Tuesday, Ban criticised Israel over reports it was planning to build “150 new homes in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank”.
Ban made his comments in a Security Council session on the current situation in the Middle East. While lamenting “unacceptable levels of violence”, he asserted that security measures alone can not “address the profound sense of alienation and despair driving some Palestinians – especially young people”.
Describing the suffering caused by Israeli settlement activities, the wars on Gaza and military raids in the West Bank, he said that any claims that such violence was necessary to ensure Israel’s security was offensive and must be rejected.
Israel insists that an ongoing wave of violence seen since last October – in which more than 160 Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli forces after alleged attacks or during protests – was the result of “incitement” on social media. However, Israeli settlements constructed on seized lands have hindered peace negotiations and the formation of a viable Palestinian state.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said Washington strongly opposed settlement activity. They want to destroy a state as they declare publicly.
He said frustration was growing among Palestinians.
The biggest falling out, however, has been that between Israel and the European Union after the latter approved new rules for designating imported goods produced in illegal West Bank settlements.
The Palestinians, he added, want to resume the peace process and reach a solution with Israel, “but only on condition that it implements 20 agreements that were signed since the Oslo Accords”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the army on Monday to submit a “comprehensive plan” to better ensure the security of settlements.
Ban condemned Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians, including stabbings, vehicle attacks and shootings.
Earlier in the day, Ban had said that it was natural for Palestinians to resist the Israeli occupation.
“The parties must act – and act now – to prevent the two-state solution from slipping away forever”.
About 400 000 Israeli settlers live alongside around 2.5 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
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On 17 January, a mother of six was stabbed to death inside her home at the settlement of Otniel.
