Israel’s settlements in the West Bank have expanded in the past two months despite the diplomatic quartet of the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russian Federation calling for a halt to construction of Jewish housing on Palestinian land, a United Nations envoy said Monday.
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Tensions between Israel and the UN are ratcheting up after sharp criticism from the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov slammed Israel for continuing to build in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
He also flagged “a surge in Israeli settlement-related announcements and demolitions”, since the Quartet of Mideast peace negotiators – the United States, Russia, the European Union and the U.N. – issued their report which aimed to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations which have been dormant since 2014, when a USA peace initiative failed.
In a much-awaited report, the Quartet-the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations-urged Israel to stop building settlements and called on the Palestinians to cease the alleged incitement of violence.
Mladenov’s sentiments were echoed by U.S. State Department Press Office director Elizabeth Trudeau, who said in August that the State Department “remain [s] concerned about the increased demolition of Palestinian structures in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which reportedly have left dozens of Palestinians homeless, including children”.
His remarks come after envoy Nicolay Mladenov said Israeli settlement expansion is among the biggest obstacles to peace. You know that Moscow has pretty confidential and active relations with both the Israelis and the Palestinians. After his remarks, the US Security Council chose to hold a meeting in October to address Israeli settlement building – a meeting that Israel would prefer not to happen.
Also, Israel is surveying land on the outskirts of Bethlehem for the establishment of a new settlement.
He said one positive development has been the signing of an electoral code of conduct to which all parties must adhere ahead of the Palestinian local council elections scheduled for October 8.
Turning to Gaza, he said that while progress has been made on reconstructing the physical damage since the ceasefire agreement two years ago, repairing the psychological damage of the conflict is “miles away” from being over.
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Mladenov called for a “radical overhaul of how we deal with the problems of Gaza”, and said the area “remains in the grip of militants, and dependent on aid and humanitarian assistance”.
