UNITED NATIONS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov on Wednesday underscored the severe condition of Gaza's infrastructure and called for prompt implementation of key projects to improve it.
Briefing the Security Council, Mladenov said Gaza's infrastructure "teeters on the verge of total collapse," particularly its electricity and water networks as well as its health system.
Implementation of key infrastructure projects has faced significant delays and obstacles, he noted, worrying that such practice will affect the progress of projects identified for the future.
A set of modest, achievable projects have been endorsed by all relevant stakeholders, some of them already been funded, for the next six to 12 months, according to Mladenov.
"Failure to implement immediately ... will guarantee an amplified humanitarian crisis with increasingly fewer means to address it effectively," he noted.
"We have all the instruments in place to do so, we just need to organize them better," he said, referring to prompt implementation of projects in Gaza.
To help achieve this, Mladenov pledged to prioritize projects, adopt a fast track modality and strengthen close coordination with the Palestinian Authority, Israel, Egypt to overcome political administrative and logistical blockages that may emerge.
Also, he demanded the 2014 ceasefire be observed and all factions in Gaza refrain from illicit arms build-up and militant activity.
"If we are able to move quickly, we will reduce the chances of military confrontation and another devastating conflict," he said.
