UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov on Tuesday regretted receding international consensus and the lack of progress on the Middle East peace process in 2018.
"I remain concerned by the weakening of international consensus and the absence of collective efforts to achieve an end to the (Israeli) occupation and the realization of a negotiated two-state resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in line with relevant United Nations resolutions and previous agreements," Mladenov told the Security Council.
"I believe that I speak on behalf of all of us today when I say that we all share a concern that at the end of 2018 we are nowhere closer to reviving efforts for a negotiated solution. Without a political horizon, all our collective and individual efforts merely contribute to managing the conflict rather than resolving it."
It is only by realizing the vision of two states living side-by-side in peace, security and mutual recognition, with Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and Palestine, and all final-status issues resolved permanently through negotiations, that the legitimate aspirations of both peoples can be achieved, he noted.
Mladenov expressed concern over violence in the West Bank in 2018 despite the fact that violence in Hamas-controlled Gaza caught more attention.
"In terms of violence over the past year, although Gaza has been the most volatile, the risk of an explosion in the West Bank has also grown. I am concerned by the recent incidents and rising tensions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem."
"During the past three months, we have witnessed stabbings, rammings and three lethal shooting attacks against Israelis, one of which led to the heartbreaking death of a baby. We have also seen the death of a Palestinian woman, killed by a stone. There can be no justification for any brutal acts of terror and I call on all to join the UN in condemning them unequivocally. They feed mistrust and hatred."
Israeli responses to recent events in the West Bank have been harsh as some of the perpetrators of recent attacks have been killed, said Mladenov.
Settler-related violence has also been on the rise during 2018, with the highest number of incidents recorded since 2014, he said.
While Gaza has been quiet since the last escalation in November, it is critical that events in the West Bank not lead to reigniting the Gaza fuse, he warned. "It is imperative that the current calm be preserved at all costs. No one can afford another war in Gaza."
Since March 2018, tens of thousands of people in Gaza took part in demonstrations along the border fence with Israel, many of which turned violent, said Mladenov.
"From May through November, we witnessed the most serious escalations since the 2014 Gaza conflict, with over 500 rockets and 700 mortars fired toward Israel by Hamas and other militant groups. Some 175 Palestinians were killed by Israeli live fire, including 32 children, two women and three medical workers. One Israeli soldier was killed by sniper fire during a demonstration."
The indiscriminate launching of rockets and mortars against Israeli towns and villages violates international law, placing hundreds of thousands of civilians under imminent threat, and causing great fear and mental trauma, particularly for children, he said.
Mladenov expressed serious concern over the loss of life, especially of children, in the context of these hostilities and protests.
"The killing of children is absolutely unacceptable. Israeli security forces have a responsibility to exercise restraint and should use firearms only when strictly necessary in order to protect life or prevent serious injury from an imminent threat. Hamas also has an obligation to protect children, ensuring that they never be put in harm's way," he said.
Ongoing instances of incitement, provocative steps, and inflammatory rhetoric plague the public language of the conflict, he said. "They are highly dangerous and threaten to push an already volatile situation past the boiling point."
"Over the past year, statements that encourage violence continued. Such rhetoric, particularly if it denies the right of existence of one of the sides, or their right to statehood, or glorifies terror, is dangerous and plays into the hands of extremists beyond Israel and Palestine," he warned.
Mladenov condemned the continued expansion of the Israeli settlement enterprise, which, he said, is illegal under international law, undermines hope among the population, trust between the parties, and the two-state solution itself.
Settlement planning and tendering continued during 2018 but at lower rates compared with 2017, he said.
Mladenov regretted the fact that this year has seen no affirmative steps by the parties to reverse negative trends nor serious progress on implementing important agreements signed in 2017, including on water, energy and telecommunications.
Significant Israeli administrative and legal decisions are facilitating the legalization, under Israeli law, of settlements on private Palestinian land and threaten to undermine the financial stability of the Palestinian Authority.
Meanwhile, restrictive Palestinian Authority measures against Gaza compound the long-standing Israeli closures of the strip, further widening the political and administrative gap between Ramallah and Gaza, he said.
While there has been no progress on intra-Palestinian reconciliation, it is critical that this important Egyptian-led process continues, he stressed.
"The United Nations stands firmly in support of Egypt's efforts in this regard and urges the parties to make serious efforts to ensure the return of the legitimate Palestinian government to Gaza. Gaza is, and must remain, an integral part of a future Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution."
