(MENAFN- The Peninsula) A senior UN official warned the UN Security Council yesterday that violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories was likely to worsen without a quick return to peace talks.
"Returning to negotiations has never been more important," UN Assistant-Secretary General Jens Toyberg-Frandzen told the 15-member council, during a meeting on the Middle East.
"Without a genuine commitment from the parties and an overall improvement in the lives of Palestinians, we should anticipate further deterioration of the security situation and an expansion of the current violence," he said.
The appeal followed a visit to the region last week by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who sought to ease tensions over east Jerusalem, fuelled by Israeli plans to build settlements and access to the Al Aqsa compound, a site holy to both Muslims and Jews.
The flare-up in east Jerusalem has been watched with growing concern just as efforts to consolidate a ceasefire in Gaza after a 50-day war have run into problems.
Toyberg-Frandzen told the council that there were "some signs of progress" over reconstruction but that "the overall state of affairs in Gaza remains volatile and fraught with potential pitfalls."
Israel has agreed to allow 800 truckloads of reconstruction material into Gaza, up from the current 350, but $62m worth of UN construction projects are awaiting approval by Israeli authorities.
There has been little or no progress in establishing a unity government between Palestinian Hamas and Fatah factions in Gaza - a move seen as a key to speeding up reconstruction, said the UN official.
Toyberg-Frandzen also condemned the recent firing of Hamas rockets in Gaza and in Israel and warned the launches risk re-igniting the conflict with Israel.
Egypt is due to host a new round of talks later this month to try to consolidate the ceasefire from the Gaza war that left more than 2,140 Palestinians and 73 Israelis dead.
"The continued reality of the close to 50-year-long occupation and the lack of progress towards the two-state solution ensure that the next round of violence is never too far below the surface," warned Toyberg-Frandzen.
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