UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland said in a briefing to the Security Council on Monday that Israeli settlement expansion continues unabated adding that the fragility of the Palestinian Authority’s fiscal situation compounded by funding shortages facing key UN agencies threatens to worsen the plight of the most vulnerable Palestinians.
Over the past month Wennesland said Israel has destroyed 58 Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank under the pretext that they were not built with Israeli-issued permits which he said “nearly impossible for the Palestinians to obtain.”
That includes the Aug. 17 demolition of an elementary school in Ein Samia that served roughly 80 students just days before the start of the school year making it the third such school to be destroyed by Israel during the past year.
Wennesland urged Israel to immediately end its practice of destroying Palestinian-owned properties in the occupied territories and implement plans to facilitate their ability to legally construct new structures.
“While we must urgently focus on addressing the most critical issues and de-escalating the situation on the ground we cannot ignore the need to restore a political horizon” he stressed.
The United Nations remains firmly committed to supporting the parties to achieve an end to the occupation and the establishment of a two-state solution in line with UN resolutions international law and previous agreements said Wennesland.
Although the parties have taken measures towards stabilizing the situation “unilateral steps” continue including Israeli settlement growth demolitions and settler violence.
