Today, the UN Security Council held a special open session to discuss the situation in Palestine, chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose country chairs the Council for the current month. In his briefing to the Security Council, Tor Winsland, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, reviewed the field developments that the international institution has monitored during the past few weeks. He stated that during that period, 17 Palestinians, including two children, were killed, while more than 100 Palestinians, including 4 women and 38 children, were injured at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces, whether during demonstrations and confrontations or during arrest and search operations, in addition to 39 injuries, including 3 women and 4 women. Children during settler attacks, which varied between attacks, shooting and stone throwing. Wensland stressed the need to address the security, political, economic and institutional causes that lead to the conflict, and work to put an end to unilateral measures, provocation and incitement that lead to violence and prevent progress towards resolving the conflict and ending the occupation. He also referred to the continuous incursions carried out by the occupation police and army forces into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque during the blessed month of Ramadan, which included expelling worshipers and assaulting them by beating them with batons, rifle butts, and firing bullets at them. He noted that the occupation police prevented Christians from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, while the Orthodox Patriarchate and other Christian leaders denounced limiting the number of visitors to the church, stressing that this is unjustified and violates the status quo. It was stated that many of the Palestinian victims were injured in Israeli operations in the designated areas "a" In the occupied West Bank, while the levels of violence attributed to settlers increased in the last period. Wensland added: "We are concerned about the continuation of provocative actions during the past few weeks, especially the repeated storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and I call for respect for the status quo in the holy sites, adding that the Israeli security services should not use lethal force, especially against children, who should not be subject to violence in any case out of the way". The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process reaffirmed that settlements in all their forms are illegal under international law, and that they are an obstacle to peace, calling on all parties to avoid any unilateral measures and provocative actions that would fuel tensions. He noted that the Israeli authorities announced the issuance of bids for the construction of 940 housing units in settlements to be built on classified lands. "c"and 98 in East Jerusalem, last month, while Israeli government ministers and Knesset members joined 15,000 settlers in a march protected by the Israeli army to demand that the government legalize the outpost. "avitar" settlement, built on the lands of Jabal Sabih, south of Nablus. And he indicated that the demolitions and seizure of Palestinian property in the West Bank and East Jerusalem remain a cause for concern, calling on the Israeli authorities to work to stop the displacement and displacement of Palestinians, and to approve structural plans that enable Palestinians to build legally to meet their development needs. He added that the Palestinian Authority, in light of the deteriorating field conditions, continues to face institutional and financial difficulties that cannot be underestimated, and at the same time, the United Nations agencies, funds and programs that provide support to the Palestinian people are also facing a great scarcity in funding, especially the World Food Program. , and agency "UNRWA"affecting the delivery of basic services. added: "All parties must make redoubled efforts, and the international community must redouble efforts to strengthen Palestinian institutions, improve governance, and restore the financial recovery of the Palestinian Authority. These measures must be part of a broader political effort that addresses the full drivers of this conflict and provides the space and access required for the Palestinian economy to grow. We encourage the parties to improve their administrative and economic relations, and that the upcoming meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee in Brussels constitutes an opportunity to take a strategic turn in this direction. In addition, addressing the immediate challenges would provide the required impetus for the return of the political horizon and some stability towards the two-state solution". Wensland appealed to all parties, countries of the region and the international community to show leadership, return to engagement, work and collectively agree to achieve peace to end the occupation and resolve the conflict, pursuant to the provisions of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, and previous agreements to embody the two states, which guarantee the establishment of an independent, democratic, contiguous, viable and sovereign Palestinian state, in The framework of the recognized borders on the territories occupied in 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital.
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