UN envoy warns of risk of new Israel-Palestinian violence

1/12/2021 13:28

        The U.N. Mideast envoy warned Tuesday that without quick and decisive action to address the key drivers of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict the region risks plunging into "another deadly escalation of violence."
        
        Tor Wennesland told the U.N. Security Council it's essential that the parties "calm things on the ground," reduce violence across the Palestinian territories, avoid unilateral steps including new Israeli settlement building, and solidify the May cease-fire that ended an 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip.
        
        In addition, he called for urgent action to tackle the severe fiscal and economic crisis threatening the stability of Palestinian institutions in the West Bank. But he warned: "Even a full and immediate financial package may not be sufficient or come quickly enough – if at all – to help buffer the consequences of the current situation.”