UN urges Israel, Palestinians to end West Bank violence
The UN Security Council has urged Israel and the Palestinians to avoid actions that can further inflame tensions in the volatile West Bank.
A view of the United Nations Security Council in 2018. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
The statement was backed by both the US and Russia in a moment of unity on a divisive issue, reflecting the widespread international concern at the escalating violence, especially by Israeli forces and settlers.
Tuesday’s statement followed what UN Mideast envoy Tor Wennesland called “an alarming spike in violence” in the West Bank that led to numerous Palestinian and Israeli casualties.
He warned the council that “unless decisive steps are taken now to rein in the violence, there is a significant risk that events could deteriorate further”.
Wennesland said he was particularly alarmed by “the extreme levels of settler violence, including large numbers of settlers, many armed, systematically attacking Palestinian villages, terrorising communities”, sometimes with support from Israeli forces.
Council members called for restraint and “encouraged additional steps to restore a durable calm and de-escalate tensions”.
This year has been one of the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank in years, and last week saw a major escalation in settler violence.
At least 137 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank in 2023. As of Saturday, 24 people on the Israeli side have been killed in Palestinian attacks.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, supported the council statement and US deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the council that the Biden administration shares Wennesland’s alarm.
Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia also expressed serious concern at the escalating violence, pointing to an Israeli raid on June 19 in the Jenin Refugee Camp that killed seven Palestinians, clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinians, and intensified Israeli activity to broaden and legalise settlements.
AAP
