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A top UN official on Tuesday called on the Israelis and Palestinians to take the opportunity offered by their renewed talks in order to achieve the long-sought vision of two States living side by side in peace and security.
"Despite the difficult regional context and the challenges on the ground between Israel and Palestine, this is not an opportunity that either can afford to lose," the UN under- secretary-general for political affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, said in his briefing to the UN Security Council.
Feltman was referring to the ongoing peace talks between the two sides which resumed in late July after three years of hiatus. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators held a new round of talks on Oct. 7 to intensify their meetings at the request of the United Nations.
The UN is part of a diplomatic group, known as the Middle East Quartet which also includes the European Union, Russia and the United States, in pursuit of the two-State solution, which means a secure Israel to live in peace with an independent State of Palestine.
"Despite the welcome intensification of negotiations, there have been worrisome developments on the ground that we cannot ignore," Feltman said, reiterating the UN's unequivocal call on all to refrain from violence and incitement, reinforce calm and reverse negative trends in order to preserve the "tentative" opening in the political process.
He cited a number of violent incidents that led to deaths and injuries on both sides: settlement activity, which is "an obstacle to peace and against international law"; ongoing clashes between Palestinians and settlers; growing provocation at holy sites; and Israeli demolition.
The calm in the Gaza Strip is also showing "worrying" signs of erosion, Feltman added, citing a recently discovered tunnel between the territory and Israel, Palestinian rocket fire into Israel and Israeli incursions into Gaza.
"After 20 years of talks and too many negative developments on the ground, we don't need lengthy negotiations," he said. "What we, and the parties, need are decisions, the right decisions, and leaders who are committed to ushering in an agreed political solution."
Direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians stalled in September 2010, after Israel refused to extend its freeze on settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory.
