Prospect of lasting peace fading in Gaza, West Bank: UN envoy

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The prospect of sustainable peace in the occupied Palestinian territory is "fading by the day," a senior UN envoy in the region told the Security Council on Wednesday.

In a somber assessment, Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, characterized the hope of a peaceful two-state solution as "slim."

Extremists are on the rise and that the risk of war looms large, he explained.

Against this backdrop, the immediate challenge is the prevention of an economic and humanitarian implosion in the West Bank and Gaza, he said.

The Palestinian people need the support of the international community more than ever, as a range of issues are exerting a "heavy toll" on those living in Gaza and the West Bank, Mladenov added.

These include ongoing violence, the lack of progress toward peace, financial pressures and unilateral measures by the government of Israel, said the envoy.

Mladenov cited a recent decision by Israel to withhold some 140 million U.S. dollars in Palestinian tax revenue transfers (the equivalent of money paid to Palestinians convicted of terrorism or security-related offenses, and their families), and the decision of the U.S. government to halt funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) as factors driving financial instability in the occupied Palestinian territory.

A number of "political steps" are necessary for the establishment of peace, including an end to the designation of land for exclusively Israeli use, as well as the cessation of Israeli settlement construction and expansion, and the creation of opportunities for Palestinian development in the West Bank, he said.

Demolitions and seizures of Palestinian-owned structures have continued across the West Bank, with some 900 Palestinians in East Jerusalem facing eviction, he added.

The special envoy condemned violence and terror in the region over the past few months, which has seen the deaths of 40 children killed by Israeli forces, and the firing of 18 rockets toward Israel by Palestinian militants.

There has been an upsurge in settler violence over the past year, he reported, with 20 recorded incidents of Israeli settlers injuring Palestinians or damaging their property. Enditem

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