29 Nov 2022; MEMO: The United Nations (UN) coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, warned on Monday that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is "reaching a boiling point".
Following a drastic increase in attacks against the Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, he told a UN Security Council briefing, "High levels of violence in the Occupied West Bank and Israel in recent months, including attacks against Israeli and Palestinian civilians, increased use of arms, and settler-related violence, have caused grave human suffering."
Calling for a return to a political process for a two-state resolution to the conflict, he said,
"The targeting of civilians can never be justified and the violence must stop."
He added, "The current trends bring neither stability nor security for anyone."
After the Security Council meeting, the Palestinian Envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, called for the UN to step in to "provide protection to the Palestinian civilian population."
"The Security Council, which is a mighty force, the most powerful force in the UN for the maintenance of international peace and security – to describe without acting is pathetic," he said.
The warning comes as three Palestinians were shot dead by the Israeli Occupation Forces this morning, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported.
One was killed in Beit Ummar in the south of the West Bank, and the two others, siblings, were killed in the village of Kafr Ein near Ramallah.
There has been a rise in Israeli raids on the Occupied West Bank over the past few months, coupled with violence carried out by settlers who have even turned against Israeli forces, at times.
This year alone, over 130 Palestinians have been killed, as well as at least 25 on the Israeli side, reportedly making 2022 the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank, since 2005.
