OMM Newsroom
Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN acting special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, warned on Thursday that conditions in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank remain dangerously fragile and that a return to war must be avoided. He made the remarks during a UN Security Council briefing on Palestine, marking the anniversary of the Oct. 7 events.
Alakbarov said Palestinians and Israelis needed a political horizon and a credible path to peace. The international community, he said, should take concrete steps to advance security and dignity and return to a genuine peace process.
A year after a ceasefire was completed, the situation in Gaza remains extremely fragile despite some progress, Alakbarov said. He said Israeli military operations had continued, causing about 1,500 fatalities, including more than 320 children.
Families are living in worn-out tents, overcrowded displacement sites and badly damaged buildings, while water and sanitation systems have been devastated, he said. Most of Gaza remains without electricity, Alakbarov added, warning that people must not be made to endure another winter without safe shelter and basic services.
He said emergency assistance alone would not be enough, and that sustainable recovery and political progress must advance together, particularly to meet children’s needs.
In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, conditions are worsening amid Israeli military operations, movement restrictions, displacement and Palestinian attacks, Alakbarov said. Settler violence remains at “extremely high levels”, with daily attacks on Palestinians.
Alakbarov said he felt compelled to raise the alarm, describing desperation in Gaza and warning that frustration among its population could not continue to build indefinitely. He assessed the risk of a return to war as extremely high and said it must be avoided at all costs.
“The West Bank is also at a boiling point,” he said.
