Middle East at 'most dangerous juncture', UN official says

Tor Wennesland warns UN Security Council prospects for sustainable resolution to conflict rapidly 'unravelling'

The UN Security Council meets to discuss the situation in the Middle East. AP

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The Middle East is at “the most dangerous juncture” due to the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as Israel's weekend strikes on Iran, a UN official said on Tuesday.

“We have now entered the second year of this horrific conflict, and the region is on the verge of yet another serious escalation. The violence in the occupied Palestinian territory and the region shows no signs of abating,” said Tor Wennesland, UN special co-ordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East, Mr Wennesland warned the decades-long peace process between Israelis and Palestinians was at serious risk.

“We are witnessing not only a horrific humanitarian nightmare, but a rapidly accelerating and unravelling of the prospects for a sustainable resolution to this conflict,” he said.

Millions in Gaza are struggling to find food and clean water, while being forcibly displaced again and again amid Israeli military operations. Hundreds of thousands in Lebanon have also been displaced.

Mr Wennesland described a trip he took through the Gaza Strip last week that “defies imagination”.

He said he saw “immense destruction of residential buildings, roads, hospitals and schools”, where he could only count two buildings that were not partially or completely destroyed.

The UN official said he also witnessed thousands of Palestinians “in makeshift tents, with nowhere else to go as winter approaches”, and spoke of humanitarian workers who decried deteriorating conditions.

Many in Gaza are on the brink of famine, according to the UN, with limited humanitarian deliveries and a reported lack of protection for aid workers.

Israel on Monday voted to ban UNRWA, the main UN agency serving the needs of Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories and the wider region. The move has received international criticism, including during at the council meeting.

“There is no justification for cutting off ties with UNRWA,” UK ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward told the council. “It must abide by its obligations and ensure UNRWA can continue its life-saving work.”

There are concerns that Israel's military operations, especially northern Gaza, are part of an plan to “starve” the local population – something the US denounced during the council meeting.

US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said “the United States rejects any Israeli efforts to starve Palestinians In Jabalia or anywhere else”.

“One year into this conflict, Israel must address the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” she said.

She added that Washington had told Israel it must allow food, medicine and essentials into “all of Gaza, especially the north, and especially as winter sets in” and protect those making the deliveries.

“Israel's words must be matched by action on the ground,” Ms Thomas-Greenfield said.

“Right now, that is not happening. This must change immediately.”