Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ’s Middle East envoy urges halt to demolitions, evictions in East Jerusalem
1 December 2009 – The top United Nations envoy to the Middle East today reiterated Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s call for an immediate end to demolitions, evictions and the instalment of Israeli settlers in Palestinian neighbourhoods, as he visited the Sheikh Jarrah area in East Jerusalem, outside a house that was occupied by settlers.
“Provocative actions such as these create inevitable tensions, undermine trust, often have tragic human consequences and make resuming negotiations and achieving a two-State solution more difficult,” read a statement issued by the spokesperson for the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry.
Last week senior Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ political official Haile Menkerios told the Security Council that Israel’s refusal to freeze settlement activity was one of several key challenges to the peace process.
Mr. Ban has issued a series of statements recently calling for a halt to Israeli settlement activity and the demolition of Palestinian homes and evictions in East Jerusalem.
In October he stated that Jerusalem must be the capital of two States – Israel and Palestine – with arrangements for the holy sites acceptable to all, if peace in the Middle East is to be achieved.
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Document Type: French text, Spanish text, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ news item
Document Sources: United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI), United Nations News Service, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµSCO)
Subject: House demolitions, Internally displaced persons, Jerusalem, Settlements, Statehood-related
Publication Date: 01/12/2009