UN, October 28. /TASS/. Israel should immediately stop building its settlements and dismantling Palestinian property on the western bank of the Jordan River, Russia’s UN envoy, Vasily Nebenzya, told the UN Security Council’s Monday session devoted to the Middle East.
The diplomat stressed that Russia was "extremely concerned by the analysis of the situation, offered by UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov, who, speaking about the West Bank of the Jordan River and the Gaza Strip, said the situation now can only be prevented from further degradation, without even mentioning the possibility of improvement."
"This situation will sooner or later - more likely sooner than later - cause the erosion of this inadmissible virtual border between fragile stability and chaos," he said.
Nebenzya called for urgent measures to improve the situation.
"Solutions are evident. First of all, Israel's settlement activities and the policy of dismantling the Palestinian property in the West Bank must be stopped," the Russian diplomat said.
"Both Palestinians and Israelis must refrain from violence, aggressive and provocative rhetoric. This is exactly how we view Israel’s plans to annex settlements on the Western Bank of the Jordan River," he added.
US proposals
The Russian envoy said it was impossible for one side to achieve a unilateral breakthrough in the Middle East.
"Despite this, persistent attempts are being made to push forward ‘alternative’ reconciliation schemes that undermine the longstanding parameters for solving the Palestinian problem, which have been accepted by the international community," Nebenzya said.
In this context, he reiterated that "the US administration’s decisions on Jerusalem, its illegitimate recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights in Syria constitute a blatant violation of the international law, in particular, of the UN Security Council Resolution 497."
"It’s evident to us, just like to the majority of our colleagues, that the only way out of this situation is to combine international and regional efforts under the central role of the UN and its Security Council," Nebenzya said.
The Palestinian-Israeli negotiation process has been frozen since 2014. All contacts are carried out through Egyptian mediators. The situation deteriorated further after the US recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s new capital and relocated its embassy from Tel Aviv there. Palestinians said at that time that further dialogue with Israel was impossible.
In late June, the White House published a document focusing on the economic aspects of the plan to resolve the conflict dubbed "the deal of the century." It envisages, in particular, investment in Palestine and neighboring countries to the tune of $50 bln. On June 25-26, an international meeting dedicated to the economic aspects of the deal was held in the capital of Bahrain, Manama. The Palestinian administration and a number of Arab countries boycotted the event, describing this approach as inappropriate.