CAIRO, March 4. /TASS/. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Tuesday for an immediate de-escalation in the West Bank, where Israeli security forces have conducted large-scale military operations, including airstrikes and the use of tanks for the first time in 20 years.
"Israeli security forces have launched large-scale operations, including airstrikes and also the deployment of tanks for the first time in over two decades," Guterres said at the emergency summit of the Arab League (LAS) in Cairo.
"Over 40,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced in the last month — the largest displacement in the West Bank in decades," he continued. "Meanwhile, demolitions, evictions and settlement expansions continue, with settler violence is on the rise."
"All of this is further weakening the Palestinian Authority at a time when its role is more crucial than ever," the UN chief noted.
"I call for urgent de-escalation. Unilateral actions, including settlement expansion and threats of annexation, must stop. The attacks and mounting violence must end," Guterres stressed.
According to him, "Israel, as the occupying power, must comply with all its obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law."
"The Palestinian Authority must be supported to govern effectively, and to do so in compliance with its own obligations under international law," the UN secretary-general concluded.