Strengthen Israel-Palestinian Violence Must Stop, UN Envoys: Many Mental Victims

Illustration of Israel's border with Palestine in the West Bank. (Wikimedia Commons/Justin McIntosh)

JAKARTA - The dangerous cycle of violence continues between Israel and Palestine amid escalating political tensions and stalled peace negotiations, the UN's special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process said Wednesday.

"Tren kekerasan yang mendominasi bulan-bulan terakhir tahun 2022 terus menempuhkan banyak korban manusia," kata Tor Wennesland dalam pengarahan bulannya kepada Dewan Keamanan PBB, melansir The National News 19 Januari.

"Violence must be stopped," he exclaimed.

Furthermore, Wennesland detailed, between early December and mid-January, 14 Palestinians were killed, including five children, and 117 others were injured, including 18 children, by Israeli security forces during demonstrations, search and arrest operations and other incidents.

While on the side, he continued, five Israeli civilians and four members of the security forces were injured by Palestinians in attacks and other incidents.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Permanent Representative at the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, stated that peace was still possible, even though many Palestinians were killed.

"I'm not saying this lightly, but with a heavy heart, because every day Palestinians are killed," Mansour said.

"The new year is two weeks old and 15 Palestinians have died, including four children. However, I say again: Peace is still possible," he said.

Meanwhile, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, accused the world body of distorting its reports and data, which he said "does not reflect reality on the ground".

Seeking an advisory opinion of the ICJ cannot and should not be a cause of punitive measures. For anybody. Anytime. https://t.co/jhlB9CrwV2

— Denmark in UN NY🇩🇰 (@Denmark_UN) January 17, 2023

On Monday, more than 100 countries called on Israel to drop the steps taken against the Palestinian Authority, prompting an investigation into the country at the United Nations.

"Despite the position of each country in that resolution, we reject punitive measures in response to a request for advisory opinion by the International Court, and more broadly in response to the General Assembly's resolution, and call for an immediate reversal", the statements of the countries said in a statement.

The signatories include representatives of Arab countries, members of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation and 37 other countries, such as Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa.

It is known, late last month the 193-member General Assembly approved a resolution, asking the UN Supreme Court to hear disputes between countries taking into account the conflict, including Israel's "closing" and "residential status."

Following the vote, Israel's new hardline government imposed a series of sanctions on the Palestinian Authority and rejected profits for certain Palestinian officials, among other measures.

Erdan said Wednesday's resolution was " meaningless", while Mansour said the move was in his country's "democracy right".