UN envoy warns about fragile Gaza ceasefire, Zionist settlements

He expressed concern by the attempt to exploit the “sensitive status” of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and to use it to justify a “broader armed conflict,” urging the “immediate cease” of Israel’s advancement of all illegal settlement activity.

His remarks were made during his monthly briefing via video conference to the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian cause.

Wennesland said the UN is working closely with all concerned parties and partners, including Egypt, to solidify a ceasefire, allow the entry of urgent humanitarian assistance and stabilize the situation in the Gaza Strip.

He stressed that he remains deeply troubled by continued Zionist settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, including East Al-Quds.

He once again underscored that Zionist settlements constitute a “flagrant violation of UN resolutions and international law.”

In occupied East Al-Quds, 15 Palestinian households still face the imminent threat of eviction by the Israeli authorities from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, he stressed.