The UN envoy for Middle East peace, Tor Wennesland, expressed grave concern over increasing violence by Israeli settlers, saying the "brutal" sequence of events in the town of Huwwara near Nablus in the northern West Bank was terrifying.
Wennesland's remarks came during a briefing at an open session of the UN Security Council on Wednesday to discuss the situation in the Middle East.
The UN envoy called on the Israeli occupation government to stop settlement activities immediately, stressing that the settlements have no legal legitimacy and constitute a violation of international law.
Wennesland said settlement and demolitions continued in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.
Increasing violence
The UN envoy stressed that the daily violence has increased significantly since the beginning of this year, noting that the Israeli occupation forces killed 82 Palestinians, including 17 children.
He said Israel should investigate deaths resulting from the use of lethal force and hold those responsible to account, calling on Israeli forces not to use lethal force "except when unavoidable to protect life."
He called on the parties to the conflict to refrain from unilateral steps that lead to an escalation of tension.
The UN envoy for peace in the Middle East had called – in previous statements to the Israeli website "Walla" – the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to take – what he called – "strategic decisions in order for the month of Ramadan to pass without escalation."
In his remarks, Wennesland stressed that ensuring calm and peace in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is key to maintaining calm in Gaza, noting that the Israeli government does not pay enough attention to settler violence.