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Warning two-state solution 'slipping away,' UN denounces Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes

4 July 2016 – The United Nations today condemned Israel for demolishing Palestinians' homes in the occupied West Bank in the middle of last night, amid the prospect of the two-state solution to the Middle East conflict already "slipping away."

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has confirmed that the Israeli authorities demolished two homes in Qalandia Refugee Camp in the occupied West Bank.

"Punitive home demolitions are a form of collective punishment which are illegal under international law," said UNRWA Spokesperson Chris Gunness. "They inflict distress and suffering on those who have not committed the action which led to the demolition and they often endanger people and property in the vicinity."

"UNRWA condemns punitive demolitions and reminds Israel, the occupying power, that under international humanitarian law it has an obligation to protect the occupied people and provide services," the spokesperson added.

This incident followed the release of the report last week by the so-call Middle East Quartet – the Russian Federation, the United States, the European Union and the UN – on the major threats to achieving a negotiated peace.

The report provides recommendations to address impediments to the two-state solution: continued violence, terrorist attacks against civilians and incitement to violence; settlement construction and expansion by Israel; and the Palestinian Authority's lack of control in Gaza.

In a commentary sent to the press yestereday, Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, noted that Palestinian frustration after half a century of occupation, dozens of failed peace efforts "cannot be wished away."

It cannot be vanquished by aggressive security measures, continued illegal settlement activities in the occupied West Bank, arrests or punitive home demolitions, he added.

"Palestinians and Israelis have, understandably, reached a point where many on both sides have lost faith in the other's commitment to a future of two states living side-by-side in peace, security and mutual recognition," he continued.

"At the end of the day, the sad reality for peoples on both sides of the conflict is that the things which they hold most dear - statehood [for Palestinians] and security [for Israelis] - are slipping further away," he wrote.