Al-Aqsa Mosque dispute dangerously close to becoming religious conflict, warns UN envoy

UN envoy emphasises that settlement activity in occupied territory of Palestine is illegal under international law

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations envoy on Middle East peace Nickolay Mladenov has warned that developments over the past 11 days in and around the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, in East Jerusalem, have demonstrated the grave risk that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is rapidly descending into a religious conflict that could ultimately engulf the rest of the region.

Recognising that Israelis and Palestinians had not yet succumbed to the torrent of violent upheaval that has flooded the region in recent years, UN special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told an open debate in the UN Security Council that for nearly a century, despite a myriad of peace efforts, this conflict has evaded solution.

His briefing to the 15-nation Council highlighted the latest clashes and rising tensions over the past two weeks in the Old City in Jerusalem resulting in violence and deaths on both sides.



These developments demonstrated the grave risk of violence escalating to dangerous levels ultimately becoming a religious conflict that could drag both sides into a vortex of violence with the rest of the region, Mladenov said, stressing the need for all parties to show restraint and promptly end the crisis.

Noting that the final status issue concerning Jerusalem needs to be negotiated and decided by the two sides, he urged Israel to fulfill that responsibility by upholding its obligations under international human rights law and humanitarian law. He also urged Palestinian leaders to avoid provocative statements that could further aggravate an already tense environment.



The latest incidents have taken place against the backdrop of other developments, the envoy stressed.

Throughout the month, Israel continued to advance its plans to construct settlements in East Jerusalem. “I must once again emphasise that settlement activity in occupied territory is illegal under international law, and undermines the chances for the establishment of a viable, contiguous, sovereign Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution,” he warned.

Turning to the situation in Gaza, he reiterated that the political standoff between two Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas has taken the two million people living in the tiny enclave as hostage. The punishing measures taken against Hamas, including electricity cuts, have worsened the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Whatever the political differences between the Palestinian factions, it is not the people of Gaza who should pay the price, Mladenov underscored, calling on Palestinian leaders to address the destructive consequences of the split.

Concluding his speech he said, recent events are a reminder of how easy it could be to reach such a dangerous level of conflict escalation. He hoped that Israel's agreement with Jordan and positive engagement with religious authorities would result in actions that would circumvent violence in the future.

“We must not lose focus on the need to restore a political perspective, on the need to bring Palestinians and Israelis back into an environment that is conducive to negotiations on a final status arrangement and avoids turning the national Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a religious one,” Mladenov said.