From the Liveblog of
Monday, August 18, 2014
Gaza needs houses, not rockets — UN envoy
Robert Serry, United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, appeals to the Gaza residents to back the Palestinian unity government, and says the ceasefire talks must yield an end to the blockade, while ensuring Israel’s security demands.
“I call on all in Gaza to rally behind the Government of National Consensus and empower it to take charge and effect the positive, transformative change that Gaza so badly needs,” Serry says in a briefing of the UN Security Council, referring to the Fatah-Hamas unity government.
“Right now, Gaza urgently needs houses, hospitals and schools — not rockets, tunnels and conflict,” adds Serry.
With regard to ongoing ceasefire talks in Cairo, Serry continues: “The basic equation must consist of ending the blockade on Gaza, and addressing Israel’s legitimate security concerns.”
The UN coordinator also calls for the reinstatement of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, arguing that clashes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem following the campaign, which led to the deaths of several Palestinians, are “a bleak warning to all concerned what the future will bring if we do not reverse the current negative trend towards a one-state reality, which is now on the parties’ doorstep.”
