SC/11013

Security Council
6969th Meeting (AM)

Grave Turmoil’ Threatens Regional Stability, Warns United Nations Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace Process

With “grave turmoil” on the ground threatening stability across the Middle East, a top United Nations official warned the Security Council today that the coming weeks would be critical on two major diplomatic fronts — negotiations to halt the increasingly bloody crisis in Syria, and ending the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Around 3,400 Palestine refugee children from Syria now continuing their education in UNRWA schools in Lebanon received school uniforms, school bags and clothing vouchers from UNICEF.

“Education is a priority for both UNRWA and the Palestine refugee community and this will remain so, despite the ongoing humanitarian crisis of Palestine refugees from Syria”, said Deputy Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon Mr. Roger Davies. Mr. Davies thanked UNICEF for its continuous and generous support to UNRWA and in light of the new crisis in Syria in particular

Financed entirely by eleven donors, the World Bank-administered Emergency Services Support Program (ESSP) Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) provided key financing for the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) social sector emergency program. This program was successfully implemented, despite the difficult security context, and benefited the entire Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza. At the conclusion of the project, public facilities continued to operate at the same or higher levels than the 2007 baselines.

Challenge

During his visit to Gaza today, the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Finland Dr. Erkki Tuomioja announced an additional EUR 1.5 million to the General Fund of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This funding will support UNRWA’s regular programme to Palestine refugees living in the occupied Palestinian territory, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.

GA/PAL/1269

Committee on the Inalienable Rights
of the Palestinian People
352nd Meeting* (AM)

Status Quo Cannot Be Maintained, Says Saeb Erakat in Briefing

Palestinians were “exerting every possible effort” to ensure the success of current efforts to re-start peace negotiations with Israel, their lead negotiator told the Palestinian Rights Committee today.

GAZA, May 19 (KUNA) -- The Palestinian government in Gaza, headed by Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, confirmed Sunday that it has received assurances from Egypt regarding efforts to find a solution on the closure of Rafah Crossing.

Haniya is following up closely developments around the clock regarding the Rafah Crossing with the Egyptian side, Taher Al-Nono, government's spokesman, said in a statement.

05/19/2013 12:52 GMT

JERUSALEM, May 19, 2013 (AFP) - The land where a West Bank settlement once stood before its evacuation during Israel's 2005 disengagement, is finally to be returned to its Palestinian owners, an Israeli NGO said on Sunday.

Legal rights group Yesh Din said state attorneys told the Supreme Court last week the government would revoke a 1978 military seizure order relating to land belonging to the Palestinian village of Burka in the northern West Bank.

By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours

ASIRA AL-QIBLIYA, Occupied West Bank, May 16 2013 (IPS) - Ibrahim Makhlouf reaches for two wooden planks lying in the hallway and places them expertly in an L-shape along the seams of his front door.

“Open [the door],“ he beckons, knowing that doing so is nearly impossible. “Every night, we put this here,” he explains. “For the settlers.”

16 May 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in separate conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, stressed the need for the parties to create the conditions conducive to resuming meaningful negotiations, his spokesperson said today.