UK ‘opposes unilateral acts threatening Mid-East peace’

The UK opposes all unilateral actions that will make IsraeliPalestinian peace “harder to achieve,” the UK’s political coordinator has told the UN.

Fergus Eckerlsey told the Security Council that 2022 had seen “rates of settler violence, and the emergence of new Palestinian militant groups,” and that 2023 had “unfortunately also started with violence and instability”.

More than 170 Palestinians and 31 Israelis were killed in 2022, making it the most violent year since 2015.

Eckersley repeated the UK support for a two-state solution, which is “the only way to end the conflict, preserve Israel’s Jewish and democratic identity and realise Palestinian national aspirations”.

He added: “The UK opposes all unilateral actions that will make peace harder to achieve, whether taken by the Palestinian or Israeli side, including the government of

Israel’s measures against the Palestinian Authority,” referring to punitive measures by Israel such as withholding £32 million in tax revenue from the Palestinian Authority.

He said the UK was also calling upon all parties to “continue to uphold the historic status quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites” such as the Temple Mount/ Haram alSharif, a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Eckersley highlighted the desecration of 30 Christian graves in a Protestant cemetery on Mount Zion by two Israeli teenagers, saying it “speaks to the dangers of increasing division along ethnic and religious lines”.

He added: “We are grateful to all sides for their swift con- demnation of these shocking acts. As a defender of freedom of religion or belief for all, the UK urges respect for all burial and holy sites, which must be treated with dignity.”

Lastly, Eckersley said Israel must “exercise maximum restraint in the use of live fire when protecting its legitimate security interest. In the first three weeks of this year, 14