There has been little progress made toward achieving the goals of the Annapolis Middle East peace conference and the situation on the ground remains grim for Palestinians ten months after an agreed framework for a two-state solution, a top United Nations official said Thursday. Robert Serry, special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, delivered the somber assessment in a briefing before the U.N. Security Council. Settler expansion and violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, a proliferation of checkpoints, as well as the forced closure of Palestinian institutions are the primary causes for the deadlock, Serry said. More than 600 checkpoints are spread across the West Bank and these “obstacles to movement” are severely impacting the everyday life of Palestinians. “In an illustration of the problems that persist at checkpoints, a baby was stillborn at a checkpoint on September 4th. Her mother had been kept waiting for almost two hours while trying to reach a hospital in Nablus,” Serry said. There is also little sign of a slowdown in settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem with construction currently underway for approximately 120 settlements on both sides of the barrier. In addition, Serry noted that armed Israeli settlers from Yitzhar attacked a Palestinian village on September 13th, vandalizing property and agricultural land. “The Secretary General has repeatedly stated that all settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, is contrary to the fourth Geneva Convention and Israel's commitments under the Road Map and the Annapolis process,” Serry said. In addition, Palestinian civilian institutions in East Jerusalem remain closed, contrary to the peace plan known as the Road Map, and these closures are hindering Palestinian economic development, Serry told the council. “The World Bank and IMF (International Monetary Fund) report a stagnant economic climate as a result of continued movement and access restrictions,” he said.
