Summary UN official urged Israelis, Palestinians to heed international calls to return to peace talks
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - A senior U.N. official is warning that the lack of progress on a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict ensures that a new round of violence "is never too far below the surface."
Assistant Secretary-General Jens Toyberg-Frandzen told the U.N. Security Council s monthly Mideast meeting on Monday that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is alarmed at the escalation of tensions in Jerusalem and deeply concerned that violence has spread elsewhere in Israel and the West Bank.
He urged Israelis and Palestinians to heed international calls to return to peace talks.
"Without a genuine commitment from the parties, and an overall improvement in the lives of Palestinians, we should anticipate further deterioration of the security situation and an expansion of the current violence," Toyberg-Frandzen.
