UNITED NATIONS, April 26: Deteriorating security situation in the Israeli-occupied territories is undermining diplomatic efforts to jumpstart the Middle-East peace process, a top UN official told a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday.

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe urged the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to do their utmost to prevent the violence from escalating, saying that the situation in the region was fragile, capable of either moving forward or becoming caught in a spiral of tit-for-tat violence.

“Actions and inactions on the ground remain real obstacles to progress, and have the potential to lead to paralysis or even a rapid deterioration,” Mr Pascoe said in his statement to the Council debate, which saw the participation of over a dozen speakers. “The renewed violence of the past few days shows how precarious the situation is.”

Between March 14 and April 17, at least 43 Palestinians have been killed, 22 as a result of intra-community fighting and 21 by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). More than 200 other Palestinians and 13 Israelis have been injured, while 54 rockets and mortars were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Mr Pascoe called on the Palestinian Authority to take steps to counter the rocket fire and the smuggling of weapons, as well as to implement the internal security plan to restore law and order within Gaza.

He added that the UN remains deeply concerned about the fate of the kidnapped British journalist Alan Johnston and reiterated Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s recent call for his immediate release. Mr Johnston, who works for BBC, was abducted on March 12 near his office as he was returning from the Ere crossing between Gaza and Israel.

Releasing Corporal Gilad Shalit of Israel, who was kidnapped by Palestinian militants last June and taken into Gaza, “is also crucial to forward movement” in the peace process.

Mr Pascoe urged Israel to play its part to calm the situation, especially with its settler community in the West Bank. He noted widespread recent reports that groups of settlers had attacked Palestinian children and a mentally disabled man.