As of October, the United Nations had provided 16,000 jobs in Gaza through its temporary job creation programmes, said Nikolai Mladenov, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process.
Mladenov added that an additional 1,000 jobs are expected in the coming weeks, thanking member states that contributed to the implementation of the Liaison Committee´s projects, and calling on others to participate in "these important initiatives."
This was followed by the Palestine News Network during a session of the UN Security Council on Monday, October 28, 2019 on the situation in the Middle East.
"But despite all these efforts, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains bad," Mladenov said, adding that as of the end of September, about half of essential drugs and one third of medical supplies were missing, and that health care providers were having difficulty treating those injured in weekly demonstrations.
"Addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is a priority, but the essence of the crisis in the Gaza Strip is political," Mladenov said, calling on Palestinian factions to interact with Egyptian efforts to achieve national reconciliation.
According to the UN envoy, the informal liaison committee held a meeting on September 26 in New York, where the United Nations noted the need to provide support to the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority to advance a two-state solution as the only solution to a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
According to Mladenov, members of this committee pointed out that every effort should be made to avoid any further deterioration in the security situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
According to Mladenov, the UNITED Nations has also been informed of the progress made in providing a package of urgent humanitarian and economic assistance in Gaza adopted by the Liaison Committee in September 2018.
"This assistance has had an important impact on more than one sector," he said, noting that "total daily electricity capacity doubled from 5.5 hours in the first half of 2018 to about 12 to 15 hours in the first half of 2019."
Mladenov explained that this has led to increased treatment of water and wastewater, reduced the need for costly fuel to run hospitals, and reduced the costs of businesses and families.
Some 450,000 Gazans have benefited from emergency health care and about 400,000 have benefited from the delivery of drugs and medicines, he said.
On another issue, the UN envoy welcomed the agreement reached last October between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which led to the transfer of about $425 million in revenues to the Authority, calling on both sides to "interact constructively with a view to returning all income transfers in a manner consistent with In full with the Paris Protocol on Economic Relations."
He also welcomed the Decision of the Palestinian Cabinet on October 21st to proceed with amendments to the Personal Status Law, in a way that serves the interests of women.
Mladenov expressed concern over the October 17 decision by a court in Ramallah, stating that he had "ordered the blocking of 50 Arab and Palestinian websites and Facebook pages, which were criticizing the Palestinian Authority and its officials."
He stressed that the right to freedom of expression is a fundamental right, noting that it is "linked to the freedom to receive information and we must safeguard these rights." According to his conversation, which Sawa followed.
"Following criticism from the Association of Journalists and after a petition from the National Foundation for Human Rights and the interpretation of the cybercrime decision, this decision was referred to the Constitutional Court on October 24th," he said.
