The UN's recently appointed Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov has sounded a strong warning about the absence of any political process. In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Mladenov spoke of the need for the new Israeli government to make a move for peace, calling the current status quo “ultimately untenable.” The peace envoy insisted that such a process must include a freeze of settlement activities, saying, “The absence of a political process today is dangerous for all … particularly given the turmoil in the region.”

Mladenov said that the goal of the UN and the international community is the lifting of the closure on Gaza, generally referred to as a blockade. However, “Before that becomes possible, we will work with the [Palestinian Authority] and the Israeli government to facilitate the entry of much-needed construction materials,” he said.

The UN official called for bridging the division between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in the framework of legitimate institutions. “Palestine is one, and I will work with determination to support President [Mahmoud] Abbas and Prime Minister [Rami] Hamdallah in their efforts toward achieving reconciliation.”

On some of the issues that are holding up reconciliation, the UN official called for the speedy “reintegration of civil service employees and the return of PA forces to the crossings [as] critical parts of such a bottom-up approach to reconciliation.”