Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces in the West Bank, late January 2023. Photo: AP

The closed-door meeting was called by the UAE, the Arab group's representative on the Security Council, after hundreds of Israeli settlers rampaged through Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank on Sunday night, burning homes and cars. Speaking to the press after the meeting, Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour called on the UN Security Council to take action to protect Palestinian civilians.

The situation has deteriorated day by day although the leaders of Israel and the Palestinians signed a series of agreements last weekend in Jordan, including an agreement to establish a joint security committee to study possible changes in the security cooperation mechanism.

The parties also agreed to hold another meeting, sponsored by Egypt, just before the holy month of Ramadan, to accelerate security cooperation progress. However, one of the biggest problems remains as Israel has consistently refused to abandon West Bank annexation plan.

The Security Council on February 20 adopted a presidential statement expressing its deep concern and dismay over Israel’s recent announcement of further construction and expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Although it failed to come to a binding resolution, the statement reiterated that continued Israeli settlement activities are dangerously imperiling the viability of a two-State solution.