The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, condemned Palestinian violence and incitement, as well as efforts to construct cross-border attack tunnels in Gaza, in a briefing to the United Nation’s Security Council on Monday.

In reference to the cross-border tunnel demolished by the IDF on October 30, Mladenov noted that Islamic Jihad had said its aim in constructing the tunnel was to kidnap Israeli soldiers and that it had also stated that it will continue to pursue this goal.

“I call on the international community to join the UN in condemning the continued construction of tunnels and such reckless statements,” Mladenov said. “At a time when Palestinians in Gaza – who have lived with closures for a decade, who have survived three conflicts, and have had to struggle to merely exist – are seeing hope for the future, such actions and statements risk a dangerous escalation that could destroy the prospects for intra-Palestinian reconciliation.”

Mladenov also noted that two Israelis were injured in a ramming attack in the West Bank on November 17 and said that ”violence and incitement remain one of the hallmarks of the conflict and need to be addressed in order to rebuild trust between both sides.”

The UN envoy welcomed the restoration of full security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, announced November 8, saying that “coordination is critical to the security of Israelis and Palestinians alike.”

Mladenov condemned Israel for continued settlement construction in Judea and Samaria, noting new building permits for several hundred housing units in east Jerusalem and the allocation of funds to build bypass roads for Jewish communities.

“The UN considers all settlement activities illegal under international law. They constitute a substantial obstacle to peace and should cease,” he said.