New York, May 24 -- The ceasefire in Gaza was supposed to be a turning point. Instead, it's fraying, and a senior UN envoy told the Security Council that if the international community doesn't move faster on its own transition plan, the strip risks settling into a permanent state of devastation.
Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN's Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, didn't mince words. The situation across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, he said, was becoming "increasingly precarious." The early optimism that followed the ceasefire has given way to daily violence and a deepening humanitarian crisis.
"The people of Gaza cannot take more war," he told the Council. "This scenario must be avoided at all costs."At the heart...