NEW YORK, December 20, 2008 (WAFA)- UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry stressed, Friday, the need to step up efforts by both sides to attain a comprehensive settlement to their decades-old conflict during the coming year.

“We must set the stage for a decisive push for peace in 2009,” Serry told an open debate of the Security Council, in which some 35 speakers participated.

“We must protect, preserve, and where possible advance, the three tracks of the Annapolis process,” he stated, referring to negotiations, institution-building and implementation of the commitments of the parties under the Roadmap peace plan.

At their meeting in November 2007 in the United States city of Annapolis, Palestinians and Israeli leaders agreed to immediately launch good-faith negotiations to try to conclude a peace treaty by the end of 2008 that resolves all outstanding issues.

While UN officials have called on the parties to intensify their negotiations based on the Two-State Solution.

At its meeting on Monday in New York, the Quartet, comprising the UN, European Union, Russia and the US, affirmed the need to reinforce the peace process in the Middle East and address the challenges on the ground.

This was followed by the Council’s adoption, on Tuesday, of a resolution calling on both parties to fulfill their Road Map obligations, and to refrain from any steps that could undermine confidence or prejudice the outcome of negotiations.

“An important platform for peace has been established in 2008, due to the efforts of the parties and the support of the international community,” noted Mr. Serry. “The challenge now is to build on this platform and turn the promise of peace into a reality... The diplomatic process and improvements on the ground must reinforce each other and move swiftly forward.”

Mr. Serry noted that, because of the closure on the Gaza Strip, half of Gaza City’s population receives water only once a week for a few hours. In addition, UN projects in Gaza, worth over $150 million, remain suspended due to a lack of materials.

“A priority must be to ensure calm in and around Gaza and urgently improve humanitarian conditions,” he stressed.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) had reported that, due to irregular border access and a lack of wheat flour, it has been forced to suspend its food distribution activities as of today until further notice.

“All crossings for goods into the Strip are closed and no humanitarian supplies, fuel and other needed commodities are being allowed to enter,” the Agency said in a news release.