UNITED NATIONS – An Israeli human rights group is urging the U.N. Security Council to take decisive action now to end the country's occupation of Palestinian territory.
Hagai El-Ad, executive director of B'Tselem, told an informal council meeting Friday on "Illegal Israeli Settlements: Obstacles to Peace and the Two-State Solution" that Israel has controlled Palestinian lives in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem for the past 49 years "and counting."
With the 50th anniversary approaching next year, he said, "the rights of Palestinians must be realized, the occupation must end, the U.B. Security Council must act, and the time is now."
Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon accused B'Tselem of joining "Palestinian attempts to wage diplomatic terror against Israel at the U.N."
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