Mideast envoy

UN envoy: Israel and Palestinians further apart from peace

Nickolay Mladenov warned the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that "the rise of violent extremism and terrorism" in the region poses as much a danger to Palestinian aspirations to statehood as to Israel's security.

He said support for a Palestinian state existing alongside Israel in peace and security "is fading away" and threatened by Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory and settlement construction there, violence and security problems and lack of Palestinian unity.