A/HRC/28/45 and July 2014, and the subsequent security operations in the West Bank, followed by rocket fire and the escalation in Gaza, inflamed tensions and entrenched the divisions and suspicion that have characterized the situation for decades. Accordingly, the “criticality of immediately diffusing the escalating tensions in East Jerusalem without delay” was underscored to the Security Council in its session on the situation in East Jerusalem on 29 October 2014.117 The same must be said of the situation in Gaza and the rest of the West Bank, which remains fragile and volatile. For the diffusion of tension to be lasting in any kind of meaningful way, all sides need to address the human rights dimensions of the conflict. 68. Yet another year of bloodshed and recurrent violations and abuses underlines that there needs to be a break from the past: an end to the violations of international law that foment tension and drive violence; and the prevention of future violations, including through accountability and a reckoning with the past. As the present report and the numerous previous United Nations reports on the Occupied Palestinian Territory make clear, there are several key areas on which that change could focus. 69. The settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, violate international law and run counter to the two-State solution. They are at the centre of many other human rights violations in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and a source of constant friction, demonstrations, incidents involving the excessive use of force by Israeli security forces, settler violence and widespread discriminatory policies affecting Palestinians’ enjoyment of their human rights. On the Palestinian side, attacks on Israelis only heighten tension and provide material for a justification of hard-line measures that reinforce the cycle of violence. 70. The settlements also undermine Palestinian territorial integrity, contrary to international law, and Palestinians’ right to self-determination.118 So does the ongoing blockade, which is a continuing collective penalty against the population in Gaza; it weakens links between Gaza and the West Bank, and must be ended. Intra-Palestinian fighting and disunity, which lead to violations and abuses by the Palestinian Authority and armed groups against political opponents, exacerbate that fragmentation. 71. Impunity for violations and abuses by all sides reinforces those problems. After three escalations of violence in six years in Gaza, and recurring violations and violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, a line needs to be drawn and accountability ensured. The failure to ensure accountability runs counter to the legal obligations of the duty bearers and completely undercuts the credibility of each side in the eyes of the other, driving resentment and creating an environment in which perpetrators on all sides are able to get away with violations, fuelling further abuses. 72. As the Secretary-General has said, “the cycle of build-and-destroy must end”.119 That applies as much to people’s hopes of dignity, rights and peace as it does to Gaza reconstruction. It is clear that an enduring solution to the conflict must embrace human rights. Respect for human rights leads to the mutual respect, dialogue and understanding upon which the foundations of peace are laid. Without addressing the violations and abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law that are both a cause and consequence of the conflict and violence, a sustainable political solution will be impossible to reach. Those two dimensions — political and human rights — are inextricably linked. After yet another escalation in 117 118 119 www.un.org/wcm/content/site/undpa/main/about/speeches/pid/25503. A/ES-10/273 and Corr.1. S/PV.7281, p. 3. 19