The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov urged the Palestinian Authority to resume cooperation with Israel, speaking in a special briefing on the Middle East in the UN Security Council Monday.

These concerns came amid concerns over the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Palestinian-controlled territories.

“As we remain focused on urgent health concerns, the viability of the Palestinian Authority (PA) is being severely undermined by an economic and fiscal crisis that has been exacerbated by the Palestinian decision to end civilian and security coordination with Israel,” the UN envoy said.

The Palestinian leadership stopped accepting tax revenue in protest of Israel’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank, continuing its refusal to cooperate even after Israel shelved these plans to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Read more at i24NEWS.