Israeli action in Gaza concerns U.N.

GENEVA, Switzerland, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- People in the Palestinian territories don't have their most basic needs met because of an Israeli blockade, a U.N. human rights official said.

Raquel Rolnik, a U.N. special envoy on the right to adequate housing, said following a two-week visit to the region that a blockade on Gaza Strip was restricting residents' ability to survive.

"Israel's spatial strategy has been heavily shaped by security concerns, given the belligerent, conflictive nature of Israel-Palestine relations, with waves of violence and terror," she said in a statement. "But certainly the non-democratic and discriminatory elements in Israeli spatial planning and urban development strategies appear to contribute to deepening of the conflict, instead of promoting peace."

The rights envoy said Palestinians living inside Israel or those living under military occupation are disadvantaged by Israeli security concerns in the region.

"The Israeli authorities have had an impressive record of providing adequate housing for waves of Jewish immigrants and refugees but today these policies have failed to respond to the needs of minorities and the socially disadvantaged," she said.

Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas announced recently they'd join forces in a unity government. Fatah is in charge of the West Bank while Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization, controls the Gaza Strip.