UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari said on Wednesday that although the future of the peace process in the Middle East is hopeful, it still faces immense challenges.

Gambari, who recently returned from a visit with the Secretary- General to Iraq, Lebanon, Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territory, briefed the Council on the security situation in the Middle East.

"I return from the region hopeful about the future, but with a renewed appreciation for the immense challenges it faces," he said.

Gambari noted the challenges include the extent to which the barrier, checkpoints and Israeli settlements dominated the West Bank landscape, the dire economic and social situation of many people in Gaza and the West Bank, the weakness of the rule of the law in the areas under Palestinian control, the genuine insecurity and fear that Israelis faced on a daily basis, and the border between Israel and Lebanon, always tense, recently volatile, where the Lebanese Government had yet to assert its full control.

Laying out the six aspects of this month's Agreement on Movement and Access between the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority, he said that, for the first time in their history, Palestinians had assumed control of part of their border, at the Rafah crossing.

Its full implementation was a vital first step towards Palestinian economic recovery, which also required strengthened Palestinian institutions and economic management, Gambari noted.

As to Lebanon, he said the country was at a critical stage in its history, and faced a number of important challenges, which should be met through a process led by the Lebanese and supported by the United Nations and the international community, as necessary.

Source: Xinhua