Head of the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has expressed concerns over Israel’s dismantlement of the Karni crossing in northeastern Gaza Strip.

Valerie Amos said in a press conference at the UN Security Council on Wednesday that the dismantlement of the Karni crossing means that commercial activity into Gaza will decline and it will have the impact of “de-developing Gaza rather than re-developing it.”

The senior UN official was referring to the continued Israeli blockade of Gaza and its devastating impact on the economic development there.

Israel has full control over the airspace, territorial waters and border crossings of the impoverished Gaza Strip.

Amos also commented on the impact of continued Israeli settlement activities on Palestinian residents in terms of their “access to basic services, including schools and health centers” in the occupied West Bank.

About 500,000 Israelis live in more than 100 illegal settlements in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.

The UN official also pointed to the “increase in the levels of settler violence” over the past few months in the West Bank.

Israel has repeatedly been censured by the international community for its illegal settlement activities on the occupied Palestinian land.

(Press TV)