United Nations, October 24 (RHC)-- At the United Nations, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said the current unrest would not be happening if Palestinians had their freedom.

Speaking with reporters, the UN deputy secretary-general said: "This crisis would not have erupted, I suggest, if the Palestinian people had a perspective of hope towards a viable Palestinian state, if they had an economy that provides jobs and opportunities, if they had more control over their security and the legal and administrative processes that define their daily existence –- in short, if the Palestinians did not still live under a stifling and humiliating occupation that has lasted almost half a century."