A top UN official on Tuesday called for strong support for the Middle East peace agenda as he said the coming months present a unique opportunity to achieve the much-anticipated two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians.

"On the Middle East peace process, we are nearing a defining moment," UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, told the UN Security Council about the current situation in the Middle East.

Direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, which resumed in August last year thanks to efforts by US Secretary of State John Kerry, have opened "a credible political horizon for achieving the two-state solution," he said.

Feltman urged both sides to prepare for peace instead of airing further grievances, saying "now is the time for domestic constituencies to put their agenda behind the peace agenda."

The two-state solution, widely backed by the international community, means that a secure Israel to live in peace with an independent State of Palestine.

Kerry, who pushed for the resumption of the peace talks after a three-year hiatus, has operated shuttle diplomacy in recent months in order to push forward the talks amid fears that they would fall apart over Israel's continuing settlement construction and its insistence on stern security demands.

According to reports, the US framework document outlines the future peace talks on the issues of the pre-1967 borders and land, relates to Israel as a Jewish state and calls for compensating Palestinian refugees that ran away from their homes amid the 1948 war.

More and more businesses and organizations in Europe have started executing bans against Israeli businesses in protest over Israel's construction in its West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements, on territories it annexed in the 1967 Mideast War.

Feltman also called on regional stakeholders to continue to support the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, underlining the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative.

"Any genuine intention to pursue peace requires strong leadership," Feltman said. He said that for Palestinians, a negotiated peace settlement "holds the promise of becoming a fully recognized member state," while for Israel, "the security and recognition it deserves in the region and beyond."

The Palestinians seek an independent state on the territories Israel occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem as the capital of the future state. They also want a fair solution to the issue of the refugees, who fled their homes during the Palestinian- Israeli war in 1948, and the Jewish settlements dotting the Palestinian West Bank.

In the West Bank, situation on the ground remains "fragile," Feltman said, citing increased clashes in and around Palestinian refugee camps, and reports of Israeli forces foiling alleged terrorist attacks originating from the area.

Clashes were also reported by settlers on Palestinian property, with the UN registering increased funding and incentives by the Israeli government for existing settlements, including in occupied East Jerusalem.

The United Nations is "deeply concerned by the ongoing demolition of Palestinian residential and livelihood structures in Area C, particularly in the Jordan Valley and East Jerusalem," Feltman said, where 175 Palestinians have been displaced in this reporting period.

Turning to the Gaza Strip, Feltman said that "only the reunification of Gaza and the West Bank under the legitimate Palestinian Authority based on the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization commitments) can pave the way to a durable solution for Gaza as part of political progress towards peace."

"Gaza too must reap the peace dividends of a negotiated two- state solution," he said.

In his briefing, he detailed "troubling signs" that a ceasefire signed in November 2012 is eroding, with an increase in hostilities and barriers to entry for people and goods.

"We are deeply concerned about this rise in violence and call on all parties to act in accordance with international law," Feltman said.