Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern over Israel’s recent rejection of the two-state solution that would allow the Palestinian people to establish an independent state, declaring the Israeli move “unacceptable.”
Speaking during a UN Security Council on Tuesday on the Gaza war, Guterres warned that Israel’s rejection would prolong the humanitarian crisis in the besieged strip.
Guterres highlighted the “clear and repeated rejection of the two-state solution at the highest levels of the Israeli government,” despite international appeals, including those from traditional allies of Israel.
He emphasized that denying the Palestinian people the right to statehood would indefinitely prolong “a conflict that has become a major threat to global peace and security.”
“The right of the Palestinian people to build their own fully independent state must be recognized by all. And any refusal to accept the two-state solution by any party must be firmly rejected,” Guterres asserted during the Security Council meeting.
The UN Secretary-General underlined the potential consequences of an alternative one-state solution. He expressed concern about the large number of Palestinians residing within a framework lacking “freedom, rights, and dignity.”
Read also: Palestine-Israel: is the two-state solution still possible and feasible?
He deemed such a scenario “inconceivable” and argued that the two-state solution remains the only viable solution “to address the legitimate aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians.”
Guterres reiterated his call for the establishment of a Palestinian state and urged all parties involved to work towards a ceasefire. He strongly condemned the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” emphasizing that nothing could justify such actions.
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan countered Guterres’ call for a ceasefire and labeled it as “shocking.” Erdan argued that a ceasefire would only provide an opportunity for Hamas to regroup and rearm.
Meanwhile, Palestine’s Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki pleaded with the Security Council to intervene and put an end to the conflict in Gaza. “We have two choices, spreading fire or a ceasefire,” Al Malki stressed.
