UN chief’s warns of ‘irreversible one-state reality’ on Palestine-Israel

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GENEVA: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday that recent developments in the Middle East could create “an irreversible one-state reality” that would bury the two-state solution of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

“Negative trends on the ground have the potential to create an irreversible one-state reality that is incompatible with realising the legitimate national, historic and democratic aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians,” Guterres told a UN meeting of a committee on Palestinian rights.

The UN chief said the global consensus on settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “could be eroding, making the effective concerted action more difficult to achieve, at a time when it is more important than ever.”

The Middle East peace process was upended when US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, ignoring the internationally-held view that the status of the holy city would be decided in peace negotiations.

The General Assembly adopted a resolution last month rejecting the US decision by a vote of 128 to nine with 35 abstentions.

The United States has also cut back it is funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), prompting Guterres to appeal to countries to step in to fill the gap.

Israel’s ongoing construction of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, violent attacks and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza are dimming prospects for a long-term peace, said the UN chief.

“There is no Plan B,” Guterres told the meeting. “A two-state solution is the only way to achieve the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and secure a sustainable solution to the conflict.”

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is due to address the UN Security Council later this month after US Ambassador Nikki Haley said he lacked the courage needed for a peace deal.

1 COMMENT

  1. @Eddie Dextraze
    Did the Godless Romans occupying this land, enter into any kind of negotiations with the ancestors of Palestinians anytime around 2000, 1900, 1800 years ago? No.
    So how can we expect the children of Godless Romans occupying this land today to enter into any negotiations with the owners of this land i.e. Palestinians today?
    Peace has always returned to this land with the exit of the Godless Romans from this land. It has happened twice before. It is bound to happen again.
    Might is Right was the religion of the Godless Romans. Might is Right is the religion of children of Godless Romans today.
    This is what everyone in the world can see happening today. The children of Godless Romans lack Divinity so cannot see.

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