NNA - A lasting end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only come through a two-State solution, the United Nations chief told the Security Council today, following the reported rejection of such a formula by Israel’s leaders amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“Any refusal to accept the two-State solution by any party must be firmly rejected,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in his briefing to the 15-nation organ, stressing that Israeli leaders’ recent, clear and repeated rejection of a two-State solution is unacceptable.
The denial of the right to Statehood would indefinitely prolong the conflict, and a one-State solution — huge Palestinian populations inside that State without any real sense of freedom, rights and dignity — would be inconceivable. The only way to address the legitimate aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians is through the two-State formula, he underscored.
Riyad Al-Maliki, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine, said that Israeli leaders “do not see our people as an empirical and political reality to coexist with, but as a demographic threat to get rid of through death, displacement or subjugation”.
There are only two paths ahead, he stressed — one that starts with Palestinian freedom and leads to shared peace and security in the region, or one that continues denying this freedom and dooms the region to endless conflict. “Israel should no longer entertain the illusion that there is somehow a third path whereby it can choose continued occupation and colonialism and apartheid and somehow still achieve regional peace and security,” he emphasized.
Israel’s representative, meanwhile, urged the Council to shift its focus towards addressing the real, significant security threats in the Middle East, which is suffering from “cancer” — the continuous threat posed by Hamas, which exploits international aid to turn Gaza into “a war machine”, as well as the “genocidal goals of annihilating Israel” pursued by Hamas during the 7 October events where over 1,200 Israelis were killed.
Describing Council members’ calls for a ceasefire as “shocking”, he warned that any such measure would leave Hamas in power, allowing them to regroup and rearm while “Israelis will face another attempted Holocaust”.
Today’s meeting featured more than 60 speakers, including many ministers, who discussed the need for a humanitarian ceasefire, the urgency with which to scale up aid, the importance of pursuing a two-State solution and the imperative to avoid further regional escalation.
Stéphane Séjourné, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Council President for January, spoke in his national capacity to point out that the Council has two possible options. The first is division, argument and fanning the flames — the choice of those who invade their neighbour. His choice, however, would be the second option — to stand alongside both Israelis and Palestinians, for peace and the good of both, which entails difficult things for both sides.
To Israel, he said that there must be a Palestinian State. To Palestinians, he said that there could be no ambiguity about Israel’s right to live in peace and security and to exercise its right to self-defence in the face of terrorism. The path ahead will be difficult for all, he said, calling for a relaunched peace process through the two-State formula. It is not for Israel to decide for Palestinians how they will be governed tomorrow, nor the scope of their sovereignty, he added.
Ahmed Attaf, Minister for Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad of Algeria, warned that Israel is trying to build a greater presence on the ruins of the Palestinian national project and called for the convening of an international peace conference to achieve a definitive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict based on a two-State formula. After everything that has happened in Gaza, the international community cannot simply manage the ramifications of this war without any regard for its root causes. He also said that it is unacceptable for the Middle East’s peace and security to be held hostage by Israel’s occupation.
Sergey V. Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, said that the Council has not mounted an appropriate response to the situation due to the position of the United States. He went on to call for a world order based not on Anglo-Saxon rules, but on international law with the United Nations playing a central role. Western countries want to focus on the day after the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as if the escalation in Gaza had already ceased, he pointed out, adding that the cunning logic of Western delegations is obvious, as they have blocked all Council efforts to call for an acutely necessary ceasefire.
For her part, Uzra Zeya, Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights of the United States, called on Israeli leaders to take feasible precautions to minimize civilian harm in line with international law. She also emphasized Hamas’ role in unleashing the conflict and condemned attacks in the wider region by Iran and its proxies. Emphasizing that the only guarantor of peace is a two-State solution — with Israel’s security guaranteed — she called for a strong Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza, even if this was “difficult to imagine”.
David Moinina Sengeh, Chief Minister of Sierra Leone, highlighting the Council’s efforts so far — including the adoption of resolutions calling on the parties to observe international law – said that a full, comprehensive ceasefire is “the minimum required” for any humanitarian operation to be successful in the Gaza Strip. Voicing alarm over rising tensions across the region, he urged that all diplomatic and political possibilities for finding a solution based on the two-State formula be explored.--UN
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