UN chief says two-state solution cannot be abandoned
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RAMALLAH: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remained the only viable option as he made his first visit to the West Bank since taking office.
Guterres spoke after meeting Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah in Ramallah following talks with Israeli leaders the previous day.
“I want to express very strongly the total commitment of the United Nations but my personal total commitment to do everything for a two-state solution to materialise,” he said.
“I have said several times there is no Plan B to a two-state solution.” A two-state solution to the conflict has been the basis of international diplomacy since at least the early 1990s, but it has recently come under threat.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads what is seen as the most right-wing government in his country’s history, and has signalled he has no intention of evacuating settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli settlements are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
Prominent members of Netanyahu’s government advocate annexing most of the West Bank, which would make an independent Palestinian state impossible.
US President Donald Trump has said he wants to reach the “ultimate deal”, but he himself has cast doubt on the two-state solution, saying he could support a single state if this meant peace. Such statements deeply concern Palestinian leaders.
Guterres spoke again on Tuesday of Israeli settlements as an obstacle to peace, while also noting that they are “illegal under international law”.
On Monday after meeting Netanyahu, he criticised settlements but also said Palestinians must condemn “terrorism”.
He said on Tuesday that “it is important to create conditions for leaders of all sides to appeal for calm, to avoid forms of incitement, for violence to settle down”.
Israeli leaders say Palestinian “incitement” against the Jewish state is a key reason why peace efforts have not advanced.
Peace efforts have been at a standstill since a US-led initiative collapsed in 2014.
Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2017
