UNITED NATIONS, Feb 5: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday that Israeli settlements and delays in Palestinian reconciliation were major obstacles to overcome and urged the swift resumption of negotiations toward a two-state solution in the Middle East conflict.

“The status quo is unsustainable, and unacceptable,” Ban told the General Assembly’s Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, as it opened its 2013 session.

He said that both parties must live up to their commitment to a negotiated two-state solution consistent with Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and resolve all core issues, namely territory, security, Jerusalem, refugees, settlements and water.

“We cannot afford a year without tangible results,” he said. Among recent events that further underlined the need to act, he noted the November 2012 General Assembly vote according Palestine the status of non-member observer state at the UN.

“This moment resonated deeply within the United Nations and underscored the urgency for achieving a two-state solution,” he said, affirming, “There is no substitute for negotiations to this end.”

Recalling the Israeli elections held on Jan 22, Mr Ban said: “We look forward to engaging the next Israeli government in the common pursuit of peace. This is no time to be idle.”

At the same time, he said he was “dismayed by the dramatic increase” in Israeli settlement activity, calling it illegal and a major obstacle to a two-state solution.

Relieved by a recent Israeli decision to transfer tax and customs revenues to the Palestinian Authority, he urged timely and predictable transfers and increased donor support.