INTERNATIONAL
UN Chief 'determined' to strongly oppose Israeli moves undermining two state solution
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press conference. File pic by REUTERS/Pierre Albouy/Pool
HAMILTON: United Nation Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday said he was "determined" in his opposition to Israeli actions undermining a two-state solution, stressing the need for a full ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and renewed momentum toward Palestinian statehood, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.
Speaking during his last traditional start-of-the-year news conference at the UN Headquarters in New York City, Guterres quoted French statesman Jean Monnet, saying: "I'm not optimistic, I'm not pessimistic, I'm determined," regarding a two-state solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict.
"I'm determined to oppose in a very strong way, all the efforts that Israel is doing to undermine the two-state solution, namely through -- in the West Bank -- the construction of settlements, demolitions, evictions and the violence of the settlers," he said.
"And we believe that this must stop," Guterres said.
Turning to Gaza, the UN chief emphasised the need for a new governance framework in the enclave.
"We believe that conditions must be created to make sure that Gaza will now have its new governance model and that governance model progressively is linked to the Palestinian Authority and that Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, will be the future state of Palestine," he said.
Addressing criticism that the Board of Peace, established earlier this month, had not sufficiently mentioned Gaza, Guterres stressed the urgency of implementing the ceasefire resolution in full.
The creation of the board coincided with the launch of phase two of a ceasefire agreement which halted Israel's war on Gaza that has killed more than 71,000 people and injured over 171,000 others since October 2023.
"We must have a ceasefire in Gaza and we must move with the second stage fully, which means full withdrawal of Israeli forces, decommissioning of armed groups and also to pave the way to the two-state solution to finally become a reality," he said.
-- BERNAMA
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Speaking during his last traditional start-of-the-year news conference at the UN Headquarters in New York City, Guterres quoted French statesman Jean Monnet, saying: "I'm not optimistic, I'm not pessimistic, I'm determined," regarding a two-state solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict.
"I'm determined to oppose in a very strong way, all the efforts that Israel is doing to undermine the two-state solution, namely through -- in the West Bank -- the construction of settlements, demolitions, evictions and the violence of the settlers," he said.
"And we believe that this must stop," Guterres said.
Turning to Gaza, the UN chief emphasised the need for a new governance framework in the enclave.
"We believe that conditions must be created to make sure that Gaza will now have its new governance model and that governance model progressively is linked to the Palestinian Authority and that Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, will be the future state of Palestine," he said.
Addressing criticism that the Board of Peace, established earlier this month, had not sufficiently mentioned Gaza, Guterres stressed the urgency of implementing the ceasefire resolution in full.
The creation of the board coincided with the launch of phase two of a ceasefire agreement which halted Israel's war on Gaza that has killed more than 71,000 people and injured over 171,000 others since October 2023.
"We must have a ceasefire in Gaza and we must move with the second stage fully, which means full withdrawal of Israeli forces, decommissioning of armed groups and also to pave the way to the two-state solution to finally become a reality," he said.
-- BERNAMA
Dapatkan berita terkini di sini