UN Chief Guterres vows to keep pushing for two-state solution

Avoiding a return to past violence in Gaza, he stressed, would not be enough.

“There will be no peace in the Middle East without the self-determination of the Palestinian people. For me, it is absolutely essential,” he said in a virtual briefing with the 2025 UN Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship.

Guterres noted that the peak of the crisis in Gaza revealed a level of civilian death and destruction that went against all moral principles.

He criticised the current fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that took effect in October, describing it as “lesser fire” instead.

“They shoot a little bit less, but people are still dying.”

Strikes by the Israeli military have persisted despite the ceasefire, with at least 360 Palestinians killed since the truce began.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on December 29th to discuss the next steps of the peace agreement.

These include future phases of the plan and the proposed International Stabilisation Force (ISF).

The Secretary-General added that the current structure of the UN Security Council left it unable to take fair, objective or effective measures on crises such as Gaza and Ukraine due to the political interests of its permanent members.

He said it remained unclear if the Security Council could be firm in forcing Israel to move towards a two-state solution.

“I don’t know if the Security Council will be able to do it or not, but I can tell you that I will not shut up if it is not moving in the direction that I consider is in line with international law and with the values of the UN Charter.”

He reiterated the need for structural reforms, pointing to a proposal by France and Britain for permanent members to voluntarily refrain from using the veto in cases of genocide or crimes against humanity.