UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly advocated a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. “The refusal to accept a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians and the denial of the right to statehood for the Palestinian people are unacceptable,” Guterres said Saturday at the Non-Aligned Summit in Uganda.
Such a stance would “indefinitely prolong a conflict that has become a major threat to international peace and security.” The right of the Palestinians to build their own state must be “recognized by everyone,” emphasized Guterres. The Non-Aligned Movement was founded during the Cold War and includes around 120 countries, including Iran, India, Iraq and South Africa.
On Friday, US President Joe Biden also reiterated that he continues to support Palestinian statehood. “The president still believes in the promise and possibility of a two-state solution,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Friday after Biden’s phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. The two-state solution envisages an independent Palestinian state coexisting with Israel.
Netanyahu, however, emphasized that in the future his country would have to have security control over “all territories west of the (River) Jordan” – which contradicts the idea of Palestinian sovereignty.
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