Guterres: The “two-state solution” is the only way to achieve lasting peace

Capitals (Union, Agencies)

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, affirmed that the two-state solution is the only one capable of achieving a lasting and just peace in the region. This came as the Israeli army repositioned its forces in the city of Khan Yunis amid anticipation about moving to the “Rafah stage.”
Antonio Guterres urged the international community not to back down from its commitment to the two-state solution to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Guterres said, on the “X” platform, that “the two-state solution, where Israel and Palestine live side by side, is the only one capable of ensuring the implementation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and achieving a just and lasting peace in the region.”
He added: “The international community must not back down from its commitment to this solution.”
Guterres's statements come as major countries, including the United States, Britain, Russia and China, affirm the “two-state solution” as a way to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
On Thursday, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron announced that his country could officially recognize the Palestinian state before reaching a peace agreement with Israel regarding the two-state solution.
Cameron said, in a press statement during a visit to Lebanon, that his country “can officially recognize the Palestinian state after the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip without waiting for the outcome of talks that may continue for years between Israel and the Palestinians regarding the two-state solution.”
Security-wise, the Israeli army began a tactical withdrawal yesterday from some areas of the city of Khan Yunis, and repositioned its forces, as tanks retreated from the outskirts of the Khan Yunis camp and the western areas of the city, after retreating the day before yesterday from the neighborhoods north of Gaza City, and redeployed on its outskirts. This follows the confirmation of the Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Galant, that the Israeli army will head to the city of Rafah, after completing its mission in Khan Yunis.
In turn, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) yesterday expressed its concern about the escalation of fighting in Khan Yunis, which forced more to flee to Rafah, and described the border city as a “pressure cooker full of despair.”
“I want to stress our grave concern about the escalation of hostilities in Khan Yunis, which has led to an increase in the number of internally displaced people seeking refuge in Rafah over the past few days,” said Jens Laerke, spokesman for OCHA.
More than half of Gaza's 2.3 million people have taken refuge in the area, most of them suffering from cold and hunger in tents and public buildings. Laerke continued: “Rafah is like a pressure cooker full of despair, and we fear what will happen next.”
More than 1.3 million people currently live in the city, which originally had a population of a quarter of a million, according to United Nations figures, after hundreds of thousands were displaced there, crowding into residential apartments that they either rented or staying with relatives and friends, or in tents spread in the streets. The main and subsidiary buildings, in parks, in sports stadiums and public squares.
In another context, Belgian Foreign Minister Hajjah Lahbib announced yesterday that she had summoned the Israeli ambassador to Belgium after raids destroyed the offices of the Belgian Development Agency in the Gaza Strip.
The minister wrote on the “X” platform: “The offices of the Belgian Development Agency (ENABEL) in Gaza were bombed and destroyed. Targeting civilian buildings is unacceptable. We are summoning the Israeli ambassador to clarify the matter,” saying that she is working in coordination with Development Minister Caroline Gennes.
Inabel director Jan van Wetter said on the X platform that the agency's offices in Gaza were completely destroyed in the bombing.