\u2022 Guterres urges action to save two-state solution
\n\u2022 French, Saudi FMs seek concrete road map
\n\u2022 Pakistan, Egypt, Turkiye call for immediate ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian aid
\n\u2022 Death toll nears 60,000-mark<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON: As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres on Monday warned \u201cnothing can justify the obliteration of Gaza that has unfolded before the eyes of the world\u201d, calling for bold international action to end the war and rescue the long-stalled two-state solution.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the United Nations International Conference on the Israeli-Pale\u00adstinian conflict, held at UN Head\u00adquarters in New York, Mr Guterres said the decades-old conflict had \u201creached a breaking point\u201d and urged world leaders to halt what he described as the \u201csystemic dismantling of peace efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Israeli-Palestinian conflict has endured for generations \u2014 defying hopes, defying diplomacy, defying countless resolutions, defying international law,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we also know its persistence is not inevitable. It can be resolved. That demands political will and courageous leadership. And it demands truth. The truth is: we are at a breaking point. The two-state solution is farther than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Guterres deplored the \u201cwholesale destruction\u201d of Gaza and described Israel\u2019s \u201ccreeping annexation\u201d of the occupied West Bank as illegal. He condemned the killing of civilians, the starvation of children, settler violence, and the mass displacement of Palestinians.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnilateral actions that would forever undermine the two-state solution are unacceptable and they must stop,\u201d the UN chief said, reaffirming the long-standing UN position that peace can only be achieved through the creation of two states \u2014 Israel and Palestine \u2014 living side by side within secure and recognized borders based on pre-1967 lines, with Jerusalem as the capital of both.<\/p>\n
Co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, the high-level conference was convened following the adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution earlier this year.<\/p>\n
French Foreign Minister Jean-No\u00ebl Barrot, who formally opened the event, echoed President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s recent statement that France intends to officially recognize the State of Palestine in September. \u201cWe must move from the end of the war in Gaza to the end of the entire conflict, which threatens regional stability,\u201d Mr Barrot said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly the two-state solution will meet the legitimate aspirations of both peoples. There is no alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, representing the Palestinian Authority that exercises limited self-rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, called on countries around the world to \u201crecognize the state of Palestine without delay\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe path to peace starts with recognizing the state of Palestine and preserving it from destruction,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Concrete road map<\/p>\n
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud urged participants to support a concrete road map towards Palestinian statehood that also ensures Israeli security.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must ensure that it does not become another exercise in well-meaning rhetoric,\u201d Mr Guterres remarked. \u201cIt can and must serve as a decisive turning point \u2014 one that catalyzes irreversible progress towards ending the occupation and realizing our shared aspiration for a viable two-state solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
A concept note circulated ahead of the meeting by the French and Saudi governments stated that the two-state solution still enjoys \u201cnear-universal support\u201d and remains \u201cthe only way to satisfy the legitimate aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians\u2026 and create the conditions for regional peace and stability\u201d.<\/p>\n
Immediate ceasefire<\/p>\n
On the sidelines of the international conference on the two-state solution, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar met Egypt\u2019s Foreign Minister Dr Badr Abdelatty as well as Adviser for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Touhid Hossain besides holding a telephonic discussion with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.<\/p>\n
In a joint statement issued in New York, Pakistan and Egypt reiterated their unwavering support for the Palestinian people and their just cause, underscored the urgent need for unimpaired humanitarian access, an immediate cessation of Israeli hostilities.<\/p>\n
Death toll near 60,000<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the humanitarian toll continues to rise. Reports from Gaza said Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians waiting for food aid, killing at least 26 and injuring many more. More than 60 have reportedly died in attacks since dawn. At least 14 more, including a baby, died of malnutrition.<\/p>\n
According to the Gaza health ministry, Israel\u2019s ongoing military campaign has killed at least 59,921 Palestinians and wounded more than 144,000, besides since October 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2022 Guterres urges action to save two-state solution \u2022 French, Saudi FMs seek concrete road map \u2022 Pakistan, Egypt, Turkiye call for immediate ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian aid \u2022 Death toll nears 60,000-mark WASHINGTON: As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres on Monday warned \u201cnothing can justify the obliteration of Gaza that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11043,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11042"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11044,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11042\/revisions\/11044"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}