UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday criticized Israel’s policies toward the West Bank, warning that they are dooming any chance of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
In a statement read by his chief of staff, Courtenay Rattray, during a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, Guterres highlighted the escalating violence and arrests in the Israeli-occupied territory since the Gaza war erupted on October 7.
Guterres accused Israel of altering the geography of the West Bank through various administrative and illegal measures. He noted that the expansion of illegal settlements is expected to accelerate due to significant land seizures in strategic areas and changes to planning, land management, and governance.
“Recent developments are driving a stake through the heart of any prospect for a two-state solution,” Guterres stated. He said that Israel is taking steps to extend its sovereignty over the West Bank. He highlighted Israel’s punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority and the legalization of five Israeli outposts in the territory, which have been established as part of Israel’s occupation since 1967.
“We must change course. All settlement activity must cease immediately,” Guterres urged. He called Israeli settlements a flagrant violation of international law and an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians.
Guterres reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in the ongoing Gaza war and the release of all hostages. “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is a moral stain on us all,” he remarked.
Since October 7 last year, Israel has launched a relentless bombardment campaign in Gaza killing at least 38,794 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry.
Meanwhile, Israel intensified its air strikes on Gaza on Wednesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to increase pressure on Hamas, dashing hopes for a ceasefire plan announced by the United States.
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh accused Israel of deliberately undermining negotiations for a truce and hostage release deal, claiming Israel did not want to end the war. The Israeli military reported 25 strikes in the past 24 hours in Gaza.
The Gaza health ministry reported that 52 people, most of them women and children, had been killed in Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours. Despite mounting international pressure, Netanyahu is adamant to intensify violence and military offensive in Gaza.
The UN humanitarian office OCHA reported that multiple strikes across Gaza on Tuesday killed and wounded dozens of Palestinians. The civil defence agency in Gaza said 30 people were killed in three strikes in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza: one on a UN-run school, another on a house, and a third on a mosque.
In southern Gaza, two people were killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Shakush area, northwest of Rafah, according to a medical source at Nasser Hospital.
The ongoing Israeli bombardment has displaced at least 90 percent of Gazans, many seeking refuge in UN-run schools. Seven of these schools have been hit by Israeli strikes since July 6. Nearly 70 percent of UN-run schools across Gaza have been struck during the more than nine months of Israeli military attacks, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
“Why do they target us when we are innocent people?” asked Umm Mohammed al-Hasanat, who is sheltering with her family at a UN-run school in Nuseirat, which was among those hit. “We do not carry weapons but are just sitting and trying to find safety for ourselves and our children.”
Despite President Joe Biden’s announcement of an Israeli ceasefire roadmap on May 31, efforts by Egyptian and Qatari mediators have failed to make progress in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
In a telephone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Haniyeh blamed Israel for the deadlock. “We dealt positively with the proposals put to us by the mediators, but the occupation is avoiding the required outcome and does not want to reach an agreement under which it ends its war,” he said.
Haniyeh’s comments followed a senior Hamas official’s statement on Sunday that the Palestinian group was withdrawing from the current talks following Israel’s deadly strikes but was ready to return if Israel’s attitude changes.
