UN’s Guterres: World Must Not Bend to Israel’s Pressure on Palestinian Statehood

New York, MINA – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has urged UN member states not to be intimidated by Israel’s threats to annex parts of the West Bank in response to growing calls for the recognition of a Palestinian state.

“We should not feel intimidated by the risk of retaliation,” Guterres said in an interview at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday.

Israel’s aggression in Gaza, its expansion of settlements, and increasing attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank have fueled international outrage and widespread support for a two-state solution to end the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ten countries, including the UK, France, Canada, Australia, Portugal, and Belgium, are expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state in the coming days, coinciding with the UN General Assembly, which will be attended by more than 140 heads of state and government.

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“People say the two-state solution is difficult,” Guterres said. “But what is the alternative? A one-state solution in which millions of Palestinians will either be expelled or under a system of subjugation and discrimination without rights? Is that acceptable in the 21st century? I think it is not.”

Guterres also expressed deep concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza after nearly two years of war. “What we are witnessing in Gaza is horrendous,” he stated. “It is the worst level of death and destruction that I’ve seen in my time as Secretary-General, probably my life.”

He continued, “The suffering of the Palestinian people cannot be described—famine, total lack of effective health care, people living without adequate shelters in huge concentration areas.”

Recently, the United Nations Human Rights Council-mandated Commission of Inquiry pointed out that Israeli officials and forces “have had and continue to have” genocidal intent toward Gaza’s population of more than two million.

Also Read: US Senate Launches Historic Initiative to Recognize Palestinian State

Israel’s brutal military assault has claimed the lives of nearly 65,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, since its onset.

Currently, the Israeli military is focusing its operations on seizing Gaza City and has warned that it will use “unprecedented force” after intensifying its attacks in recent days. []

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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