UN boss calls for Palestinian state

MARKING 50 years since the start of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which resulted in Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territory, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has reiterated a call for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

“Now is the time to end the conflict by establishing an independent Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security with the state of Israel,” Guterres said in his statement on the five-decade occupation.

The occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Syrian Golan, which displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Syrians over the years, has imposed a heavy humanitarian and development burden on the Palestinian people, he said. – ANA