Pleas for two-state solution steps made
UN Mideast coordinator, China envoy see issue as key to ensuring security
UNITED NATIONS — The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland on Monday called for urgent steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The appeal by Wennesland came on the same day that a Chinese envoy to the United Nations called for efforts to achieve common security between Israelis and Palestinians.
In a briefing to the Security Council, Wennesland said: “It is necessary to take urgent steps toward a two-state solution, which still garners considerable support among Palestinians and Israelis. Through incremental but tangible steps, we can build a bridge between where we are now and the conditions necessary for a peaceful resolution of the conflict based on United Nations resolutions, international law and previous agreements.”
The first step is to continue to engage with the parties to reduce tensions and counter negative trends, particularly those impacting final-status issues, he said.
The second step is to continue to improve access, movement and trade to create room for the Palestinian economy to grow, said the envoy.
The third step is to strengthen Palestinian institutions, improve governance and shore up the fiscal health of the Palestinian Authority, or PA, said Wennesland.
The PA’s political legitimacy and accountability must also be strengthened through democratic reforms and opening of the civic space, holding elections across the occupied Palestinian territory and ensuring the effectiveness and credibility of the Palestinian security forces, he said.
The optimism and vocal support for a negotiated political solution that were so palpable when the peace process began have now dimmed, especially given the lack of political progress since the unsuccessful rounds of talks in 2007 and 2014. The principles that underpin the Oslo Accords are slipping away, he said.
Political leadership is required to reset a trajectory toward a two-state solution, said Wennesland.
Fundamental issues need to be addressed by the parties. A common approach where the two-state solution is the guiding political direction is essential to halting the current negative trajectory. It requires a redoubled commitment from the international community as well as coordinated and sustained attention, resources and engagement with the parties, despite the global challenges, he said.
Encouraging dialogue
In also addressing the issue, Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the UN, said Israel and Palestine are inseparable neighbors, whose security is interdependent and indivisible.
“The international community should pay equal attention to the security concerns of Palestine and Israel, and encourage both sides to find the greatest common ground through dialogue and cooperation to achieve common security,” he told the Security Council.
At the same time, the occupying power should effectively fulfill its obligations under international law to ensure the security of the people in the occupied territory, he said.
China is deeply concerned about the continuous deterioration of the security situation in the occupied Palestinian territory. According to UN statistics, 2022 is the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since 2005. China condemns all indiscriminate attacks on civilians, and calls for investigations into the violence and for accountability, said Zhang.
The continued expansion of settlement activities that encroach on the Palestinian land, swallow up Palestinian resources and violate Palestine’s right to self-determination have made a contiguous, independent and sovereign state of Palestine even more elusive. China urges Israel to cease all settlement activities and return to the right track of the two-state solution, he said.