• Guterres urges world leaders not to let conference become ‘another exercise in well-meaning rhetoric, but a decisive turning point on the path to Palestinian statehood’
• ‘Nothing can justify the obliteration of Gaza that has unfolded before the eyes of the world,’ UN sec-gen stresses

Ephrem Kossaify

NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday delivered a blunt warning to world leaders attending the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine, saying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has reached a “breaking point” and urging immediate, decisive action to reverse a collapsing path toward a two-state solution.

Speaking at the morning wrap-up session of the conference in New York, Guterres praised France and Saudi Arabia for organizing the gathering, calling it a “rare and indispensable opportunity” to shift from rhetoric to action.

“We are here today with our eyes wide open, fully aware of the challenges before us,” he said. “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has endured for generations, defying hopes, diplomacy, countless resolutions, and international law.”

But, Guterres insisted, 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.”

While unequivocally condemning the “horrific 7 October terror attacks by Hamas and the taking of hostages,” Guterres emphasized that “nothing can justify the obliteration of Gaza that has unfolded before the eyes of the world.”

Nothing justifies, he added, “the starvation of Gaza’s population, the killing of tens of thousands of civilians, the fragmentation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the expansion of Israeli settlements, the rising settler violence, the demolition of Palestinian homes and forced displacement, the demographic changes on the ground, the lack of a credible political horizon, and the open support, including from a recent Knesset declaration, for annexing the West Bank.

“Let’s be clear: The creeping annexation of the occupied West Bank is illegal. It must stop,” Guterres said. “The wholesale destruction of Gaza is intolerable. It must stop. Unilateral actions that would forever undermine the two-state solution are unacceptable. They must stop.

“These are not isolated events,” he added. “They are part of a systemic reality that is dismantling the building blocks of peace in the Middle East.”

In urging world leaders not to let the conference become “another exercise in well-meaning rhetoric,” Guterres said it must instead be a “decisive turning point, one that catalyzes irreversible progress towards ending the occupation and realizing our shared aspiration for a viable two-state solution.”

He reaffirmed the vision of two independent, sovereign, democratic and contiguous states — Israel and Palestine — living side-by-side in peace and security within secure and recognized borders, based on the pre-1967 lines and with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.

“This remains the only framework rooted in international law, endorsed by this Assembly, and supported by the international community,” he said. “It is the only credible path to a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. And it is the sine qua non for peace across the wider Middle East.”

Guterres underscored the need for “bold and principled leadership” from Israel, Palestine, and other actors.