Guterres calls for UN, Quartet-led Israeli-Palestinian peace process
"The United Nations remains committed to supporting Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the conflict and bring an end to the suffering," Guterres said.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFUnited Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres poses for a photograph during an interview with Reuters at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, US, September 14, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS/MIKE SEGAR/FILE PHOTO)
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has thrown his support behind calls for an international peace conference under the auspices of his organization and the Quartet, which would resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the pre-1967 lines.“The long-agreed goal is clear: To end the occupation and realize a two-state solution on the basis of the pre-1967 borders, in line with international law, relevant United Nations resolutions, and bilateral agreements, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states,” Guterres said in New York on Thursday.He spoke at the start of the opening 2021 session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.“The United Nations remains committed to supporting Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the conflict and bring an end to the suffering,” Guterres said.The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been frozen since 2014. Former US president Donald Trump’s peace plan never led to the resumption of direct talks and US President Joe Biden is not expected to launch a peace process.The Palestinian Authority wants to replace a US-led peace process model with a multilateral one and PA President Mahmoud Abbas has called for an international peace conference.Guterres said that “Abbas’s call for an international peace conference under the auspices of the United Nations – and an expanded Middle East Quartet – with considered preparation and involvement by the key parties – provide a positive opportunity to advance peace in the region.”The Quartet was largely dormant with regard to the conflict during the Trump years because consensus of all four of its members is needed; the United States, the UN, the European Union and Russia.In an interview with The Washington Post this week, Guterres said that a Quartet meeting could be held within weeks.At the UN on Thursday Guterres called on Israelis and Palestinians to ‘refrain from unilateral acts that can jeopardize the possibility of restarting the peace process.”He specifically asked Israel to ‘immediately halt all settlement activity, which is a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-state solution, and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.”He also spoke out against violence and Israeli restrictions on Palestinian movement.“Persistent acts of violence in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza, as well as Israeli movement and access restrictions and other violations of international humanitarian and human rights law exacerbate mistrust between Israelis and Palestinians and drive us further from peace,” Guterres said.Separately he also urged Israel to help the Palestinians acquire COVID-19 vaccines.“The Special Coordinator continues to encourage Israel to help address the priority needs of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory – and to support COVID-19 vaccine availability more generally, which is in line with Israel’s obligations under international law,” Guterres said.
