UN chief on Israel-Palestine issue: \`Time is running short\`
The head of the UN warned Tuesday that "time is running short" concerning the Israel-Palestine issue_ saying his organization is committed to supporting Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the conflict.
"We cannot lose sight of the long-sought goal of ending the occupation and realizing a two-state solution_" Antonio Guterres said at a meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
Guterres said the situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory_ including East Jerusalem_ continues to pose a "significant challenge" to international peace and security.
"The promise of the independence of the Palestinian state remains unfulfilled. Political_ economic and security conditions across the Occupied Palestinian Territory are deteriorating as Palestinians experience high levels of dispossession_ violence and insecurity_" said Guterres.
He urged all parties to take concrete steps_ which he said will enable a return to the path of meaningful negotiations and a just and lasting peace.
The solution should focus on efforts to end the occupation in line with UN resolutions_ international law and agreements.
"The goal remains two states Israel and an independent_ democratic_ contiguous_ viable and sovereign Palestinian State living side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders_ on the basis of the pre-1967 lines_ with Jerusalem as the shared capital of both states. "There is no plan B_" he added.
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