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New challenges in Middle East underscore need for negotiated settlement – UN official

New challenges in Middle East underscore need for negotiated settlement – UN official

USG Ibrahim Gambari
Hamas’ takeover of the Palestinian Authority, inter-factional tensions in Gaza and the new Israeli Government have produced a fresh set of challenges and opportunities for the international community, a senior United Nations official has told the Security Council, stressing the need for negotiations to achieve the goal of a two-State solution.

“Unilateral moves simply cannot resolve issues such as the border between the States of Israel and a future Palestinian State, which must be mutually agreed,” Ibrahim Gambari, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, said in remarks prepared for the Council meeting on Wednesday.

“A two-State solution can only be achieved through negotiations, and its achievement will be an important element of ensuring sustainable peace and security in this region,” he said.

Reviewing recent developments in the region, he noted that salaries to some 155,000 public sector workers in the occupied Palestinian territory have not been paid since February, and warned that, “Longer term projections point to dramatic rises in poverty and unemployment rates if current trends continue.”

Mr. Gambari recalled that at a meeting earlier this month, the diplomatic Quartet – UN, United States, European Union (EU) and Russian Federation – expressed its willingness to endorse a temporary international mechanism, to be developed by the EU, that would ensure direct delivery of assistance to the Palestinian people. The UN fully backs EU efforts to realize this initiative, he said, adding that the Secretary-General “hopes that the scope of the mechanism will be as broad and non-discriminatory as possible.”

Concerning the security situation, Mr. Gambari said five Israelis were injured by Palestinian violence this month. While no Israelis were killed, one Israeli and one American teenager died of wounds sustained in last month’s suicide attack in Tel Aviv.

A reported 45 Palestinians have been killed this month, including at least 2 children, and 180 Palestinians have been injured. “Of the Palestinian casualties, ten of the dead and at least 33 of the wounded were victims of intra-Palestinian fighting, as was one Jordanian government employee who was killed a few days ago in Gaza,” he said. “This internal strife, notably in Gaza, has now reached worrying proportions.”

The Government of Israel reported that 81 attacks had been perpetrated against its territory. Israel responded with shelling of the rocket launching grounds. “It remains essential for the Palestinian Authority to heed the Quartet’s call to act decisively against terrorism and bring an end to the violence,” Mr. Gambari said.

He noted that among other operations this month, Israel killed five alleged militants in Gaza on 5 May, seven on 14 May in the northern West Bank, and on 20 May, a leading member of Islamic Jihad in Gaza. “In this last attack, a boy, his mother, and his grandmother were killed, and a three year old was wounded,” Mr. Gambari said. “Such collateral damage underlines the need for Israel to cease targeted killings, and heed the call of the Quartet to show restraint and consider the potential consequences of its actions on civilians.”

Mr. Gambari stressed the need for “all parties to engage in a substantive dialogue at the earliest opportunity.” He praised the Lebanese for their national dialogue and said the one being undertaken among the Palestinians “could be another example of constructive engagement by the stakeholders in addressing critical issues.”

Negotiations for the future of the political process between Israel and the Palestinians, he said, are of “central importance.”