UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated on Saturday during the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Uganda that “the right of the Palestinian people to build their own state must be recognized by all” and that any “denial” is “unacceptable”.
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“The refusal to accept the two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the denial of the right to statehood for the Palestinian people, is unacceptable,” Mr. Guterres said, continuing: “This would prolong a conflict indefinitely.” has become a major threat to world peace and security; which is exacerbating polarization and emboldening extremists around the world.
“The right of the Palestinian people to build their own state must be recognized by all,” emphasized the UN Secretary General.
The war was sparked by an unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7 in southern Israel that killed 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.
AFP
About 250 people were taken hostage at the time and 132 are still in Gaza, of whom at least 25 have been killed, according to recent estimates by Israeli authorities.
Around a hundred were released during a ceasefire in late November.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli bombings and military operations have killed more than 24,000 people, the vast majority of them women, children and young people, according to the health ministry of the Hamas movement, which rules Gaza.
The World Health Organization (WHO) complains of “inhumane living conditions” in the small coastal area, whose 2.4 million residents lack everything, including telecommunications.
On Monday, Antonio Guterres called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza.
The United States, Israel's main ally and key backer in the war against Hamas, recently reiterated its support for the creation of a Palestinian state, provoking divisions with the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Non-Aligned Movement was founded in 1961 to give a greater voice to countries caught in the power struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union.