United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that "the clear and repeated rejection of the two-state solution at the highest levels of the Israeli government is unacceptable," as he appealed for greater access to aid throughout the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports.
In his address to the UN Security Council, Guterres appealed for greater access to aid in the entire Gaza Strip and assessed that the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave is "terrible", reports Radio Free Europe.
"Last week's clear and repeated rejection of the two-state solution at the highest levels of the Israeli government is unacceptable," Guterres said.
The UN Secretary General said that "the denial and denial of the right to statehood to the Palestinian people will indefinitely prolong the conflict that has become a major threat to global peace and security."
That, Guterres added, "will worsen polarization and embolden extremists everywhere."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced global condemnation in recent days, but also defied the US, which provides Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, rejecting calls for the creation of a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu's office said last Sunday that Israel "must maintain security control over Gaza" even after Hamas is destroyed, days after the prime minister also rejected Palestinian sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.
He said Israel must have "security control over the entire territory west of (the) Jordan River."
Guterres rejected this, stating that "the Israeli occupation must end".
The UN Secretary General said that the population of Gaza is suffering destruction on a scale and speed not seen in recent history, calling for the establishment of new humanitarian crossings.
"The people of Gaza are not only at risk of being killed or injured by the relentless bombardment, but also have an increasing chance of contracting infectious diseases such as hepatitis A, dysentery, cholera," Guterres said, adding that "nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people".
International organizations have warned that after three and a half months of relentless airstrikes and ground invasion, the two million residents of the Gaza Strip are facing an acute humanitarian crisis, including the threat of starvation and disease.
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