Roundup: UN envoy calls for decisive actions by Israelis, Palestinians to save Middle East peace process

Decisive actions by both Israelis and Palestinians are needed to stop the widely backed two- state solution from slowly dying a death "by a thousand cuts," the UN special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, said here Thursday.

"Now is the time to act decisively to reverse the growing perception that the two-state solution is on life-support, that it is slowly dying a death of a thousand cuts," Mladenov said at an open debate of the UN Security Council on the current situation in the Middle East.

The two-state solution means a secure Israel to live in peace with an independent State of Palestine.

"But let me also be abundantly clear," he said, "measures undertaken to improve the situation must not be considered an end unto themselves but part of a broader political framework with the goal of achieving a final status agreement."

Mladenov's concerns for the current state of the two-state solution were echoed by the representatives of several countries at the open council meeting.

"It's increasingly clear that urgent action is now needed to preserve the two-state solution and to alleviate the impact of the occupation," said Matthew Rycroft, the United Kingdom ambassador to the UN.

Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, said that there was an "urgent need to breathe new life into efforts to achieve a two-state solution."

She believed that achieving a two-state solution through negotiations remains the best path forward and is "not only for resolving many of the issues in Gaza, but also for Israel's security, for Palestinian aspirations and security, and for regional stability."

Vitaly Churkin, the Russian ambassador to the UN, called on the international community to ensure the two-state solution remained a possibility.

"We're convinced that the international community can transform the situation in Israel/Palestine to stop the drift to a one-state situation," he said.

For his part, Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, emphasized the importance of negotiations to bring a peaceful solution to the Palestine-Israel question.

"There is no winner in conflict," said Wang. "Force will only exacerbate hatred and hostility. All questions should be resolved through negotiation."

Wang called on both Palestine and Israel to take credible steps to establish peace talks.

"We hope that the Israeli government will take credible measures to create the conditions for peace talks, including such steps to halt the settlement construction," he said, adding that " at the same time the legitimate security concerns of Israel should also be seriously addressed."

Both Israel and Palestine were also given the opportunity to address the Security Council.

Ron Prosor, Israel's permanent representative to the UN, said that his country's significant step 10 years ago to disengage from Gaza had not had the desired effect.

"Ten years ago, Israel took a significant step with its disengagement from Gaza," he said. But he also stressed in the time since "Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist organization, has used and abused the people of Gaza to continue its war against Israel."

While calling on the international community to act, the Israeli ambassador also expressed disagreement with the international community's approach.

"Ten years later, in light of regional developments, the international community must take steps of its own," he said. "It must disengage from illusions, disengage from its constant bias against Israel, and disengage from murderous terror groups."

In his speech, Riyad Mansour, the permanent observer of Palestine to the UN, described the negative impact of the Gaza war -- which took place one year ago.

"Regrettably, we are no closer to that peace today than a year ago, when we met in this chamber desperately appealing for the Security Council's intervention to stop Israel's slaughter of innocent Palestinian children, women and men," he said.

He added that the two-state solution also seemed elusive, despite having the support of the international community.

"Despite the global calls for a just solution based on two states on the pre-1967 borders .. the dangerous political impasse continues and peace remains elusive," he said.

The 51-day conflict, which broke out on July 8 last year, killed 1,462 civilians, including 551 children, and injured thousands across the Gaza Strip. Six Israeli civilians, including one child, were also victims of the hostilities, which caused close to 1.4 billion U.S. dollars in direct and indirect damages and 1.7 billion dollars in economic losses to the Palestinian territory, according to the UN.

Meanwhile, Gaza has the highest unemployment in the world, with more than 60 percent of young people not working. Moreover, food insecurity affects 73 percent of the population. An estimated 80 percent of the population relies on humanitarian aid, mainly food assistance.

Electricity is available only eight to 12 hours a day, affecting water supply which covers a fraction of daily needs. Up to 90 million liters of partially-treated sewage are being discharged into the Mediterranean Sea every day due to electricity and fuel shortages. Finally, maternal mortality rates are estimated to have nearly doubled in the last 12 months.

The hostilities have also brought widespread structural devastation across the Strip. Some 100,000 people remain internally displaced as a result. Close to 120,000 people are still waiting to be reconnected to the city water supply. Work is yet to begin on a number of key health facilities. Endite