UN chief urges Israel, Palestine to overcome "political paralysis" through talks

UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday urged both Israelis and Palestinians to immediately discuss implementation of the recommendations made by an international diplomatic group mediating the Middle East peace process as efforts continue to restore hope for a lasting political solution.

"The parties will have to make the necessary compromises for peace. At the same time, the region and the wider international community must exercise its influence to encourage both sides," Ban said in remarks to the UN Security Council's briefing on the current situation in the Middle East.

Last direct peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians stopped in April 2014 after it was sponsored by the United States for nine months. The talks came to a halt after the two sides failed to resolve their deep disputes on Israeli settlement, borders of the Palestinian state and security.

On July 1, the Middle East Quartet, comprising the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States, released the first-of-its-kind report, which analyzes the impediments to a lasting resolution to the conflict and offers recommendations on the way forward, urging Israel to stop its settlement policy and Palestine to end incitement to violence.

In the report, the Quartet called on each side to "independently demonstrate, through policies and actions, a genuine commitment to the two-state solution" and to "refrain from unilateral steps that prejudice the outcome of the final negotiations."

The diplomatic group reiterated that a negotiated two-state solution is the only way to achieve an enduring peace that meets Israeli security needs and Palestinian aspirations for statehood and sovereignty, ends the occupation that began in 1967, and resolves all permanent status issues.

The two-state solution, widely backed by the international community, means a secure Israel to live in peace with an independent State of Palestine.

In his address at the 15-nation council, the secretary-general recalled that during his visit to Israel and Palestine in June, he carried a "clear and consistent" message to leaders on both sides that "time is running out," a fact that he said is also at the heart of the Quartet's report.

Noting that some on both sides have criticized the report's content and sought to dismiss its conclusions and recommendations, Ban stressed that the report's overriding message, however, is irrefutable.

"As negative trends grow more frequent, the prospects of a two-state solution grow more distant," he said.

As such, the report's 10 recommendations provide a practical approach to end the political stalemate, resume the transition to greater Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and chart a course to negotiations to resolve all final status issues, he said.

Turning to the leaders of Israel and Palestine, the secretary-general stressed that their failures to advance peace has created a vacuum, with extremist voices filling that space.

In addition, recent incidents reinforce the mounting risks, and those responsible for recent terror attacks must be held accountable, he said. Enditem