UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a Palestinian solidarity event on Tuesday that the “occupation must end,” amid growing international alarm over a spike in violence in the West Bank.
“I am deeply saddened by the growing number of Palestinian civilians who have lost their lives in the spiral of violence engulfing the occupied West Bank,” said UN Chef de Cabinet Earle Courtenay Rattray, speaking on behalf of Guterres.
“Each casualty fuels fear and yet more violence. I urge all parties to take immediate steps to reduce tensions and break this deadly cycle,” he said at an annual event marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People at the UN headquarters in New York.
Guterres said the “drivers of the conflict” were occupation, settlements, home demolitions, evictions and closures of Gaza crossings.
He called for opening access to Gaza, improving Palestinian livelihoods and supporting the UN relief agency UNRWA, and underlined his commitment to a two-state solution.
“The United Nations’ position is clear — peace must advance, the occupation must end,” he said.
The event was sponsored by the UN General Assembly Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and featured representatives of different countries speaking in support of the Palestinians. Israel and the US were not present.
Guterres and other speakers focused on Israeli forces in the West Bank, and did not mention Palestinian terrorism, the Hamas terror group, Israeli security concerns or Israeli victims of violence.
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