UN chief warns that Israel’s rejection of a two-state solution threatens global peace

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. (AP)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 24 January 2024
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UN chief warns that Israel’s rejection of a two-state solution threatens global peace

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters.
  • “The entire population of Gaza is enduring destruction at a scale and speed without parallel in recent history,” Guterres told the UN Security Council

UNITED NATIONS: The UN chief warned Israel on Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‘s rejection of a two-state solution will indefinitely prolong a conflict that is threatening global peace and emboldening extremists everywhere.
In his toughest language yet on the Israeli-Hamas war, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council that “the right of the Palestinian people to build their own fully independent state must be recognized by all, and a refusal to accept the two-state solution by any party must be firmly rejected.”
The alternative of a one-state solution “with such a large number of Palestinians inside without any real sense of freedom, rights and dignity … will be inconceivable,” he said.
Guterres also warned that the risks of regional escalation of the conflict “are now becoming a reality,” pointing to Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Pakistan. He urged all parties “to step back from the brink and to consider the horrendous costs” of a wider war.
Netanyahu’s rejection of a Palestinian state in any postwar scenario opened a wide rift with Israel’s closest ally, the US, which says the war must lead to negotiations for a two-state solution where Israel and the Palestinians can live side-by-side in peace. That goal is supported by countries around the world, as ministers and ambassadors reiterated Tuesday.
Saudi Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji told the council: “How can this tragedy continue with no serious action to bring an end to it and with no measures to halt the carnage and collective punishment against defenseless civilians in Gaza.”
Elkhereiji told the council that a lasting solution was the only way to ensure peace and regional stability.
“Any measure for regional security or to prevent threats cannot replace a resolution of the root causes the crisis in Palestine and finding a lasting solution,” he said. “You must act to ensure an immediate ceasefire and to restore peace to alleviate suffering and to allow the Palestinian people to safeguard their dignity and their legitimate rights.”

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“This peace which we so desire must go via a credible, irreversible path toward creating an independent Palestine state which safeguards the dignity of the Palestinian people, allowing for their coexistence and common security as well as for stability and development for all.”
The health ministry said that at least 25,000 civilians have been killed, mostly children and women, as Israel continues to pound the densely populated Gaza Strip in its campaign to eradicate Hamas, after the group attacked settlements near the enclave killing 1,200.
“We categorically reject violations of international humanitarian law by any parties, in any circumstances. We condemn targeting of civilians and call upon this Council to adopt firm position to oblige Israel to respect international law and bring an end to this suffering.”
He also warned of the dangers of military escalation in the region and its impact of security and stability.
“Military operations in the Red Sea and the Yemeni republic are a source of concern. The necessary measure therefore must be taken to contain incidences and repercussions of this crisis, which is affecting neighboring countries and international peace and security.”

United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to the UN, Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, told the council: “We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The overwhelming majority of the international community has called for this, repeatedly. It is time for the minority view to stop obstructing it from happening.”

She added: “The humanitarian imperative at this moment must be our top priority, in addition to the ceasefire, so that life-saving aid can enter at scale, and hostages can be allowed out and returned to their families safely.”

Pakistan said Israel’s actions in Gaza were genocidal and called for greater recognition of Palestine.

“It is time to admit Palestine as a full member of the United Nations,” said. Munir Akram, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN.

Uzra Zeya, the State Department’s under secretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights, told the council, “A key component of US diplomacy is to pursue a pathway both to a Palestinian state and normalization and integration between Israel and other regional states.”
“The goal is a future where Gaza is never again used as a platform for terror, and a future where Palestinians have a state of their own,” she said, reiterating the Biden administration’s call on Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov countered that American diplomacy “oscillates between vetoing resolutions about the ceasefire and at the same time calling for a reduction in the intensity of hostilities in Gaza.”
“Without a doubt this serves as carte blanche for the ongoing collective punishment of Palestinians,” Lavrov told the council.
Secretary-general Guterres repeated his longstanding call for a humanitarian ceasefire — an appeal with overwhelming global support.
But Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan again rejected a ceasefire, saying Hamas, which carried out a brutal attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, is committed to attacking again and destroying Israel, and a halt to fighting will only allow the militants “to regroup and rearm.”
He urged the Security Council to “eliminate the root” of the conflict, which he said was Iran.
Erdan strongly criticized the presence of Iran’s foreign minister at the council meeting, saying the country provides weapons to Hamas, to Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon and Houthi militants in Yemen, “and soon these acts will be carried out under a nuclear umbrella” and “Iran’s terror will reach all of you.”
Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons and insists its nuclear program is entirely for peaceful purposes. But the UN nuclear watchdog has warned that Iran has enough enriched uranium for nuclear bombs if it chose to build them.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian didn’t mention its nuclear program, but he warned Israel that it would not destroy Hamas, its stated goal.
“The killing of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank cannot continue on to the so-called total destruction of Hamas, because that time will never come,” he said. “Stopping the genocide in Gaza is the main key to security in the region.”
Riyad Al-Maliki, the Palestinian foreign minister, said Israel is carrying out “the most savage bombing campaign” since World War II, which is leading to famine and the massive displacement of civilians. “This is an assault of atrocities,” which has destroyed countless innocent lives, he said.
Al-Maliki said Israel doesn’t see the Palestinians as a people and a “political reality to coexist with, but as a demographic threat to get rid of through death, displacement or subjugation.” He said those are the choices Israel has offered Palestinians, calling them tantamount to “genocide, ethnic cleansing or apartheid.”
Al-Maliki said there are only two future paths: One starts with Palestinian freedom and leads to Mideast peace and security, and the other denies freedom and “dooms our region to further bloodshed and endless conflict.”
France’s new foreign minister, Stéphane Séjourné, whose country holds the council presidency this month, presided at the meeting and warned that “a regional conflagration is real.”
He said the world should unite and deliver different messages to the warring parties.
Israel must be told that “there must be a Palestinian state” and that violence against Palestinians, including by West Bank settlers, must end, Séjourné said. And the Palestinians must be told that “There can be no ambiguity regarding Israel’s right to live in peace and security, and to exercise its right to self-defense against terrorism.”
But Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the argument that the war is about providing security for Israel “is far from being convincing.” He said supporters of this view never talk about the Palestinians’ right to security and self-defense.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the “ideology of hate embraced openly by Israeli ministers is normalizing the mass murder of Palestinians” and urged the council to stop it with a binding resolution.
Israel must be held accountable for war crimes and for blocking a Palestinian state, Safadi said. “The future of the region cannot be taken hostage to the political ambitions and the radical agendas of Israeli extremists who described the Palestinians as human animals, unworthy of life, who enable settler terrorism against Palestinian people.”


Saudi companies exhibiting at ArabPlast in Dubai to showcase petrochemical innovations

Saudi companies exhibiting at ArabPlast in Dubai to showcase petrochemical innovations
Updated 17 sec ago
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Saudi companies exhibiting at ArabPlast in Dubai to showcase petrochemical innovations

Saudi companies exhibiting at ArabPlast in Dubai to showcase petrochemical innovations
  • ArabPlast will feature a diverse range of products, technologies and solutions that shape the future of plastics and petrochemicals in the region

LONDON: Saudi petrochemical firms will showcase their products and innovative solutions at the 17th ArabPlast, hosted by the Dubai World Trade Center, the Emirates News Agency — WAM —reported. 

ArabPlast, an international trade show that takes place from Jan. 7-9, is an important event in the calendar of companies working in the plastics, recycling, petrochemicals, packaging and rubber industries.  

In 2025, ArabPlast will host 12 national pavilions and 750 exhibitors from a total of 35 countries, including companies from Saudi Arabia, Austria, China, Egypt, Germany, Italy, India, Switzerland, Jordan, UAE and the rest of the GCC countries.  

They will showcase “a diverse range of products, technologies and solutions that shape the future of plastics, petrochemicals and rubber sectors in the region,” WAM reported. 

Nidal Mohammed Kadar, director of ArabPlast, said that the event would also feature the “latest developments in robotics and artificial intelligence technologies in the field of recycling,” which will contribute to sustainability. 

Sadiq Al-Lawati, executive director of Polymers Marketing at OQ Oman, said that ArabPlast will focus on “sustainable, environmentally friendly solutions” as the global demand for plastic increases in industrial sectors, such as construction, food and beverage, aviation, automotive, health care and sports. 

Alongside the exhibitions, hundreds of professionals and decision-makers will discuss the latest solutions and challenges that the plastic and petrochemical industries are facing in the Arab region.  


Two Israeli strikes hit south Beirut: Lebanon state media

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in Beirut’s southern suburbs on November 24, 2024. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in Beirut’s southern suburbs on November 24, 2024. (AFP)
Updated 24 November 2024
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Two Israeli strikes hit south Beirut: Lebanon state media

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in Beirut’s southern suburbs on November 24, 2024. (AFP)
  • “Israeli warplanes launched two violent strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs in the Kafaat area,” official National News Agency said
  • The raids “caused massive destruction over a large geographical area” of the Kafaat district, NNA said

BEIRUT: Lebanese state media reported two Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, about an hour after the Israeli military posted evacuation calls online for parts of the Hezbollah bastion.
“Israeli warplanes launched two violent strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs in the Kafaat area,” the official National News Agency said.
The southern Beirut area has been repeatedly struck since September 23 when Israel intensified its air campaign also targeting Hezbollah bastions in Lebanon’s east and south. It later sent in ground troops to southern Lebanon.
AFPTV footage showed grey smoke billowing over south Beirut.
The raids “caused massive destruction over a large geographical area” of the Kafaat district, NNA said.
Earlier Sunday, Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee warned on social media platform X that the military would strike “Hezbollah facilities and interests” in the Hadath and Burj Al-Barajneh districts, also sharing maps of the areas to be evacuated.
Full-on war erupted following nearly a year of limited exchanges of fire initiated by Iran-backed Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas, after the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack sparked the Gaza war.


Israel records 160 launches fom Lebanon as Hezbollah targets Tel Aviv, south

Israeli security forces and people inspect a damaged house at a site hit by rockets fired from Lebanon in Rinatya village.
Israeli security forces and people inspect a damaged house at a site hit by rockets fired from Lebanon in Rinatya village.
Updated 23 min 50 sec ago
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Israel records 160 launches fom Lebanon as Hezbollah targets Tel Aviv, south

Israeli security forces and people inspect a damaged house at a site hit by rockets fired from Lebanon in Rinatya village.
  • Medical agencies reported that at least 11 people were wounded, including a man in a “moderate to serious” condition

JERUSALEM: Israel’s army said Hezbollah fired around 160 projectiles into its territory from Lebanon on Sunday, with the group saying its attacks had targeted the Tel Aviv area and Israel’s south.
The Iran-backed group said in a statement that it had “launched, for the first time, an aerial attack using a swarm of attack drones on the Ashdod naval base” in southern Israel.
Later, it said it fired “a barrage of advanced missiles and a swarm of attack drones” at a “military target” in Tel Aviv, and had also launched a volley of missiles at the Glilot army intelligence base in the city’s suburbs.
The Israeli military did not comment on the specific attack claims when contacted by AFP.

But it said earlier that air raid sirens had sounded in several locations in central and northern Israel, including in the greater Tel Aviv suburbs.
It later reported that “approximately 160 projectiles that were fired by the Hezbollah terrorist organization have crossed from Lebanon into Israel.”
Some of the projectiles were shot down.
Medical agencies reported that at least 11 people were wounded, including a man in a “moderate to serious” condition.
AFP images from Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, showed several damaged and burned-out cars, and a house pockmarked by shrapnel.
The wave of projectiles follows at least four deadly Israeli strikes in central Beirut in the past week, including one that killed Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif.
In a speech on Wednesday, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem had said the response to the recent strikes on the capital “must be expected on central Tel Aviv.”
The Lebanese army, meanwhile, said that a soldier was killed on Sunday and 18 others injured, “including some with severe wounds, as a result of an Israeli attack targeting a Lebanese army center in Amriyeh.”
Though the Lebanese army is not a party to the war between Israel and Hezbollah, Israeli strikes have killed 19 Lebanese soldiers in the last two months, authorities have said.
Since September 23, Israel has intensified its Lebanon air campaign, later sending in ground troops after nearly a year of limited exchanges of fire initiated by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas after the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack, which sparked the Gaza war.
Lebanon’s health ministry says at least 3,670 people have been killed in the country since October 2023, most of them since September this year.


Israeli strike on Lebanese army center kills soldier, wounds 18 others

Israeli strike on Lebanese army center kills soldier, wounds 18 others
Updated 24 November 2024
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Israeli strike on Lebanese army center kills soldier, wounds 18 others

Israeli strike on Lebanese army center kills soldier, wounds 18 others
  • It was the latest in a series of Israeli strikes that have killed over 40 Lebanese troops
  • Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister condemned it as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts

BEIRUT: An Israeli strike on a Lebanese army center on Sunday killed one soldier and wounded 18 others, the Lebanese military said.

It was the latest in a series of Israeli strikes that have killed over 40 Lebanese troops, even as the military has largely kept to the sidelines in the war between Israel and Hezbollah militants.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has said previous strikes on Lebanese troops were accidental and that they are not a target of its campaign against Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned it as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.

“(Israel is) again writing in Lebanese blood a brazen rejection of the solution that is being discussed,” a statement from his office read.

The strike occurred in southwestern Lebanon on the coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, where there has been heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes since the rocket fire began, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war, as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah’s top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several of his top commanders.

Israeli airstrikes early Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 20 people and wounding 66, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Hezbollah has continued to fire regular barrages into Israel, forcing people to race for shelters and occasionally killing or wounding them.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardments in northern Israel and in battle following Israel’s ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country’s north.

The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire, and US envoy Amos Hochstein was back in the region last week.

The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol the area, with the presence of UN peacekeepers.

Lebanon’s army reflects the religious diversity of the country and is respected as a national institution, but it does not have the military capability to impose its will on Hezbollah or resist Israel’s invasion.


Top EU diplomat urges ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Hezbollah-Israel war

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a press conference.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a press conference.
Updated 24 November 2024
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Top EU diplomat urges ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Hezbollah-Israel war

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a press conference.
  • “We see only one possible way ahead: an immediate ceasefire and the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701,” Borrell said

BEIRUT: The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Israel-Hezbollah war while on a visit to the Lebanese capital for talks.
Since September 23, Israel has intensified its air campaign in Lebanon, later sending in ground troops following nearly a year of limited exchanges of fire initiated by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas after the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the Gaza war.
“We see only one possible way ahead: an immediate ceasefire and the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701,” Borrell said after meeting Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who has led mediation efforts on behalf of Hezbollah.
Resolution 1701 ended the last Hezbollah-Israel war of 2006 and stated that Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only armed forces in the country’s south, where Hezbollah holds sway.
It also called for Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon.
“Back in September I came and was still hoping we could prevent a full-fledged war of Israel attacking Lebanon,” Borrell said on Sunday.
“Two months later Lebanon is on the brink of collapse.”
He said the European Union was ready to provide 200 million euros for Lebanon’s army, whose deployment in larger numbers along the border forms a crucial point in truce talks.
France and Washington have been spearheading ceasefire efforts, with US envoy Amos Hochstein visiting Lebanon and Israel this week to discuss a truce plan based on implementing Resolution 1701.
“We must pressure the Israeli government and maintain the pressure on Hezbollah to accept the US proposal for a ceasefire,” Borrell said, calling for an “immediate” truce.