UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Uganda on Saturday that “the right of the Palestinian people to build their own state must be recognized by all” and that any “refusal” was “unacceptable”, AFP reported. .

Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations Photo: Seth Wenig/AP/Profimedia

“The refusal to accept a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians and the denial of the Palestinian people’s right to a state is unacceptable,” Guterres said, before continuing: “It will prolong indefinitely a conflict that has become a major threat to a solution.” global peace and security, exacerbating polarization and emboldening extremists around the world.”

“The right of the Palestinian people to build their own state must be recognized by all,” the UN Secretary General emphasized.

According to AFP estimates based on official Israeli figures, the war was sparked by an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7 in southern Israel that killed 1,140 people, mostly civilians.

About 250 people were taken hostage at the time, and 132 are still in Gaza, of whom at least 25 may have been killed, according to the latest estimates by Israeli authorities. During the truce at the end of November, about a hundred people were released.

According to the Ministry of Health of the ruling Hamas movement in Gaza, more than 24,000 people, the vast majority of whom are women, children and teenagers, have died in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli bombings and military operations.

On Monday, Antonio Guterres called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza.

The United States, Israel’s main ally and main sponsor in its war against Hamas, recently reaffirmed its support for a Palestinian state, causing friction with the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On the same topic:

  • Israeli-American dispute over Palestinian state deepens / Borrell: Israel created and financed Hamas to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state