Visiting Gaza for the first time since taking office as United
Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres today called for
Palestinian unity, saying division “only undermines the cause of
the Palestinian people.”
Speaking to reporters at a UN-supported school in northern
Gaza, the Secretary-General appealed for unity, in line with
the principles of the Palestinian Liberation Organization,
which include rejecting violence and terrorism, and recognizing
Israel's right to exist in peace.
“I have a dream. A dream to one day see the Holy Land with two
states – Israel and Palestine – living in peace and security
together,” Mr. Guterres told reporters
in Beit Lahiya, Gaza, at a school run by the UN Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Making this second appeal, Mr. Guterres underscored the
importance of a credible political process and actions to
improve living conditions of Palestinians.
“It is important to open the closures, in line with resolution
1860” he said, referring the Security Council resolution from
2009 which called for an immediate ceasefire to the fighting
between Israel and Hamas and lifting of blockades for food,
fuel and medicines.
The resolution was meant to diffuse an intra-Palestinian
conflict which flared when Hamas took over Gaza in 2007. Since
then, Israel sought to isolate the group by restricting the
movements of goods and people in and out of the strip.
In today's statement, Mr. Guterres that it was important to
avoid the “build-up of the militantism” that can undermine the
confidence between the two people,” he added.
The UN chief today appealed to the international community to
strongly support humanitarian aid in Gaza. He ordered an
immediate release of $4 million from the limited resources of
the Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF), to support the UN
activities working for the benefit of the Gaza people.
Mr. Guterres, who toured the Israeli-Gaza border by helicopter
and then crossed it by vehicle, called the conditions in Gaza,
“one of the most dramatic humanitarian crises” he has seen
during his time working as a humanitarian.
The two million people living in Gaza have lack access to basic
services, such as electricity, food or healthcare. The real
gross domestic product (GDP) is largely stagnant, unemployment
is up and the infrastructure and private sector have been
gradually debilitated, according to a UN report published
last month.
Given the current trends, Gaza would become “unliveable” by
2020, according to the report.
'True peacemakers'
Wrapping up his trip to the Middle East, Mr. Guterres today
also visited the Museum of the Jewish People, where he
reiterated his ongoing calls for an end to anti-Semitism around
the world.
Pledging that he will do all possible to stand against
anti-Semitism and all other forms of bigotry and
discrimination, Mr. Guteres stressed that anti-Semitism
includes calls for the destruction of Israel.
“Israel is a Member State of the United Nations. It bears all
the responsibilities and enjoys all the rights of every other
Member State and, therefore, it must be treated as such,” he
stressed.
Mr. Guterres described meeting families in Nahal Oz, a kibbutz
close to the Gaza Strip. Speaking with relatives of a child
killed by a Palestinian rocket, he told of a request to help
the Palestinians in Gaza have better lives.
Calling the request a “fantastic example of solidarity, of
humanity, of tolerance,” Mr. Guterres paid tribute to the
“voices of these true peacemakers.”
“Let us not forget that those individual peacebuilders
represent the best faces of their communities and serve as the
human foundation so essential for a lasting peace, here and
everywhere,” he said.
