The United Nations, the Security Council and the wider
international community all have fallen into a pattern of
“managing, rather than resolving” the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict, the UN envoy on the Middle East peace process warned
Thursday, saying it was time to end this paralysis, show
political leadership and push for policies on the ground that
rebuild trust.
“Twenty-five years after the Oslo Accords, we are at a critical
point in the peace process,” said Nickolay Mladenov, Special
Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, at a Security
Council briefing, referring to a set of agreements, the first
of which was signed in 1993, establishing a timetable for
achieving peace between the two sides.
The uncertainty and volatility of the current environment, he
continued, is hardening positions and sharpening the rhetoric
on all sides, “a situation that plays directly into the hands
of extremists and increases the risk of another conflict.”
He said that absent a credible proposal that can become the
basis of final status negotiations, the international community
must continue to build the conditions necessary for a
resumption of talks.
“We must also reaffirm the international consensus that the
two-State solution remains the only viable option for a just
and sustainable end to the conflict. We must be unwavering in
this position,” he said.
The two-State solution means having Israel and Palestine as two
separate States living side by side in peace, security and
mutual recognition.
Mr. Mladenov noted that there are those who believe that the
conflict can be solved through peaceful bilateral negotiations
and compromises, by addressing the final status issues of
borders, security, refugees and the status of Jerusalem on the
basis of prior agreements and relevant UN resolutions.
Some believe in malting unilateral moves that can only lead to
a one-state reality that is incompatible with the aspirations
of both peoples. And there are those who believe in violence,
he said.
“We – the United Nations, the Security Council, the
international community – have a responsibility to prove that
those who believe in violence and confrontation are wrong,” he
said.
With this year marking the 25th anniversary of the Oslo
Accords, it is time to push for policies on the ground that
rebuild trust; to engage on final status issues on the basis of
international consensus; to show political leadership to remove
the obstacles to a sustainable solution.
This paralysis has elicited a heavy price: continued violence
and insecurity; Israel’s ever-expanding, illegal settlement
enterprise; a persistent Palestinian political divide; and a
deteriorating, unsustainable situation in Gaza under the
control of Hamas. Taken together, these elements kill hope,
breed frustration, and increase radicalization on the ground,
he explained.
While the Accords’ “daring” vision for peace remains to be
fulfilled, “now is not the time to give up on Oslo. The
alternative is not a better deal, but a worsening reality of
occupation and humiliation,” he stated.
