Rejection of 2-state solution to prolong war, threaten world peace: UN

United Nations: Israel President Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting the two-state solution will prolong the conflict in Gaza, threatening global peace, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Tuesday. He also said that if the conflict goes unabated, extremists will be emboldened across the world, the Associated Press reported.

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 recognised 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 United States, 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.

The UN secretary-general also repeated his longstanding call for a humanitarian cease-fire — an appeal supported by almost all nations.

But Israel's UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan again rejected a cease-fire, saying Hamas, which carried out a brutal attack on southern Israel on October 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.

The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza says more than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, which has caused widespread destruction, displaced an estimated 85 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million people, and left one-quarter facing starvation.