No Plan B to Two-state Solution – Secretary-General Press Conference (SG/SM/21640) (Excerpts)

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Question:  Hello, Mr. Secretary‑General.  My name is Abdelhamid Siyam.  I’m from the Arabic daily al‑Quds al‑Arabi.  The year 2022, sir, had witnessed a… it was the bloodiest year for Palestinians in…  since 2006 in the West Bank.  Journalists were targeted and killed, as you know, Shireen Abu Akleh.  At least 55 children were killed.  Two-hundred and nineteen also were killed, mostly civilians.  And not only that, Israel elected the most extreme government in its history.  And if you don’t know who’s [Itamar] Ben‑Gvir, you should read Kahanism and his ideology, which was banned by Israel itself.  Now they are in power, and they coming to… apparently, to wage a genocidal war against the Palestinians, yet your voice, sir, had not been loudly heard condemning all these atrocities committed against the Palestinian.  What the Palestinian can do?  Do they have the right to resist occupation the way the Ukrainians do have the same right?  Thank you.

Secretary-General:  Well, first of all, it’s not true that I have not been clear and vocal about all these issues.  In relation to the violence in which lots of Palestinians have perished, we were very clear in our condemnation.  And if you read the last report that was presented by me to the Security Council, it is there again and loud and clear.  And of course, we are concerned, because we believe that there is no Plan B to the two‑State solution, and we are very concerned with what the next Israeli Government might do in that regard.  And I think it’s very important that the whole of the international community be very clear explaining to the Government in Israel that there is no alternative to the two‑state solution and that no unilateral actions should be taken, putting into question the two‑state solution.

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