{"id":243495,"date":"2020-12-08T12:10:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-08T17:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=243495"},"modified":"2020-12-11T12:20:19","modified_gmt":"2020-12-11T17:20:19","slug":"prospects-for-peace-between-israelis-palestinians-remain-remote-as-ever-secretary%e2%80%91general-stresses-as-international-media-seminar-opens-press-release-pal-2238","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/prospects-for-peace-between-israelis-palestinians-remain-remote-as-ever-secretary%e2%80%91general-stresses-as-international-media-seminar-opens-press-release-pal-2238\/","title":{"rendered":"Prospects for Peace Between Israelis, Palestinians Remain Remote as Ever, Secretary\u2011General Stresses, as International Media Seminar Opens – Press Release (PAL\/2238)"},"content":{"rendered":"
PAL\/2238<\/strong>
\n8 DECEMBER 2020<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Journalists, media experts, policymakers and scholars within academic and faith communities in Palestine, Israel and elsewhere gathered for the opening of the twenty\u2011seventh annual International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East today, held for the first time in virtual format, amid the ongoing COVID\u201119 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Organized by the United Nations Department of Global Communications, the Seminar takes place over two days, with the 2020\u00a0panel discussions exploring the themes \u201cThe Israel\u2011Palestine conflict and challenges of the new decade\u201d and \u201cA tale of two narratives:\u00a0 misinformation and disinformation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Welcoming participants convening by webcast around the world, Melissa Fleming, Under\u2011Secretary\u2011General for Global Communications, said the Seminar provides an annual opportunity for media practitioners and experts to learn more about trends in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.\u00a0 \u201cWe will hear the exchange of ideas, experiences and perceptions,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, Secretary\u2011General of the United Nations, addressing participants in a message read out by Ms. Fleming, recalled that the annual event was born 29\u00a0years ago to help promote peace and understanding between Israelis and Palestinians.\u00a0 \u201cUnfortunately, the possibility of that peace seems as remote as ever,\u201d he noted, expressing his understanding of the deep despair experienced by Palestinians.\u00a0 Their dreams, generation after generation, have been \u201cdimmed by conflict and more than half a century of occupation.\u201d\u00a0 He also recognized the legitimate concerns of Israelis and their aspirations to live in peace and security.<\/p>\n

Recalling that the United Nations position is defined by resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly, as well as international law and bilateral agreements, he emphasized that a two\u2011State solution remains the only path for ensuring both sides can realize their legitimate aspirations, living side\u2011by\u2011side in peace and security, based on the 1967\u00a0borders and with Jerusalem the capital of both States.\u00a0 \u201cI will continue to speak out against any effort that undermines peace and moves the parties further away from constructive negotiations,\u201d he said, urging Israeli and Palestinian leaders to resume a meaningful dialogue and welcoming all international initiatives that can help advance a just, comprehensive peace.<\/p>\n

Cheikh Niang\u00a0<\/strong>(Senegal), Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, outlined the ways in which that body fulfils its General Assembly mandate to raise awareness about the Question of Palestine, notably by disseminating information through social media.\u00a0 Its website \u2014\u00a0www.un.org\/unispal\/committee<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 hosts the world\u2019s largest online repository of United Nations documents on the Question of Palestine, featuring more than 36,000\u00a0materials.\u00a0 Nonetheless, the Committee faces challenges in countering disinformation, he said, adding that its connections with the media are integral to its work.<\/p>\n

Noting that 2020\u00a0will be remembered as the year in which COVID\u201119 changed people\u2019s way of life \u2014 \u201cincluding how we communicate and interact with each other\u201d \u2014 he said the pandemic has particularly affected Palestinians.\u00a0 The burden of endless occupation and a fragile economy has pushed to the brink the public health system in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, he said:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThese are times when the Palestinian people need not only expressions of solidarity, but also our empathetic action.\u201d<\/p>\n

And yet, international media offer barely adequate coverage of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, he pointed out.\u00a0 Incessant efforts are being made to distract reporters from the fact that peaceful resolution of the Palestinian\u2011Israeli conflict is the only route to peace in the region.\u00a0 \u201cI urge you in the media fraternity to seriously consider how history will judge our generation if we were to wrong the Palestinian people twice over,\u201d first by standing aside while their rights are denied, and then by misreporting or not reporting current events.\u00a0 \u201cThis would be tantamount to a miscarriage of justice,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n

Rallying participants around their duty to report truth \u2014 and to speak truth to power \u2014 he cited General Assembly resolution\u00a0181(ii) of\u00a01947, which calls for carving two States out of mandate Palestine.\u00a0 Since\u00a01967, he emphasized, millions of Palestinians have lived under siege on their own land or as refugees unable to return home.\u00a0 International law is clear that Israel\u2019s occupation and settlement of Palestinian land is illegal \u2014 and that it must end, he affirmed.\u00a0 \u201cWe urge colleagues in the media to never lose sight of these truths,\u201d he said, adding:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt is incumbent on all of us to not let international readers and viewers lose sight of what is happening in Palestine.\u201d\u00a0 He went on to express full support for the proposal by the President of the State of Palestine to hold an international peace conference in\u00a02021.<\/p>\n

The International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East will reconvene at 10:30\u00a0a.m. on Wednesday, 9\u00a0December, to hold its second panel discussion.<\/p>\n

Panel I:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe Israel\u2011Palestine conflict and challenges of the new decade<\/u>\u201d<\/p>\n

The day began with a panel discussion titled \u201cThe Israel\u2011Palestine conflict and challenges of the new decade.\u201d\u00a0 Moderated by Ms. Fleming, it featured presentations by Rabbi Michael Melchior, President of the Mosaica Center for Interreligious Cooperation \u2014 MERPI\u00a0(Middle East Religious Peace Initiative), former Member of the Knesset and Cabinet Minister of Israel; Nour Odeh, Founder and CEO of Connect Strategic Communications Consultancy, former Director of the Palestinian Media Centre and Spokesperson of the Palestinian Authority; and Grace Wermenbol, Non\u2011Resident Scholar, Middle East Institute.<\/p>\n

Ms. FLEMING laid the ground for discussions, noting that\u00a02020 not only brought a pandemic that changed the face of the world, but with it, radical political developments that impacted the Israel\u2011Palestine conflict and prospects for long\u2011term peace. \u00a0Some consider the events to have \u201cbroken new ground\u201d, while others see them as significant setbacks, she said.\u00a0 Expressing hope of exploring the challenges to peace in an important part of the world, she sought the views of panellists on widespread concern that prospects for regional peace and a two\u2011State solution are now \u201cas remote as ever\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr. MELCHIOR, recalling his years as a rabbinical student in Jerusalem, said the first principle of Judaism originates from Hillel\u00a0[the Elder], more than 2,000\u00a0years ago:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cDo not do to the other what you would hate the other to do to you.\u201d\u00a0 From that principle stems his intense belief, from a religious perspective, in the return of the Jews to their ancient homeland and their right to self\u2011determination.\u00a0 \u201cThis is a personal belief that does not oblige anyone else,\u201d he explained, saying these events, should they come to pass, are the fulfilment of a Biblical promise.\u00a0 Likewise, it is not a \u201cdivine mistake\u201d that another people \u2014 the Palestinian people \u2014 also live in the area, he added.\u00a0 \u201cI believe the same is true for the Palestinian people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pointing out that he has promoted a two\u2011State solution for years, he recalled that, in collaboration with those who established the Islamic Movement, he created the religious peace track of the Middle East Peace Process, involving different Palestinian and Israeli parties.\u00a0 Those efforts have saved thousands of lives on both sides, including those who were not \u201cinside the classical peace tent,\u201d he said.\u00a0 Recalling his participation in a debate at Oxford University over whether the peace process is still alive, he pointed out that many processes are ongoing under the surface.\u00a0 Many more people today are working for a just solution that will allow Palestinians to exercise their rights \u2014 \u201cwithout which I believe the Israelis will not have their freedom or their future,\u201d he stressed.\u00a0 It remains to be seen whether recent efforts will promote Israeli\u2011Palestinian peace, or simply amount to a business deal.\u00a0 Expressing optimism, he explained that he sees people \u201con the other side\u201d as partners with whom he can work towards peace.<\/p>\n

Ms. ODEH said she does not share such optimism, explaining that she \u201clives the reality\u201d of the occupation.\u00a0 Emphasizing the importance of speaking about what is wrong with the narrative, she declared, \u201cThere is no peace,\u201d adding, \u201cand there is no process.\u201d\u00a0 Pointing out that peace is made between enemies, not friends, she disagreed with the need for partners and urged the parties instead to sit at a table where international law dictates the framework for a solution.\u00a0 The disconnect, ongoing since the birth of the peace process, arises from Israel\u2019s having been given a free pass from its identity as an occupying Power, she emphasized, describing the idea that Palestinians and Israelis are equal \u2014 with suffering on both sides \u2014 as a false narrative unique to this conflict.\u00a0 It arises from an occupation that has lasted more than half a century, by an occupying Power that violates without shame all resolutions of the General Assembly and Security Council, as well as its international legal obligations.<\/p>\n

Further, the space provided in the media and academia for those advocating Palestinian rights is shrinking through censorship of Palestinian voices under various guises, she noted.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re all put in this corner where we are forced to adopt the false narrative of two equal partners,\u201d she said, pointing out that discussion of peace is sanitized of the need for justice for victims and accountability for those who violate international law.\u00a0 The last four years have seen a whole new dimension of impunity, she stressed, pointing out that the current President of the United States is leaving office with a legacy of legislation and administrative orders that empower Israel to commit de\u00a0facto annexation via settlement expansion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is the reality,\u201d she continued.\u00a0 \u201cThis is not about being partners; it is about Palestinians\u2019 need to be emancipated from this occupation.\u201d\u00a0 Recalling that their lands were taken without their voice, or participation, she said Palestinians still agreed to the creation of a State on 22\u00a0per\u00a0cent of their territory.\u00a0 \u201cThey are the only ones asked to deliver the proposed solution,\u201d she said, pointing out that in no other conflict were people under occupation asked to convince their occupiers to be benevolent enough to end the occupation.\u00a0 \u201cThat is a flaw in the status quo conversation.\u201d\u00a0 She went on to state that given the racist ethnocentric ideology espoused by the President of the United States and the Republican Party \u2014 and the extreme wing in Israel \u2014 it is hard to be optimistic, warning that, unless Israel is compelled, like other occupiers, to abandon such behaviour, the conversation will remain disconnected from reality.<\/p>\n

Ms. WERMENBOL agreed that the current United States administration enacted harmful policies that upended long\u2011standing norms.\u00a0 They markedly favoured Israel and disenfranchised Palestinians, attempting to force them to the table by withdrawing aid, an approach that proved ineffectual, she said.\u00a0 Observing that peace \u201cseems increasingly remote\u201d, particularly since the incoming United States administration is unlikely to prioritize a new peace effort, she said it could nonetheless offer changes in United States foreign policy.\u00a0 Citing those changes that the United States could promote to reassert itself as a credible partner and mediator in a peace process, she pointed out that the incoming administration has indicated a desire to reinstate assistance to Palestinians and reopen the United States consulate in East Jerusalem.\u00a0 How that will occur in the context of the Taylor Force Act is not yet clear and legal hurdles will have to be overcome, she cautioned.<\/p>\n

She went on to say the incoming administration should make clear its adherence to international legal standards, notably by returning the United States to the Human Rights Council.\u00a0 It should also return to the pre\u20112018 practice of referring to the West Bank and Gaza as \u201coccupied\u201d, and to Israel\u2019s settlements as being in breach of resolution\u00a02334\u00a0(2016).\u00a0 It should further denounce the destruction of Palestinian homes, which embodies the creeping annexation or imposition of Israeli law, she emphasized.\u00a0 Even if a peace deal with the same interlocutors is unlikely, the United States should act on every opportunity to engage in peace talks as its current absence parallels the ongoing violence, she added.\u00a0 Among other ideas, she said the United States can leverage the anniversary of the 1991\u00a0Madrid Conference and re\u2011engage in a new international conference aimed at reinvigorating the peace process.<\/p>\n

In a second round of discussion, the Moderator sought panellists\u2019 views on how to restore hope and revive the peace process.<\/p>\n

Ms. WERMENBOL recommended a multilateral approach to restarting negotiations, with the Middle East Quartet\u00a0(United Nations, United States, Russian Federation, European Union) taking the lead role and Arab Gulf States involved in ways that do not disenfranchise the Palestinians.<\/p>\n

Mr. MELCHIOR, responding first to Ms. Odeh\u2019s comments in the first round of discussion, agreed that there are different narratives about who is more at fault.\u00a0 Pointing out that he works closely with Palestinian partners \u2014 including the President and more radical elements \u2014 to address breaches of human rights, he insisted:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI know this situation from very close up.\u201d\u00a0 Condemnations of Israel in international forums \u201chave not brought help to the Palestinian people,\u201d he emphasized.\u00a0 Recalling a time when everyone supported peace, he said it is important to ask what went wrong.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to bring in the forces that are dead set against it,\u201d rather than simply organize a conference, he stressed.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to change the mindset and make people believe that peace is possible.\u201d\u00a0 He went on to reject the divide\u2011and\u2011conquer policy espoused by Israel, the West and many in the Arab world.\u00a0 \u201cWe are not equal partners, I understand that,\u201d he declared.\u00a0 \u201cBut if the tent of peace can be opened to more players, then they can force leaders to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. ODEH said freedom is the inevitable destiny of Palestinians, and once they are able to exercise their inalienable rights, peace will become a reality.\u00a0 While objecting to the counter\u2011intuitive process described by Mr. Melchior, she said, \u201cI understand where he is coming from\u201d and the privilege that allows him to speak about a tent of peace.\u00a0 \u201cBut his house is not under threat,\u201d she pointed out.\u00a0 She went on to emphasize that the only way to create change is to hold accountable those who breach international law.\u00a0 Israel has never been pushed into respecting its international legal obligations, she said, adding that, to prove it can be a credible partner and balanced mediator, the incoming United States administration must pursue a paradigm shift.\u00a0 Rather than basing the relationship on how much the United States can extract from Palestinians, to the benefit of Israelis, it must engage in a bilateral relationship, building up to a peace conference through a multilateral approach advocated by the President \u2014 including to the Security Council \u2014 since\u00a02018.\u00a0 Resolving the legacy of the previous United States administration will be among the hurdles, she cautioned, while insisting:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat is needed is for this occupation to end.\u201d\u00a0 The media, for their part, should study the role they have played in domestic and international politics, she said, stressing that they have engaged in polarization rather than taking a detached role and providing objectivity, nuance and facts.<\/p>\n

In round three, the Moderator asked panellists how the media can play a more constructive role in advancing prospects for peace.<\/p>\n

Ms. WERMENBOL, addressing earlier comments, said a bottom\u2011up approach whereby people cajole leaders into peace is \u201csomewhat of an ideal\u201d.\u00a0 In fact, polls show that people\u2019s belief in peace has declined amid greater support for more fringe ideas, she added.\u00a0 Peace deals are created by leaders, and while it is unlikely they can forge an accord any time soon, Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said any agreement with Arab\u2011majority nations demonstrates that talks with Palestinians are unnecessary, she said.\u00a0 Recalling last week\u2019s vote to dissolve the Knesset, she cited polls showing that if new elections are held, the Likud Party \u2014 with Prime Minister Netanyahu at its head \u2014 would win.\u00a0 As for the media\u2019s role in supporting honest narratives, she pressed leaders to take responsibility for speaking the truth \u2014 \u201con this side of the Atlantic and in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. MELCHIOR agreed that top\u2011down and bottom\u2011up approaches are needed, while saying there is a reason people do not believe peace is possible:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThat is what we have been fed for a long time.\u201d \u00a0Recalling when Israel abandoned its settlements only to incur a \u201crain of rockets\u201d from Gaza and declarations by Palestinian leaders, he said the past explains current fears that similar events would unfold if agreement was reached on the pre\u20111967 borders.\u00a0 \u201cThe narrative is that credibility must be restored,\u201d which is why Israel\u2019s right wing, after the Second Intifada and the mid\u20111990s, does not believe there is a partner on the other side, he observed. \u00a0\u201cWe can change that,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cThe situation is different today.\u201d\u00a0 When it becomes known that the religious movement involves thousands of people from around the Arab world, \u201cthis will change attitudes and force leaders to do what is necessary:\u00a0\u00a0make peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without that influence, the new United States administration will not \u201cforce the arm\u201d of Israel\u2019s Government to do what the\u00a0[Barack]\u00a0Obama administration did not force it to do, he said, emphasizing that neither the international community nor Arab countries will exert such influence.\u00a0 The pressure must come from the two parties, he said, reiterating:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt needs to come from us.\u201d \u00a0He went on to explain the aim of the religious peace movement through the words of Abu Mazen\u00a0[Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas]:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re taking the main obstacle in the\u00a01990s and you\u2019re moving it away from the main path to peace.\u201d\u00a0 Clarifying that the conflict is not religious, but national in nature, he said people in Israel are convinced there can never be peace with Islam, so those in the peace camp believe peace must be made with secular Palestinians. \u00a0However, the latter\u2019s numbers are few, he noted, emphasizing:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou need to make peace with all Palestinians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. ODEH, asked about her views on the religious movement, said that while making a commendable effort, \u201creligious leaders should stick to religion.\u201d\u00a0 Agreeing that the conflict is not religious in nature, she emphasized, \u201cThis is about self\u2011determination,\u201d rejecting the formula whereby captives and captors are partners.\u00a0 \u201cWe cannot be partners at this point,\u201d unless it is on the ground resisting the occupation together, she stressed.\u00a0 In such a case, however, that partnership would still be unequal, born of a need for a political opening, she pointed out.\u00a0 Efforts to end the occupation must stand on a clear political foundation of international law and recognition of what must be done, she said, explaining that Israel\u2019s unilateral exit from Gaza was not the result of negotiations.\u00a0 In its place came a draconian regime of restrictions that separated Gaza from its natural extension in the West Bank, she noted.<\/p>\n

All other conditions that came into play, including sanctions arising from elections, resulted in what is now a political divide that has weakened the Palestinian position, she said, while underlining that even in such conditions, the right of Palestinians to self\u2011determination is non\u2011negotiable.\u00a0 \u201cWe are not asking permission; it is not a right that the international community can debate,\u201d she asserted, stressing that when the political process goes nowhere and leaders are unable to reach a deal to end the occupation, the alternative will make itself \u201cvery clear\u201d on the ground.\u00a0 She advocated upending the entire framework upon which the Palestinian\u2011Israeli conflict has been addressed in the past, saying young Palestinians are \u201cfed up with everything that is being said because it has led nowhere.\u201d \u00a0Agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan do not advance the prospects for peace, but only embolden Israel, she noted.<\/p>\n

In final rounds of questions, the Moderator asked panellists how the pandemic has affected Palestinians and Israelis, and how it has influenced prospects for peace.<\/p>\n

Ms. ODEH said COVID\u201119 has made life extremely difficult for Palestinians.\u00a0 In the West Bank, the Government can only impose lockdowns in areas where it has enough control, notably in Area\u00a0A, the city\u2019s heart.\u00a0 In periphery areas of Ramallah, however, the authorities cannot ensure a lockdown will be effective.\u00a0 She said record home demolitions in occupied East Jerusalem have compounded suffering in Area\u00a0C. \u00a0The Government, under financial sanctions by the United States and pressure from Israel, is unable to deliver enough support to affected populations, she explained.\u00a0 Problems faced by small businesses around the world are amplified in the Palestinian territories, where authorities are unable to pay civil servants, let alone offer other assistance.<\/p>\n

Mr. MELCHIOR agreed that the pandemic has hit both Palestinians and Israelis hard.\u00a0 Among Israel\u2019s 9.2\u00a0million citizens, casualty numbers rival those registered in the United States in one day, he said, adding:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cFor us, it\u2019s a very big number.\u201d \u00a0He said the World Health Organization\u00a0(WHO) asked him to join a religious task force after a false story emerged that WHO would pay $40,000\u00a0each time a person died of COVID\u201119.\u00a0 \u201cSo, people inflated the numbers,\u201d he said, recalling that he and his team held a Zoom conversation with religious leaders, doctors and other stakeholders, and Palestinian newspapers refuted the false claims the next day.<\/p>\n

Ms. WERMENBOL, citing the Yom Kippur war to indicate the magnitude of Israel\u2019s COVID\u2011related losses, said people in the United States similarly point to the events of 11\u00a0September\u00a02001 to capture the pandemic\u2019s toll on daily life.\u00a0 She expressed hope that Israel\u2019s recent transfer of $1\u00a0billion in customs and tax duties to the Palestinian Authority will help to fill the salary gap, noting that cuts in United States aid affected hospitals, including those in East Jerusalem.\u00a0 While agreeing that the conflict is primarily over land, with narratives around religious designations and disenfranchisement adding dimensions, she cautioned against conflating religion and ethnicity, whether through historical narratives or textbooks.\u00a0 Also, the United States Department of State\u2019s labelling of the \u201cBoycott, Divestment, Sanctions\u201d movement as anti\u2011Semitic could be harmful as it is conflates Israel and Judaism, she warned.<\/p>\n

Ms. WERMENBOL, responding to questions sent through the #UNMediaSeminar Twitter feed \u2014 first as to why there was no mention of the so\u2011called Abraham Accords \u2014 said the incoming United States administration can leverage the agreements to ensure there is no further settlement expansion in the West Bank or occupied East Jerusalem.\u00a0 There have been passive references to the Accords in the present discussion, she added.<\/p>\n

Ms. ODEH recalled having mentioned the Accords on several occasions without using that particular name.\u00a0 Their most dangerous component is that they serve to normalize Israel\u2019s impunity and annexation plans, she said, describing them as transactional agreements motivated by geopolitical interests, illusions about military alliances, and the need for an arms deal.\u00a0 She added that she sees no potential for the Accords to advance peace.<\/p>\n

Mr. MELCHIOR agreed that panellists referred to the agreements and questioned their label as the \u201cAbraham Accords\u201d.\u00a0 Recalling that he was asked to bless the arrangements and declined to do so, he pointed out that Israel\u2019s core conflict is not with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain or Sudan, but with the Palestinians.\u00a0 If the agreements are about business, \u201cI have no interest in this,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI am preoccupied with peace,\u201d he added.\u00a0 \u201cWithout peace, there is nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. MELCHIOR responded to a question about when the Israeli\u2011Palestinian conflict will end and peace prevail in the Middle East, by emphasizing that all parties must take responsibility and do what they can.\u00a0 \u201cYou can always say, \u2018It\u2019s somebody else\u2019,\u201d he said, recalling his father\u2019s adage that if one cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, it is not because the light is not there. \u00a0It is because the tunnel is not straight and one cannot see around the corner, he explained.\u00a0 He went on to agree that the right to self\u2011determination is impossible to argue.<\/p>\n

Ms. ODEH said the unholy situation unfolding in the Holy Land will end when it becomes more costly than pursuing the reality of injustice, when impunity is no longer encouraged and the humanity of those who have been dehumanized is recognized and respected \u2014 rather than conditioned upon anything.\u00a0 \u201cOur freedom as Palestinians is an historical inevitability,\u201d she reiterated.<\/p>\n

Ms. WERMENBOL stressed the need for a change in leadership, saying it is \u201cwholly unlikely\u201d that President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu can reach agreement.\u00a0 There must be a desire for change, she added, saying that aspiration is clear on the part of Palestinians because they have everything to gain. \u00a0Israel, however, has something to lose from a governance perspective.\u00a0 \u201cIt is about understanding the other side,\u201d she said. \u00a0In that context, she said, citing a common saying that if it were up to\u00a0[former Foreign Minister of Israel] Tzipi Livny and\u00a0[former United States Consul General in Haifa] Aubrey Lippincott \u201cit would take them two weeks.\u201d\u00a0 There must be a willingness to understand that the conflict will not end without sacrifices from both sides, she added.<\/p>\n

For information media. Not an official record.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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PAL\/2238 8 DECEMBER 2020 Journalists, media experts, policymakers and scholars within academic and faith communities in Palestine, Israel and elsewhere gathered for the opening of the twenty\u2011seventh annual International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East today, held for the first time in virtual format, amid the ongoing COVID\u201119 pandemic. Organized by the United […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"template-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[6169],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[2145],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[],"class_list":["post-243495","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-press-release","document-source-united-nations-department-of-global-communications","document-subject-public-information","entity-united-nations-system"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/243495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/243495\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=243495"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=243495"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=243495"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=243495"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=243495"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=243495"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=243495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}