The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, reiterated that “there can be no long-term solution in Gaza that is not fundamentally political.”
“The new Palestinian Government, with eight ministers from Gaza, represents an important opportunity to support tangible steps towards unifying Gaza and the occupied West Bank politically, economically, administratively,” he added at a UN Security Council session.
“The international community should provide support to the new Government to address its fiscal challenges, strengthen its governance capacity and prepare it to reassume its responsibilities in Gaza and, ultimately, govern the whole of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The Palestinian Authority must also be an integral part of planning for Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction.”
“The devastation and misery of the past seven months have reinforced a simple truth. Palestinians and Israelis can no longer wait to establish a viable political horizon to end the conflict and establish a two-State solution,” he noted.
“I am very concerned that the failure to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and a large-scale military operation in Rafah exacerbates the risk of escalating regional tensions,” Wennesland added, saying that “the situation is becoming increasingly desperate and dangerous for the already besieged population.”
Wennesland expressed concern over the security situation in Rafah, saying that “it has rapidly worsened as the Israeli operations and military maneuvers in and around the city have intensified.”
The Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, by land, sea and air, which began on October 7th, has so far resulted in the killing of 35,562 Palestinian civilians, the majority of whom were children and women, and injuring 79,652 others, in an infinite toll, as thousands of victims are still under the rubble.
Source: WAFA
