Committed to supporting Israelis, Palestinians to resolve conflict: UN

United Nations: UN chief Antonio Guterres said the global body remains committed to supporting Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the conflict on the basis of UN resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements, a day after US President Donald Trump unveiled his Middle East peace plan aimed at settling one of the world’s longest disputes.
Flanked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House on Tuesday, Trump proposed a two-state solution and said no Israelis or Palestinians would be uprooted from their homes under his plan.
Describing it as “historic” and a “giant step” towards peace, he said that under his vision, Jerusalem “will remain Israel’s undivided, very important capital.”
He proposed Palestinian capital in Eastern Jerusalem and that US will set up its embassy there.
“The Secretary-General has seen the announcement of the United States plan for the Middle East. The position of the United Nations on the two-State solution has been defined, throughout the years, by relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions by which the Secretariat is bound,” a statement issued by UN Secretary-General Guterres’ spokesman said here on Tuesday.
The UN “remains committed to supporting Palestinians and Israelis to resolve the conflict on the basis of UN resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements and realising the vision of two States — Israel and Palestine — living side by side in peace and security within recognised borders, on the basis of the pre-1967 lines.”
Trump had said the plan calls for a four-year freeze in Israeli settlement activity and doubling of Palestinian territory. Asserting that his peace plan will more than double the size of Palestinian territory, Trump said that Palestinian people “deserve a far better life” than being trapped in a cycle of terrorism and violence.” (PTI)