The Secretary-General spoke at an event this morning marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, and he said that Israelis and Palestinians must break out of a zero-sum mentality. Noting the vote taking place this afternoon in the General Assembly on Non-Member Observer State status, he said the question is a matter for United Nations Member States to decide.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
Under Secretary-General Hervé Ladsous and Chef de Cabinet Susana Malcorra briefed the Security Council today on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country’s peacekeeping mission had reported some signs that the M23 was preparing to withdraw from Goma, but there was no major movement as of yet.
Robert Serry, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, just back from the region, briefed Security Council members today on his visits to Gaza and Rishon Letzion, and informed them that Egypt and the parties had, after last week’s devastating violence and the ceasefire, commenced with intensive talks.
Today in Vienna, the Secretary-General will attend the inauguration ceremony for the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, where he will welcome its commitment to promoting a global respect for all world religions.
As the Secretary-General today continued his shuttle diplomacy among the capitals in the Middle East, this morning he condemned in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attack on a bus in the centre of Tel Aviv. There are no circumstances that justify the targeting of civilians, he said, while expressing his sadness and sympathy for those injured in the blast.
The Secretary-General is meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu here in Jerusalem. He met the Israeli Foreign and Defence Ministers right after he arrived in Jerusalem from Cairo, and you will have also seen that we met Egyptian Prime Minister [Hisham] Qandil and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States in Cairo earlier today. The Secretary-General will be going to Ramallah tomorrow to meet President [Mahmoud] Abbas.
Before arriving in Cairo to support Egyptian efforts towards a ceasefire in Gaza, the Secretary-General visited Yemen to mark the Peace and Transition Agreement’s upcoming first anniversary, and hold meetings with the President, Prime Minister, cabinet, military committee, and Preparatory Committee for the National Dialogue.
The Secretary-General is extremely concerned about the violence in Gaza and Israel and about the rising civilian toll. A new cycle of bloodshed will make neither Israelis nor Palestinians more secure. Nor will it open the door to negotiations that could achieve the two-State solution necessary to end such violence permanently.
Chef de Cabinet, Susana Malcorra, and the Head of the Secretary-General’s Internal Review Panel on United Nations Action in Sri Lanka, Charles Petrie, briefed on the panel’s report, which highlights areas for improvement in the Organization’s system. Ms. Malcorra says this is moment of strong inspection.
The Secretary-General, having been briefed by Charles Petrie today on the findings of the Internal Review Panel on United Nations Action in Sri Lanka, will convene a senior-level team to review the report’s recommendations and advise him on moving the Organization forward in its core mission of protecting people from harm.