Nikolay Mladenov, the High Representative of the Peace Council, said Monday at the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi that the failure to make progress in Gaza, coupled with escalating violence in the occupied West Bank, is making a two-state solution “impossible.”
اضافة اعلان
US President Donald Trump established the Peace Council, which is tasked with implementing the ceasefire plan agreed in October between Israel and Hamas.
“If Gaza remains as it is now, or if implementation of the plan we have does not begin, the two-state solution will effectively become impossible,” Mladenov said.
He added that “with everything happening in the West Bank, and with more than 50% of Gaza currently under the control of the Israeli military and less than 50% under Hamas control, there is no credible pathway toward a political solution to the conflict.”
Hamas agreed in late July to a US-backed roadmap aimed at launching the second phase of the peace plan, which calls for its disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Israel, however, has not agreed to the plan. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is demanding the complete disarmament of Hamas before any Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Excluding occupied East Jerusalem, which Israel has annexed, around three million Palestinians live in the West Bank alongside more than 500,000 settlers residing in settlements.
“The only way we can get back to that is to have a transitional administration, disarmament and a withdrawal from Gaza,” Mladenov said.
On Sunday, US envoy and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner said at a press conference in Kyiv that Israel’s upcoming elections are making Israeli leaders “a little less rational” regarding Gaza.
“We agree with them on what the end state should look like. They just have a crazy election, and that makes them a little less rational on certain aspects, but we are very determined and working to get past these issues,” Kushner said, referring to Israel.
“You cannot go in if there are weapons,” he added. “We are now beginning to understand the extent of Gaza’s militarization. It is beyond what you can comprehend. Therefore, disarming it will not be easy.”
Source: AFP
