Violence and settlement expansion in the Israeli-occupied West Bank are raising the “spectre of ethnic cleansing” and eroding prospects for a two-state solution, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned on Tuesday.
Addressing world leaders in a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, Mr Guterres said the conflict is “bulldozing the path to peace”.
“We cannot allow the two-state solution to disappear before our eyes,” he said.
Mr Guterres also urged leaders to use the annual high-level meeting to de-escalate conflicts across the Middle East, warning that fighting was “cascading” across the region and that ceasefires had amounted to little more than “lesser fires”.
“Enough is enough,” he said. “The fighting must stop. Humanitarian aid must flow. And navigational rights and freedoms must be fully restored with accordance with international law.”
Turning to Gaza, Mr Guterres described Israel’s military campaign following the Hamas-led 2023 attacks as an “onslaught on Palestinians”, with a scale of killing and destruction unlike anything he had witnessed during his near decade-long tenure as UN chief.
He said the turmoil engulfing the wider Middle East should not divert international attention from the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Mr Guterres also highlighted the work of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has issued measures ordering Israel to prevent acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention in Gaza. Israel has denied allegations of genocide.
“All parties must comply with international law and the court’s orders,” Mr Guterres said.
He said the UN must also be allowed to carry out its work in Gaza and that its staff and other humanitarian workers must be protected.
In his final address before he steps down from his post at the end of this year, Mr Guterres also pleaded for “a world built on interdependence” and called on world leaders not to give up on co-operation and shared decision-making in the face of accelerating global challenges and increasing competition among the great powers.
On climate, Mr Guterres condemned major global oil companies for treating the atmosphere like an “open sewer”.
“We know that fossil fuel interests won't step aside on their own. For decades, 'Big Oil' has treated the atmosphere as an open sewer and cashed in on the consequences,” Mr Guterres said.
“Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, five major western oil companies have pocketed nearly half a trillion dollars in profits.” He compared the amount with the $34 billion in financing that has been mobilised to help developing countries adapt to a warming world.
“Meanwhile, everyday people are paying more for energy, food and insurance,” he said, comparing the “abuse of power” by the fossil fuel industry to the actions of so-called big tobacco.
