UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Photo: GPO
UN chief: Palestinian recognition gains momentum
Ban says international community's failure to advance diplomatic solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict is spurring governments to recognize Palestinian state.
UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday the international community's failure to advance a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is spurring governments and parliaments to take action to recognize the state of Palestine - and "that momentum will grow."
The UN chief said at the UN commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People that the international community must assume "a collective failure" for not being able to get a peace deal.
"Indeed - as we see around the world - governments and parliaments are taking action," Ban said.
Palestinian President Abbas and UN Secretary-General Ban (Photo: AFP)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a statement read at the commemoration, welcomed changes in popular sentiment in the West that have reached "official political levels," starting with Sweden's recognition of the state of Palestine and the overwhelming motions supporting recognition by parliaments in Britain, Ireland and Spain.
He said these actions, and upcoming votes in France and other European countries, are "positive developments which enhance the opportunities for peace and security and stability in the region."
"Does Israel, the occupying power, understand all of the messages in this regard?," Abbas asked.
Abbas accused Israel of trying to alter or erase the Palestinian and Christian and Muslim presence in Jerusalem and of taking measures aimed at turning East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state, into a Jewish area.
Secretary-General Ban warned that incitement and provocative acts at the holy sites in Jerusalem "are fanning the flames of conflict far beyond the holy city."
"Extremists on both sides are dictating the agenda," Ban said. "I call on the parties to step back from the brink and find the path of peace before hope and time run out."
Much of the recent violence has stemmed from tensions surrounding Jerusalem's hilltop complex that is revered by Muslims and Jews. The collapse of US-brokered peace talks, Israel's war last summer in the Gaza Strip against the Islamic militant group Hamas, continued Israeli settlement construction in East Jerusalem and the series of terrorist attacks commited by Palestinians that claimed the lives of 11 Israelis, have all added to Israeli-Palestinian distrust.
Abbas reiterated that the Palestinians are seeking a UN Security Council resolution that would set November 2016 as the deadline for Israeli troops to withdraw from all Palestinian territory. Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour indicated there will not be a vote in November.
