N Chief Urges Action to Safeguard Palestinian Rights, Revive Two-State Solution

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Monday that the situation facing the Palestinian people is growing increasingly dire, calling on the international community to take urgent steps to preserve the viability of a two-State solution.

Speaking at the opening session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People at UN Headquarters, Guterres said the window for peace is rapidly closing amid continued violence, settlement expansion and worsening humanitarian conditions.

“The clock is ticking louder than ever,” the Secretary-General said, stressing that political commitments must be translated into concrete action on the ground.

Guterres pointed to ongoing civilian suffering in Gaza, noting that hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since an October agreement entered into force. He urged all parties to fully implement the agreement, exercise restraint, and comply with international humanitarian law and relevant UN resolutions.

He also called for the immediate facilitation of rapid and unhindered humanitarian access, emphasizing the need to ensure the delivery of food, shelter, medical assistance and education supplies, including through key crossings.

Turning to the occupied West Bank, Guterres condemned what he described as relentless illegal settlement expansion, demolitions, evictions and displacement. He said tens of thousands of Palestinians were displaced last year, warning that such practices further undermine the prospects for a viable Palestinian state.

The Secretary-General voiced particular concern over plans to expand settlements in the E1 area, cautioning that such moves could sever territorial contiguity between the northern and southern West Bank.

Guterres also reaffirmed the UN’s support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), criticizing recent Israeli legislation that he said hampers the agency’s operations. He stressed that UN facilities and personnel are protected under international law and called on member states to continue providing political and financial support to the agency.