UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday said he was "determined" in his opposition to Israeli actions undermining a two-state solution, stressing the need for a full ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and renewed momentum toward Palestinian statehood.
Speaking during his last traditional start-of-the-year news conference at the UN Headquarters in New York City, Guterres quoted French statesman Jean Monnet, saying: "I'm not optimistic, I'm not pessimistic, I'm determined," regarding a two-state solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict.
"I'm determined to oppose in a very strong way, all the efforts that Israel is doing to undermine the two-state solution, namely through — in the West Bank — the construction of settlements, demolitions, evictions and the violence of the settlers," he said.
"And we believe that this must stop," Guterres said.
Turning to Gaza, the UN chief emphasized the need for a new governance framework in the enclave.
"We believe that conditions must be created to make sure that Gaza will now have its new governance model, and that governance model progressively is linked to the Palestinian Authority, and that Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, will be the future state of Palestine," he said.
Illegal settlers have escalated attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank since the outbreak of the onslaught on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
According to Palestinian figures, Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,109 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, injured nearly 11,000, and detained 21,000 since October 2023.
The International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal in a landmark opinion in July 2024, and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Asked who should apply pressure on Tel Aviv to move toward a two-state solution, Guterres said responsibility lies with the entire international community.
"Everybody must make pressure. Let's recognize the reality. I mean, the country that has more power to put pressure on Israel is the United States, and that is why it was important that the United States have recognized the rights of the Palestinian people do self determination," he said.
Addressing criticism that the Board of Peace, established earlier this month, had not sufficiently mentioned Gaza, Guterres stressed the urgency of implementing the ceasefire resolution in full.
The creation of the board coincided with the launch of phase two of a ceasefire agreement which halted Israel's war on Gaza that has killed more than 71,000 people and injured over 171,000 others since October 2023.
"We must have a ceasefire in Gaza, and we must move with the second stage fully, which means full withdrawal of Israeli forces, decommissioning of armed groups, and also to pave the way to the two-state solution to finally become a reality," he said.
Responding to questions about whether the board was attempting to "usurp the Security Council," Guterres underscored the council's central role under international law.
"Only the Security Council can adopt decisions binding on all, and no other body or other coalition can legally require all member states to comply with decisions on peace and security," he said.
The Security Council also has the sole mandate to "authorize the use of force under international law and set out in the charter," Guterres said, adding: "The centrality of the peace and security system lies in the UN and within the UN in the Security Council."
This is "the reason why it is so important to reform the Security Council," he added.
