Outgoing UN Senior Official Calls for One State Solution, Slams US-Israel Relations
In a highly emotional address delivered at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, outgoing UN Senior Official Pierre Schori has called for an end to the long-standing stalemate between Israel and the Palestinians, and has urged them to adopt a “one state” solution.
In his speech, Schori, who has worked with the UN for over two decades and is viewed as an influential voice on Middle East peace matters, expressed disappointment with the current state of US-Israel relations, calling them “concerning”. He pointed out that while the two countries have long maintained strong diplomatic ties, current US President Donald Trump’s decisions to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and condone the moving of its US embassy there has severely affected the prospects of peace in the region.
The veteran diplomat went on to criticize Israel’s policies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, accusing it of creating an “unacceptable situation”. He stated that the best way to solve the crisis faced by the region was to establish a single, democratic, federal state in Israel, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, implying that this was the only viable long-term solution to the conflict.
Based on his speech, Schori does not appear to have much faith in Israel’s current government, saying that the lack of political will to pursue a peaceful solution has led to the current stalemate in the Middle East. He also admonished both Israel and the United States for their refusal to dialogue with the Palestinians in an effort to resolve the crisis, instead choosing to pursue “chilling words and hostile actions”.
The speech ended with Schori chastising President Trump for not taking a more proactive role in finding a solution for the Israel-Palestinian conflict, calling it a “missed opportunity”. He further predicted that unless a meaningful effort is made to end the long-standing dispute, it will only serve to further destabilize the entire Middle East region.
Pierre Schori’s words will certainly have a major impact on the way the world perceives the Middle East conflict and the future of the Palestinian people. It is now up to the current governments involved to take action and bring this decades-old crisis to an end.