The Security Council approved: an immediate cease-fire during Ramadan - and the unconditional release of all the abductees/Walla system!
The UN Security Council discussed today (Thursday) the proposed resolution to accept Palestine as a member state of the UN. The vote is expected to take place around midnight Israel time. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a discussion at the level of foreign ministers in the Security Council that "the Middle East is on the brink of an abyss. An unprecedented escalation in recent days. One miscalculation, mistake or lack of communication can lead to a full regional conflict. The time has come for maximum restraint."
Guterres called for an end to the fighting in Gaza: "The end of the fighting will lead to a reduction of tensions in the entire region. The role of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza and its return to the administration there at the appropriate time must be recognized. The goal is a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as a shared capital. This is an end to the occupation and the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with Gaza as an integral part. The international community has the responsibility and morality to achieve this."
The envoy of the Palestinian president, Ziad Abu Amr, said in the Security Council discussion: "Since 1993, the Palestinian leadership has chosen the path of negotiations, hoping that they will lead to a solution. The international community supported the principle of the two-state solution, which led to the recognition of Palestine as an observer state at the United Nations in 2012. Since then we have been turning to the world to call for full recognition of Palestine in the UN. We believe that such an international decision will reflect the Palestinian right to a state. It is unfortunate that some are trying to delay the adoption of this decision. How will recognizing full membership of Palestine in the UN harm the achievement of peace between Israel and the Palestinians? We ask this especially of the US and other countries that oppose full membership of Palestine while they recognize Israel, the other side of the conflict.
"For those who say that the recognition of a Palestinian state should happen through negotiations and not UN resolutions, we wonder how the State of Israel was established and recognized by a UN resolution. The time has come for the Security Council to implement its commitment and grant justice to the Palestinians by adopting a resolution to recognize the Palestinians as a full member of the United Nations. The resolution is not an alternative to a time-limited political negotiation to implement the two-state solution, and the open issues between Israel and the Palestinians. The Israeli government publicly rejected the solution, especially after the war in Gaza and the re-occupation of the Strip by Israel. History has shown us that the region will not achieve stability without the establishment of a Palestinian state along the lines of '67."