(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday expressed "hope and belief" that his and other officials' peace missions to the Middle East will lead to an end of the fighting in Gaza and bring an end to the crisis in the "very near future." He also urged the international community, including the Security Council, "to assume responsibility for what is the result of a collective failure to advance a political solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We cannot return to the status quo ante, a concern which Palestinians and Israelis both share." Ban embarked on a peace mission to the Middle East, including Kuwait, last Saturday in an effort to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas who have been engaged in a fierce fighting that took the lives of over 600 people and injured over 3,500 more.
During his mission, Ban held "intensive, fruitful and meaningful" meetings with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Qatar, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary General of the League of Arab States Nabil Al-Araby in Cairo, and spoke over the phone with French President Francois Hollande.
"I am sure you will understand at this highly sensitive moment you will not expect me to publicly reveal the details. Suffice it to say that it is my hope and belief that these talks will lead to results and an end to the fighting in the very near future," Ban told the Council via video link from Ramallah, West Bank.
He said that wherever he went in the region, he repeated his three-point message: stop the fighting, start the dialogue, tackle the root causes.
He insisted that a ceasefire is "essential - but without addressing the deeper issues, we will never solve the problem, we will merely delay it for yet another time. Quite simply, if a people are left with despair and occupation, the problem won't disappear, it will only grow." He said Egypt's initiative to solve the crisis on the basis of the November 2012 understanding on a ceasefire is the "most meaningful path to peace," urging those with influence on Hamas to convince it to accept it.
Once again, Ban "strongly condemned" the indiscriminate rocket fire launched by Hamas and Islamic Jihad from Gaza into Israel, but expressed "alarm" by Israel's heavy response and the corresponding high civilian death toll.
He expressed regret that the core elements of Council resolution 1860 of 2009 remain unimplemented, including an end to weapons smuggling, the full opening of the crossings, and bringing Gaza back under one legitimate Palestinian Government which accepts and adheres to the PLO commitments.
Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour told the Council that while its members may be fatigued by listening to the names of the killed each time he addresses the Council, "they are not just figures. They had names, families and dreams." He asked: "What is the international community doing to stop this bloodletting, to stop Israel's atrocities? What is the Security Council doing to uphold its commitment to protect civilians in armed conflict and uphold the law and the Charter? "Without decisive action, the Council's resolutions and statements ring hollow ... We reiterate our appeal to the Security Council to uphold its duty to maintain international peace and security, without conditions, without exceptions and without delay ... The Council must play its rightful role and contribute to the urgent efforts underway to secure a ceasefire," he urged.
The Council, he added, must also exert efforts to ensure that the ceasefire is sustainable; prevent recurrence of such crises; address core issues, including the need to end the Israeli blockade of Gaza and ensure the sustained movement of persons and goods; and ensure protection for the Palestinian people and a political horizon forward.
He stressed that despite all the odds, the Palestinian people "hold firm" to their conviction in the UN and the promises and commitment to bring an end to their oppression and achieve justice.
Israeli Deputy Permanent Representative David Roet told the Council that Israel is on the frontline fighting what he called radical Islamist terrorism embodied in Hamas. "The struggle that we face today is a preview of the struggle that the rest of the civilized world will likely face tomorrow ... To do nothing and to say nothing to support our efforts is to invite tyranny and terror into your own backyards." He complained that Israel is being attacked on four fronts - Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Sinai -, and urged the international community "to stand, speak and prevail together so that all people everywhere can live in freedom." The Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn told the Council that Israel's right to security does not justify the terrible collective punishment and suffering that the Palestinian people in Gaza are going through.
No people in the world would accept to live in the conditions imposed by Israel and its blockade on Gazans. This very seven-year old blockade made it easy for Israel to treat them the way they do, he argued.
He said Israel has a choice to make: accept the two-state solution, while putting an end to the settlements, or get lost in repeated military actions.
He called for diplomatic solutions to the numerous conflicts in the Middle East. "We have to show on which side the heart of the international community beats: on the side of the weak, of the victims, whether they are in Aleppo (Syria), Mosul (Iraq), or Gaza." Over 60 speakers participated in the Council's monthly meeting and quarterly open debate on the situation in the Middle East. No action is expected today.
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