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NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for “irreversible progress” toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, warning that failure to act risks perpetuating an “intolerable” and worsening crisis.

Speaking at the High-Level International Conference for Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine at the UN General Assembly Hall, he said the decades-long conflict had reached a “morally, legally and politically intolerable” point, citing mounting civilian casualties in Gaza and growing instability in the West Bank.

“We are here today to help navigate the only way out of this nightmare,” Guterres added, emphasizing the UN-backed vision of two independent, sovereign and democratic states — Israel and Palestine — coexisting peacefully within secure and recognized borders based on the pre-1967 lines, with Jerusalem as the shared capital.

The event was co-hosted by France and ��������, and marked the most concerted international push in recent months to revive momentum toward a negotiated peace.

Guterres thanked both governments for convening the meeting, and reiterated his disappointment that the Palestinian delegation had been “denied the opportunity (by US visa restrictions) to be fully represented.”

He again condemned the Hamas attack against Israel of Oct. 7, 2023 — calling it “horrific” and reiterating demands for the “immediate and unconditional” release of hostages — and the “systematic decimation” of Gaza in response.

“Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people or any form of ethnic cleansing,” he said, decrying the widespread killing of civilians, starvation of the population and attacks on humanitarian workers. “All of it must stop.”

Guterres also warned that continued Israeli settlement expansion, settler violence, and the de facto annexation of the West Bank pose an “existential threat” to any viable two-state outcome.

“Statehood for the Palestinians is a right, not a reward,” he said. “Denying statehood would be a gift to extremists everywhere.”

He added: “This conference must be a catalyst. It must spur irreversible progress towards ending the unlawful occupation and realizing our shared aspiration for a viable two-state solution.”

Guterres urged all parties to demonstrate “bold and principled leadership,” noting that the alternative — a one-state reality marked by occupation and inequality — is neither sustainable nor acceptable.

“Without two states, there will be no peace in the Middle East,” he warned. “And radicalism will spread around the world.”

The conference comes amid deepening international concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed by Israel, most of them women and children.

Guterres welcomed recent moves by member states to recognize Palestinian statehood and the UNGA’s endorsement of the Saudi-French New York Declaration, which calls for concrete steps toward a negotiated peace.

“This is the only credible path to a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians — and to wider peace and security in the Middle East,” he said.