No peace in Middle East without 2-state solution: UN chief

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that lasting peace in the Middle East is impossible without a two-state solution for the Palestinians.

"In the context of upheaval across the Middle East, we must never forget the dramatic suffering of the Palestinian people -- both in Gaza and the West Bank," he said at a news conference ahead of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.

"The peace plan for Gaza must be fully implemented with unrestricted humanitarian aid," he said.

Turning to the occupied West Bank, Guterres said: “And the creeping annexation of the West Bank must stop.”

He stressed that a political resolution remains the only path forward. "There will be no peace in the Middle East without realizing the two-state solution," he said.

Responding to a question on a letter by Palestine's UN Envoy Riyad Mansour detailing Israeli officials' statements on "ethnic cleansing and forced expulsion," and whether Palestinians still see a real path to the two-state solution, Guterres said: “We are extremely worried with the situation that is taking place.”

Welcoming the efforts of High Representative for Gaza at the Board of Peace Nickolay Mladenov "to advance the two stages of the peace plan," Guterres said: “It is clear that Israel is not accepting the implementation of the peace plan as it is conceived now.”

Guterres also pointed to the continued Israeli airstrikes on Gaza "having serious threats to the civilian population," saying: "There is a creeping annexation with violence by the settlers, sometimes with the support of security forces" in the occupied West Bank.

He described the situation in the West Bank as "absolutely intolerable."