In first response to Trump plan, UNSC reiterates support for 2-state solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 25 (APP):The UN Security Council (UNSC) has reaffirmed its call for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in first response to the Trump administration’s “peace” plan that is seen as running counter to such a solution and the international law.

President Donald Trump ’s plan, released a couple of weeks ago, largely endorsed Israel’s position on the conflict’s main points, and the Palestinians rejected it outright.

“Council Members reiterated their support for a negotiated two-state solution… where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders,” said a statement released by Belgium, which holds the rotating presidency, and supported by all 14 other members, including the United States.

Security Council resolutions have in the past called for the two-state solution based on the 1967 boundaries.

UNSC Resolution 2334, adopted in December 2016, pronounced settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds “a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution.

“All parties should refrain from undermining the viability of the two-state solution in order to maintain the prospects for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace,” the Security Council statement added, referring to Israel’s recent settlement construction plan in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Elsewhere in its statement, the UNSC “stressed the need to exert collective efforts to launch credible negotiations on all final status issues” and expressed “grave concern about acts of violence against civilians.”

The statement followed two days of intense fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement in the Gaza Strip, which ended with a ceasefire on Tuesday.

Violence has surged in the occupied lands following the release of US President Donald Trump’s self-proclaimed “deal of the century,” which his administration has drafted in coordination with the Israeli side.

The so-called ‘Vision for Peace’ — which all Palestinian groups have unanimously rejected — bars Palestinian refugees from returning to their homeland while enshrines Jerusalem al-Quds as “Israel’s undivided capital” and allows the regime to annex settlements and the Jordan Valley.