(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the massive death and destruction in Gaza have "shocked and shamed the world," urging the international community to help make the current ceasefire durable. "We must spare no effort to turn the current calm into a durable ceasefire that addresses the underlying issues of the conflict: ending rocket fire from Gaza, weapons smuggling, opening the crossings, lifting the blockade and bringing Gaza back under one Palestinian Government," he said.
Ban was addressing an informal meeting by the UN General Assembly on the Israeli aggression on Gaza requested by Kuwait's Permanent Representative to the UN Mansour Al-Otaibi. "Of course we understand the legitimate security right to defend Israeli citizens from the threat of rocket attacks by Hamas. At the same time, the fighting has raised serious questions about respect for the principles of distinction and proportionality in international humanitarian law," he said. "Let me be clear, mere suspicion of militant activity (near UN facilities) does not justify jeopardizing the lives and safety of many thousands of innocent civilians. "UN shelters must be safe zones, not combat zones. Those who violate this sacred trust must be subject to accountability and justice," he stressed. Ban urged the parties to heed the international community's call to return to negotiations in order to end the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, ultimately through a viable two-state solution.
"Only a negotiated political settlement will bring sustainable peace and security to Palestinians and Israelis alike. Only through the exercise of moral and political leadership will both sides enjoy the better future that their people yearn for and deserve. "The senseless cycle of suffering" in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as in Israel, "must end." "Do we have to continue like this: build, destroy, build, destroy? We will rebuild again - but this should be the last time," he added. UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry told the Assembly via video link from Cairo, where he is attending the peace talks between the parties, that it would be "cynical and irresponsible if yet again, the outcome of the talks would lead us to the previous status quo." He said: "We again place our hopes in this new ceasefire - We are hopeful that this ceasefire stands a better chance to hold - Still, we urge the parties to exercise their utmost restraint, refrain from any actions that could be interpreted as breach of the ceasefire, and report rather than retaliate against violations." He called for the lifting of the blockade on Gaza. "Gaza's legal crossings must be opened," but "in such a way that is compatible with Israel's security concerns." He said the way to achieve this is to bring back the Palestinian Authority to Gaza. "We are looking forward to the Palestinian Authority assuming its rightful responsibilities in Gaza," adding that the Government of National Consensus "should also redeploy its own restructured security forces to Gaza.
"Redeployment to the crossings in South-Eastern Gaza would be an urgent and most useful first step that would go a long way towards enabling the full reopening" of the Rafah and other crossings, he suggested.
The crisis in Gaza is a "symptom of our collective failure for such a prolonged period to help the parties end the conflict and end the occupation that began in 1967," he said, warning of the "bleak reality if we do not counter the slide towards a one-state reality on the ground and restore hope for a two-state solution." Pierre Krahenbuhl, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), told the Assembly via a video link that Israel has "legitimate security concerns that must be addressed. At the same time, the illegal blockade of Gaza must be lifted." Until and unless that happens, he noted, Gaza and the West Bank will remain "perpetually dependent on humanitarian assistance. As it is all well known, nowhere in the world does humanitarian assistance alone make up for the denial of dignity and rights." UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told the Assembly also via a video link from Geneva that the destruction of Palestinian homes "must be condemned and may amount to war crimes," adding that the conflict in Gaza cannot be viewed "in isolation from repeated Israeli military operations in Gaza or from the occupation." "The severe effects of the occupation in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, of human rights, including the right to self-determination, must be addressed," she insisted. "There will be no true security without justice and respect for human rights. Adherence to international humanitarian law and international human rights law and ensure accountability for violations are essential obstacles for any lasting peace," she stressed.
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