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STORY: UN / PALESTINIANS
TRT: 2.30
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 5 FEBRUARY 2013, NEW YORK CITY
FILE – 2013, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations North Lawn Building
5 FEBRUARY 2013, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrives to meeting and sits down
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“I am dismayed by the dramatic increase in Israeli settlement activity. I was also deeply disappointed by the announcement of new construction plans in the “E1” area, and urged the Government of Israel to heed international calls to rescind these plans. Settlement activity is a major obstacle to the two-State solution and must cease immediately. I repeat that all settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are illegal under international law and cannot prejudge the outcome of final status negotiations.”
4. Cutaway, podium
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“More work needs to be done to improve the situation in Gaza and to address Israel’s legitimate security concerns. This means continuing to thwart militant attacks from Gaza and stopping the smuggling of weapons into the area.”
6. Cutaway, podium
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Palestinian reconciliation within the framework of the PLO commitments is an essential step for achieving the two-State solution and durable peace. The peace process and reconciliation are not incompatible; efforts must be made on both fronts. I wish to express my appreciation to the Egyptian government for its facilitation efforts. But for real progress to be made, Hamas must make clear where it stands on the central issues at stake.”
8. Cutaway, podium
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The status quo is unsustainable, and unacceptable. Both parties must live up to their commitment to a negotiated two-State solution consistent with Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and resolve all the core issues, namely territory, security, Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, and water. We cannot afford another year without tangible results.”
10. Zoom out, meeting
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today (5 February) urged the swift resumption of negotiations toward a two-State solution to the Middle East conflict, citing Israeli settlements and delays in Palestinian reconciliation among obstacles to be overcome.
Speaking at the opening of the 2013 session of the General Assembly’s Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Ban said he was “dismayed by the dramatic increase” in Israeli settlement activity, calling it “illegal and a major obstacle to a two-State solution”.
He stressed that settlement activity was “a major obstacle to the two-State solution and must cease immediately”.
He also repeated that all settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, “are illegal under international law and cannot prejudge the outcome of final status negotiations”.
Despite some recent relaxations of restrictions in Gaza, he said that “more work” needed to be done to improve the situation in Gaza and to address Israel’s legitimate security concerns, and he added that that meant “continuing to thwart militant attacks from Gaza and stopping the smuggling of weapons into the area”.
Ban told the meeting that the fragile ceasefire in Gaza provided an opportunity to address underlying contributors to instability in the area, as well as advance efforts toward Palestinian reconciliation, which he called another essential step for durable peace.
He also said that, the peace process and Palestinian reconciliation were not incompatible. He told Palestinians that “efforts must be made on both fronts”, adding “Hamas must make clear where it stands on the central issues at stake”.
Ban also told to the General Assembly’s Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People that, “The status quo is unsustainable, and unacceptable”.
He added that both parties must live up to their commitment to a negotiated two-State solution consistent with Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and resolve all core issues, namely territory, security, Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, and water.
He finally stressed, “We cannot afford a year without tangible results”.
Recalling the Israeli elections held on 22 January, Ban said, “We look forward to engaging the next Israeli Government in the common pursuit of peace. This is no time to be idle”.
