The lack of a Palestinian state is the “single greatest failure” of the United Nations, the General Assembly president said.
Miguel d’Escoto’s remarks came Monday as the United Nations marked its annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people.
“It has been 60 years since some 800,000 Palestinians were driven out of their homes … becoming refugees and an uprooted and marginalized people,” d’Escoto said.
U.N. officials called for an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and two states living side by side in peace.
“I regret that this goal appears unlikely to be achieved,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. “My biggest concern in the immediate period ahead is the situation on the ground.
“I call for immediate measures to ease the near-blanket closure of Gaza, which leads to worrying deprivations of basic supplies and human dignity,” he said, adding “I unreservedly condemn rocket fire.”
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