US outlines key pillars of two-state solution
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Accepting a two-state solution is the only way to immediately resume negotiations between Israel and Palestine, U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Alejandro D. Wolff told the Security Council in New York Wednesday.
"Waiting to resume talks benefits no one," he said. "The status quo does nothing to meet the legitimate needs of Israelis or Palestinians."
The 15-nation Council met on Wednesday to discuss the Middle East question, a monthly ritual in which countries urge both sides to resume talks.
Ultimately, good-faith negotiations will be able to reconcile the Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state based on the 1967 lines and the Israeli goal of a Jewish state with secure and recognized borders, said Wolff.
The U.S., which is a member of the Quartet, sent National Security Advisor Jim Jones and Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell to the Middle east region this month but with nothing new to report.
Nabil Shaath, an advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a recent statement that the U.S. is trying to exert pressure on the Palestinian Authority (PA) to resume negotiations with Israel without a halt to settlement construction.
However, Wolff told the Security Council that "a freeze on settlement activity is an Israeli obligation under the Roadmap, and U.S. policy on this remains unchanged."
"We do not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements," he said but added that Israel's 10-month freeze on construction is a "significant step that could have a meaningful effect on the ground."
Israel's temporary freeze on settlement building pertains to the West Bank but not to the eastern part of Jerusalem where Palestine wants to build its capital.
"We disagree with some Israeli actions in Jerusalem affecting Palestinians in areas such as housing, including the continuing pattern of evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes," said Wolff. "Neither party should take actions that could unilaterally preempt, or appear to preempt, negotiations."
The American ambassador reiterated the U.S. two-pronged approach which encourages Israel and Palestine to resume talks and provides aid to Palestinians for the construction of their economy and institutions.
"The two objectives are mutually reinforcing," he said. "Each is essential, and neither can be attained without the other."
In Gaza, the humanitarian situation continues to be in an abysmal state. A key component of international support for the Palestinian people comes through the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
As UNRWA's largest single donor, the U.S. provided more than 267 million U.S. dollars in 2009, including more than 116 million U.S. dollars to the general fund, which still faces severe and chronic shortfalls-estimated at 140 million U.S. dollars for this 2010, said Wolff.
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