UN chief: Israel rejection of two-state solution will embolden extremists

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said it was “unacceptable” for Israel’s government to reject a two-state solution to its conflict with the Palestinians, warning that the move would “embolden extremists everywhere.”
At a high-level meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the Middle East, Guterres said: “Israel’s occupation must end.”
The 15-member council has long endorsed a vision of two states living side by side within secure and recognized borders. Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, all territory captured by Israel in 1967.
With war raging in Gaza between Israel and Hamas militants, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that Israel needs security control over all land west of the Jordan River – which covers the Palestinian territories – adding: “It clashes with the principle of sovereignty but what can you do.”