Mideast security can be achieved with lasting peace: UN

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Comprehensive peace is needed in the Middle East to achieve lasting security in the region, a senior UN official said Tuesday calling for more work.

"Sustained security and stability in the Middle East cannot and will not be achieved without a just lasting and comprehensive peace," said Dennis Francis, President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.

The UN General Assembly is holding a meeting to discuss the unfolding crisis in the Middle East.

Francis said a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine is the "only viable way" to break the endless cycle of conflict, violence and suffering.

"This means working much harder to build the consensus needed for peace.

"It means forging new avenues for direct dialogue between the parties, fostering respect for General Assembly resolutions and supporting all efforts that build on previous agreements," he said.

Francis welcomed a temporary humanitarian pause in Gaza, where prisoner exchanges will be carried out.

"This agreement offered a breakthrough for hope, but it is not nearly enough. I strongly call yet again for the humane treatment and immediate unconditional release of all hostages. I reiterate my call for a longer-term humanitarian cease-fire so food, water and desperately needed medical aid can reach all those in need in the Gaza Strip and all affected areas," he added.

- Türkiye mobilized diplomatic, humanitarian efforts

Also addressing the meeting, Aslı Guven, charge d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Türkiye to the UN, said Palestinians are facing the "biggest tragedy" in recent history.

"Since the outset of the conflict, Türkiye has been calling for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire, urgent and impeded humanitarian access, and, full compliance with international law," Guven said. "Only a durable cease-fire" can prevent further violence and suffering.

She said to stop the "carnage" in Gaza, Türkiye has mobilized all diplomatic and humanitarian efforts. "We have been doing our utmost to send the much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza."

So far, Türkiye has sent more than 200 tons of humanitarian aid to Egypt’s Al Arish Airport via 11 aircraft, and transferred 88 patients from the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza to Türkiye to continue treatments, she said.

Guven hailed the recent UN Security Council resolution calling for "urgent and extended" humanitarian pauses in Gaza, and immediate release of hostages.

"However, the failure of the Security Council to adopt any decision for almost 6 weeks, or to call for an immediate cease-fire, cannot go unnoticed. The UN Security Council and its members have a special responsibility to stop this war that they cannot abstain from," she said.

Türkiye stands with the Palestinian people in reaching their "long-delayed" right to live in their own sovereign and independent state, said Guven.

Ankara supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

- No peace in Middle East without just, lasting solution to Palestine

Palestine's UN envoy Riyad Mansour said not a single Palestinian generation has been saved from the scourge of war.

"This is the deadliest period ever endured by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and they have witnessed many previous assaults. This is the largest force displacement of Palestinians since the Nakba," said Mansour, adding that more than 1.8 million civilians in Gaza, or nearly 80% of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced.

People have mobilized around the world to demand a cease-fire in Gaza, he said.

Mansour said Israel waged a full-fledged war against Palestine and stressed that no conflict in recent memory has seen so many children killed.

"Nothing can ever justify war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide," he added.

There is no peace in the Middle East without a just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine under international law, and relevant UN resolutions, stressed Mansour.

Israel launched a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

It has since killed over 15,000 people, including 6,150 children and 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave.

The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.