Un calls Palestine and Israel to start peace talks

The United Nations political chief today 24 October called on Israel and the Palestinians to show the kind of resolve to take the kind of difficult decisions seen in the recent prisoner exchange in their search for a lasting peace. Voicing deep concern at the ongoing impasse between the parties, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe told a meeting of the Security Council that “we have seen political will brought to resolve a humanitarian issue” and called the parties to rise to the challenge for “this same determination to be displayed regarding the most important issue, the quest for a lasting peace.” Last week, the Palestinian group Hamas released the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held captive since June 2006, and Israel released 477 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom had been imprisoned for involvement in attacks on Israelis. A further 550 Palestinian inmates will be released within two months as part of the prisoner exchange agreement. Regarding the Palestinian request for membershi at the United Nations, Palestinian Ambassador Riyad H. Mansour told the Council “to shoulder its responsibilities” by approving the application and making a positive recommendation to the General Assembly for Palestine’s admission to membership. He said that “this would be the most just and appropriate outcome of this process.” United States Ambassador Susan Rice, addressing the issue of settlements, said that the Obama administration “does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity” and added that “steps by the Government of Israel to advance significant new construction in Givat Hamatos are deeply disappointing.” The building of 2,600 new homes at Givat Hamatos was announced in recent weeks. They would sit on the southern edge of Jerusalem, cutting off the East Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied West Bank. Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor, for his part, said that the settlement issue is “just a pretext for the Palestinians to avoid negotiations” and that “the primary obstacle to peace is the Arab world’s refusal to acknowledge the Jewish people’s ancient connection to the land of Israel.” He denounced the “Palestinian’s insistence on the so-called right of return” saying that it is “a proposition that no one who believes in the right of Israel to exist could accept.” Representatives from Israel and Palestine are set to meet separately on 26 October with envoys from the diplomatic Quartet – comprising the European Union, Russia, United Nations and United States – to agree on how to proceed with negotiations, which have been stalled since late September 2010.