UN chief calls for unified Security Council over Israel-Palestine conflict

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for a unified Security Council over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and regretted the lack of multilateralism.

Asked what the secretary-general expects from Sunday's emergency meeting of the Security Council on the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian escalation, Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: "What we would like to see is ... a strong, unified voice for de-escalation, for a cessation of hostilities and a push to get the parties back on track to find a political solution to this conflict that has been going on and on and on."

Asked for the secretary-general's comment on the fact that one single Security Council member blocked the proposal for a Friday meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, just days after all council members pledged support for multilateralism, Dujarric said Guterres is concerned about the state of multilateralism "as we've seen it during the pandemic and as we've seen it in other aspects."

"We would like to see member states put to action the ideals that we all have to live up to within this organization," he added.

With regard to the Security Council, he said the more unified the council is, the stronger its voice and the stronger its impact.

The Security Council on May 7 held a high-level debate on the need to uphold multilateralism and all council members came out in support of it. Yet days later, the United States, an ally of Israel, blocked the proposal for a Friday Security Council meeting, according to diplomats. The Security Council later agreed on such a meeting on Sunday.