Middle East Peace Process - Agreement on Lasting Ceasefire will be Difficult | United Nations

Published on 2024-02-07 | Archived on 2024-02-08

Press Conference by Tor Wennesland, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

Addressing journalists today (7 Feb) on the situation in Gaza, Tor Wennesland, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said that the “agreement on the lasting ceasefire will be incredibly difficult to set up.”

He explained, “We will have to go into details on names and kinds of arrangements that are not a quick fix whatsoever.”

Wennesland also said, “How we get from where we are in the midst of a humanitarian nightmare and a total conflicted West Bank into a different course, and we need to set that course not by humanitarian means but by politics.”

He continued, “At the moment as the hostilities are ongoing, it’s impossible for the UN system to deliver sufficiently and most effectively on the ground.”

Answering a question, Wennesland said, “It's hard to find words on what to say to the people in Gaza that have lost everything, as they've lost everything, and they've been exposed to a massive destruction.”

He added, “It is very difficult to preach hope when you sit in a safe place to people sitting in the middle of what is hellish. And I think we should take a step back and not be too bold and think that the big words are what will make the big difference. What is making the difference is our ability to put our acts together smart and put the necessary pressure on the points that will trigger change.”

He stressed, “But you should be under no illusion: The humanitarian system is not designed and set up to carry the delivery of all goods into Gaza for 2.2 million people. We will not be able to have Gaza properly supplied unless there is a private sector delivering into the strip. In order for that to happen, geography needs to be taken seriously.”

He concluded, “Geography has combined what is now Israel with Gaza for 3,000 years. You cannot just kind of delete that away and say we should do it differently. Geography is defining the options for the way forward.”