United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who is on a three-day visit to Israel, received a helicopter tour of the country on Wednesday. The tour aimed to better illustrate Israel's security concerns. Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon, who has been accompanying Guterres on his visit, and Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi explained Israel's security challenges as well as the situation in the Gaza Strip under Hamas rule. Danon told Guterres that "Hamas continues to arm itself to harm Israeli civilians and takes advantage of aid from the international community for terrorism -- at the expense of the Strip's residents. Instead of securing a better future for the children of Gaza, Hamas turned them into hostages and invests its resources in digging murderous terror tunnels." Guterres met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, and assured him that the "idea, intention or will to destroy the State of Israel is something totally unacceptable from my perspective." In a joint press conference, the secretary general also issued a "clear condemnation of terrorism, violence and incitement" against Israel. On Tuesday afternoon, Guterres visited the Palestinian Authority and met with high profile Palestinian leaders. He also visited the Yasser Arafat Museum, where he laid a wreath at the Palestinian leader's grave. "It's important to create the conditions for leaders on both sides to appeal for calm, to avoid forms of incitement, and for violence to settle down," he said in a press conference with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. He further expressed the "total commitment of the United Nations, and my personal total commitment, to do everything for a two-state solution to materialize. I've said several times that there is no plan B to the two-state solution." According to Guterres, "A two-state solution that will end the occupation and, with the creation of conditions, also the suffering of the Palestinian people, is in my opinion the only way to guarantee that peace is established and, at the same time, that two states can live together in security and in mutual recognition." The U.N. chief criticized the Judea and Samaria settlement enterprise, saying, "We recognize that the settlement activity, as Ive said several times, is illegal under international law, that the settlement activity is an obstacle that needs to be removed in relation to the possibility that the two-state solution will be adequately implemented." Guterres reportedly also met with the families of Palestinian terrorists and security prisoners jailed in Israel. Palestinian media quoted him as saying that "we understand the suffering of the prisoners and will work with the competent and relevant authorities to end their suffering," but Guterres' spokesperson told Israeli media the alleged quote was fabricated. The secretary general was scheduled to visit U.N. facilities in Gaza on Wednesday afternoon. IDF officials will also show him several Hamas terror tunnels discovered under the southern border.
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UN chief: There is no alternative to the 2-state solution
In meeting with Palestinian PM, Antonio Guterres expresses the "total commitment of the United Nations to do everything for a two-state solution to materialize" • U.N. envoy offers Guterres aerial tour to better illustrate Israel's security concerns.