Following talks in Ramallah with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah (pictured, right) on Tuesday and with Israeli leaders the previous day, Guterres (pictured, left) expressed his "total commitment" to a two-state solution to end decades of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

"There is no plan B to a two-state solution," he said, calling it the only way to guarantee that peace would be established.

Hours after meeting with Guterres (left), Netanyahu (right) vowed not to remove settlements from the West Bank

He added that settlement activity by Israelis in the occupied West Bank was illegal under international law and a "major obstacle" to resolving the conflict.

Read more: On first Israel visit, UN chief Antonio Guterres grapples with obstacles to peace

The plan for an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel has been the basis of international diplomacy for decades. The Palestinians want all of the West Bank, as well as east Jerusalem and the Gaza strip for their future state. Israel captured the territories in 1967, but withdrew from Gaza in 2005. But the concept of a two-state solution has recently been cast into doubt by both Israel's government and the White House.

Netanyahu doubles down on settlements

Guterres's remarks came the day after he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who late Monday evening vowed not to remove any settlements from the West Bank.

"We have returned here for good," he told the audience at a ceremony in the settlement of Barkan. "There will be no more uprooting of settlements."

"It's been proven that it doesn't help peace. We uprooted settlements and what did we get? We got rockets," he said, referring to the conflicts which followed the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Jerusalem in 1967 and 2017 Mount of Olives today The old City Wall and the gold-domed Muslim shrine, the Dome of the Rock, are visible in the background from the mountain ridge which lies to the east of the Old City. The Old Jewish Cemetery, situated on the western and southern slopes of the ridge, are in an area once named for its many olive groves. It is the oldest continually used Jewish cemetery in the world.

Jerusalem in 1967 and 2017 Mount of Olives then If it weren't for the ancient Ottoman city wall and the shrine in the background, viewers might not realize this is the same site. The picture was taken on June 7th, 1967, when the peak was this brigade's command post at the height of the Six-Day War, or Arab-Israeli War.

Jerusalem in 1967 and 2017 Al-Aqsa mosque today Al-Aqsa, with its silver-colored dome and vast hall, is located on Temple Mount. Muslims call the mosque the "Noble Sanctuary," but it is also the most sacred site in Judaism, a place where two biblical temples were believed to have stood. As well, it is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam, after Mecca and Medina. There have long been tensions over control of the entire Temple Mount area.

Jerusalem in 1967 and 2017 Al-Aqsa mosque then The name Al-Aqsa translates to "the farthest mosque." It is also Jerusalem's biggest mosque. Israel has strict control over the area after conquering all of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, and regaining access to its religious sites. Leaders at the time agreed that the Temple Mount would be administered by an Islamic religious trust known as the Waqf.

Jerusalem in 1967 and 2017 Damascus Gate today The historic Gate, named in English for the fact that the road from there heads north to Damascus, is a busy main entrance to Palestinian East Jerusalem, and to a bustling Arab bazaar. Over the past two years, it has frequently been the site of security incidents and Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

Jerusalem in 1967 and 2017 Damascus Gate then The gate itself - what we see today was built by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1537 - looks much the same in this July 1967 picture. Seven Gates allow entrance to the Old City and its separate quarters.

Jerusalem in 1967 and 2017 Old City today Jerusalem's vibrant Old City, a UNESCO world Heritage Site since 1981, is home to sites important to many different religions: the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque for Muslims, Temple Mount and the Western Wall for Jews, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians. Busy and colorful, it is a great place for shopping and food, and a top attraction for visitors.

Jerusalem in 1967 and 2017 Old City then This picture was taken in July 1967, but 50 years later, some things in the Old City haven't changed at all. Boys like the one in the photo balancing a tray of sesame pastries - called bagels - still roam the streets of the Old City today, hawking the sweet breads sprinkled with sesame seeds for about a euro ($1.12) apiece.

Jerusalem in 1967 and 2017 Western Wall today This section of ancient limestone wall in Jerusalem's Old City is the western support wall of the Temple Mount. It is the most religious site for Jewish people, who come here to pray and perhaps to place a note in a crack in the wall. There is a separate section for men and for women, but it is free and open to everyone all year round - after the obligatory security check.

Jerusalem in 1967 and 2017 Western Wall then The Western Wall is also known as the 'Wailing' Wall, a term considered derogatory and not used by Jews. The above photo of people flocking to the Wall to pray was taken on September 1, 1967, just weeks after Israel regained control of the site following the Six-Day-War. It had been expelled from the Old City 19 years earlier during Jordan's occupation. Author: Dagmar Breitenbach



White House position unclear

Peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians have been at a standstill since a US-led peace initiative collapsed in 2014.

New US President Donald Trump has said he wanted to reach what he calls "the ultimate deal" but has himself cast doubt on support for a two-state solution, saying he could endorse a single state if that meant peace - a contrast to longstanding US policy.

Read more: When Israelis started to talk about the occupation

Listen to audio 04:18 Share World in Progress: Less press freedom in the West Bank Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2gnkP World in Progress: Less press freedom in the West Bank

A US delegation led by White House advisor and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, held talks with Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as other Middle East leaders, last week.

On Tuesday, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said they were waiting for the US to formulate a clear approach - and for their position on the questions of settlements and the two-state solution.

"So far, the US administration has not responded to these two questions, and promised they will be back in the next few weeks with clarifications and a work plan for the next phase," Hamdallah said.

As well as criticizing settlements, during his visit, Guterres also called on Palestinian leaders to condemn "terrorism."

"It is important to create conditions for leaders of all sides to appeal for calm, to avoid forms of incitement, for violence to settle down," he said.

A history of the Middle East peace process UN Security Council Resolution 242, 1967 United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, passed on November 22, 1967, called for the exchange of land for peace. Since then, many of the attempts to establish peace in the region have referred to 242. The resolution was written in accordance with Chapter VI of the UN Charter, under which resolutions are recommendations, not orders.

A history of the Middle East peace process Camp David Accords, 1978 A coalition of Arab states, led by Egypt and Syria, fought Israel in the Yom Kippur or October War in October 1973. The conflict eventually led to the secret peace talks that yielded two agreements after 12 days. This picture from March 26, 1979, shows Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, his US counterpart Jimmy Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin after signing the accords in Washington.

A history of the Middle East peace process The Madrid Conference, 1991 The US and the former Soviet Union came together to organize a conference in the Spanish capital city of Madrid. The discussions involved Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestinians — not from the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) — who met with Israeli negotiators for the first time. While the conference achieved little, it did create the framework for later, more productive talks.

A history of the Middle East peace process Oslo I Accord, 1993 The negotiations in Norway between Israel and the PLO, the first direct meeting between the two parties, resulted in the the Oslo I Accord. The agreement was signed in the US in September 1993. It demanded that Israeli troops withdraw from West Bank and Gaza and a self-governing, interim Palestinian authority be set up for a five-year transitional period. A second accord was signed in 1995.

A history of the Middle East peace process Camp David Summit Meeting, 2000 US President Bill Clinton invited Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat to the retreat in July 2000 to discuss borders, security, settlements, refugees and Jerusalem. Despite the negotiations being more detailed than ever before, no agreement was concluded. The failure to reach a consensus at Camp David was followed by renewed Palestinian uprising, the Second Intifada.

A history of the Middle East peace process The Arab Peace Initiative, 2002 The Camp David negotiations were followed first by meetings in Washington and then in Cairo and Taba, Egypt — all without results. Later the Arab League proposed the Arab Peace Initiative in Beirut in March 2002. The plan called on Israel to withdraw to pre-1967 borders so that a Palestinian state could be set up in the West Bank and Gaza. In return, Arab countries would agree to recognize Israel.

A history of the Middle East peace process The Roadmap, 2003 The US, EU, Russia and the UN worked together as the Middle East Quartet to develop a road map to peace. While Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas accepted the text, his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon had more reservations with the wording. The timetable called for a final agreement on a two-state solution to be reached in 2005. Unfortunately, it was never implemented.

A history of the Middle East peace process Annapolis, 2007 In 2007 US President George W. Bush hosted a conference in Annapolis, Maryland, to relaunch the peace process. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas took part in talks with officials from the Quartet and over a dozen Arab states. It was agreed that further negotiations would be held with the goal of reaching a peace deal by the end of 2008.

A history of the Middle East peace process Washington, 2010 In 2010, US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell convinced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to and implement a ten-month moratorium on settlements in disputed territories. Later, Netanyahu and Abbas agreed to relaunch direct negotiations to resolve all issues. Negotiations began in Washington in September 2010, but within weeks there was a deadlock.

A history of the Middle East peace process Cycle of escalation and ceasefire continues A new round of violence broke out in and around Gaza late 2012. A ceasefire was reached between Israel and those in power in the Gaza Strip, which held until June 2014. The kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in June 2014 resulted in renewed violence and eventually led to the Israeli military operation Protective Edge. It ended with a ceasefire on August 26, 2014.

A history of the Middle East peace process Paris summit, 2017 Envoys from over 70 countries gathered in Paris, France, to discuss the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Netanyahu slammed the discussions as "rigged" against his country. Neither Israeli nor Palestinian representatives attended the summit. "A two-state solution is the only possible one," French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said at the opening of the event.

A history of the Middle East peace process Deteriorating relations in 2017 Despite the year's optimistic opening, 2017 brought further stagnation in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. A deadly summer attack on Israeli police at the Temple Mount, a site holy to both Jews and Muslims, sparked deadly clashes. Then US President Donald Trump's plan to move the embassy to Jerusalem prompted Palestinian leader Abbas to say "the measures ... undermine all peace efforts."

A history of the Middle East peace process Trump's peace plan backfires, 2020 US President Donald Trump presented a peace plan that freezes Israeli settlement construction but retains Israeli control over most of the illegal settlements it has already built. The plan would double Palestinian-controlled territory, but asks Palestine to cross a red line and accept the previously constructed West Bank settlements as Israeli territory. Palestine rejected the plan outright. Author: Aasim Saleem



se/kms (AFP, AP, dpa)