U.N. leader warns Israel and Palestine are reaching 'point of no return' for 2-state solution

A stern assessment from the head of the UN.
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a stern warning to Israel and Palestine in a New York Times op-ed published Sunday.

"The time has come for Israelis, Palestinians, and the international community to read the writing on the wall: The status quo is untenable," he wrote. "Keeping another people under indefinite occupation undermines the security and the future of both Israelis and Palestinians."

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"I will always stand up to those who challenge Israel's right to exist, just as I will always defend the right of Palestinians to have a state of their own," he wrote. "That is why I am so concerned that we are reaching a point of no return for the two-state solution. And I am disturbed by statements from senior members of Israel’s government that the aim should be abandoned altogether."

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.