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Board of Peace's Mladenov Says Gaza, West Bank Escalation Makes Two-State Solution 'Impossible'
Mladenov said Israel must carry out its commitments as the plan calls for disarmament, withdrawal and reconstruction, or the conflict may have no political endgame.
On Sept 7, Nickolay Mladenov, high representative for the Board of Peace, warned at the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi that failing to implement the Gaza peace roadmap makes a two-state solution "practically impossible."
Rising violence in the West Bank and divided Gaza control—with more than 50 per cent under Israeli army command and less than 50 per cent under Hamas—eliminate any credible pathway to political resolution.
Mladenov pointed to "very intense, very difficult discussions" over seven months of disarmament negotiations with Hamas, praising mediation efforts from Qatar, Egypt, and the UAE supporting the roadmap's implementation.
Jared Kushner, a US envoy, told a press briefing in Kyiv on Sept 6 that upcoming Israeli elections made leaders "a little irrational" regarding Gaza, though he emphasized ongoing determination to resolve militarisation.
Outlining three paths—maintaining the status quo, reoccupying Gaza, or implementing the roadmap—Mladenov argued for a long-term perspective to address the "massive emotional, political, human suffering" afflicting both Israelis and Palestinians.
"If the situation in Gaza continues or if there is no progress in implementing the peace plan (...), the two-State solution will become virtually impossible," she says.
"If the situation in Gaza continues or if there is no progress in implementing the peace plan (...), the two-State solution will become virtually impossible," she says.
The lack of progress in Gaza and the violence in the West Bank threatened to undermine the two-State solution, according to a high representative for Gaza.