United Nations Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon on Monday urged Israel to take immediate measure to "ease the near-blanket closure" of Gaza.
"The situation in the Gaza Strip remains of major concern," the UN chief said in remarks delivered at a meeting marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. "I call for immediate measures to ease the near-blanket closure of Gaza, which leads to worrying deprivations of basic supplies and human dignity."
While condemning rocket fire against Israelis, Ban called on all parties to respect the calm brokered by Egypt and to "reach out to the civilian population of the Gaza Strip instead of wrongly punishing them."
"Israel must also refrain from unilateral actions in Jerusalem, such as demolitions and eviction, which undermine trust or alter the status quo," the UN chief said. "I recognize Israel's security concerns. But the improved environment of security cooperation must lead to an easing of closure in the West Bank."
Some supplies were permitted to cross from Israel into Gaza on Monday, including nine truckloads of goods for the World Food Program and eight trucks, containing powdered milk and rice, for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Ban's spokeswoman, Michele Montas said, quoting the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.
UNRWA, however, said eight trucks was not enough and that it needs to bring in 15 trucks a day for its operations to continue running at acceptable levels.
The UN chief, in his remarks on Monday, pledged to do his utmost in the search for "a just, lasting, comprehensive, and urgent settlement of the question of the Palestinians."
"The Palestinians have been deprived of their inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination and statehood, for more than 60 years," Ban said. "Israelis live with an ever- present sense of insecurity."
He said there was only one way to address such legitimate rights and fears: a peace agreement that results in an end of occupation, an end of conflict, and the creation of a State of Palestine living side-by-side in peace with the State of Israel.
UN General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann also deplored the plight of the Palestinians, describing the failure to create a Palestinian state as "the single greatest failure in the history of the United Nations."
"It has been 60 years since some 800,000 Palestinians were driven out of their homes and property, becoming refugees and an uprooted and marginalized people," d'Escoto said. "Although different, what is being done against the Palestinian people seems to me to be a version of the highest policy of apartheid."
The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in 1977 to set Nov. 29 as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. It was on that day in 1947 that the General Assembly adopted Resolution 181, calling for the creation of a Jewish state and an Arab state.