A “UN protectorate” in Gaza after the war would not be a solution, the UN secretary-general said today, advocating a “transition” involving many actors, notably the US and Arab countries.

“It is important that we can turn this tragedy into an opportunity, and to make that possible, it is essential that after the war we move decisively and irreversibly towards a two-state solution,” Guterres told reporters.

This requires a “a strengthened Palestinian Authority, which will assume responsibility in Gaza”, he estimated. But “the Palestinian Authority cannot go into Gaza with Israeli tanks,” “the international community must consider a transition period.”

“I don’t think a UN protectorate in Gaza is a solution. I think we need a multi-stakeholder approach, in which different countries, different entities, will work together,” he said, citing among among these factors the United States, “guarantors” of Israel’s security, and the Arab countries of the region that are “absolutely necessary” for the Palestinians.

“The whole world must come together to create the conditions for a transition, allowing a strengthened Palestinian Authority to take charge in Gaza.”

On the other hand, Guterres once again denounced “violations of international humanitarian law and violations of the protection of civilians in Gaza.”

Every year, the secretary-general publishes the “list of shame” he compiles in relation to children’s rights during conflict, and Israel’s absence from this list has been criticized by human rights organizations.

Without saying whether that situation might change, Guterres compared the number of children killed in a few weeks in Gaza to other conflicts whose parties are on his blacklist.

“I presented seven petitions, in these seven petitions, the highest number of children killed in one year by one agent was the Taliban in 2017-2018, the second was the Syrian government and its allies (…), there also around 700″write down.

“Without getting into the debates about the accuracy of the figures published by the de facto authorities in Gaza (Hamas s.a.w.), what is clear is that in a few weeks, thousands of children were killed,” he insisted, referring to a “unprecedented” number of civilians killed during a conflict since he took over as UN chief in January 2017.