New York (VNA) – Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the VietnamesePermanent Mission to the United Nations, has affirmed Vietnam’s consistentstance of supporting efforts to achieve a fair, comprehensive and long-termsolution to the Palestinian issue, based on internationally-recognisedprincipals and standards in accordance with UN Resolutions.

Addressing the UNSecurity Council’s online meeting on the Middle East situation on April 23, Quyexpressed his concerns over conflicts between Israel and Palestine.

He welcomed the twosides coordinating, cooperating and conducting exchanges between the two Presidentsto deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. He called on the international community tointensify support for the Palestinian people and the UN’s efforts.

The diplomat also expressed his concern over unilateral action plans, including one to merge Palestinian territories.

Speaking at theevent, Nickolay Mlandenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East PeaceProcess, said that the pandemic has caused huge impacts on Palestinian people,threatening to ensure operations of the Palestinian Government as well asproviding minimum social services for its citizens.

Mladenov also saidthat in the past month, there had been violence between Israelis andPalestinians, causing casualties on both sides, mainly Palestinians. Heemphasised that decisions made by Israel's newly-formed coalition governmentwill affect the trajectory of the Middle East peace process for many years tocome.

If Israel carriesout plans to merge some territories of Palestine and accelerate the expansionof resettlements, along with the serious consequences of COVID-19, it will makethe situation more complicated and spoil all hopes of peace.

Mladenov emphasisedthe efforts made by the UN and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency forPalestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to help Palestinians recently,including a response plan to mobilise at least 34 million USD to provide healthservices in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

At the meeting, mostcountries expressed concerns over the serious impacts of the COVID-19 pandemicon the Palestinian people, emphasising the current top priority of theinternational community and related parties is to join hands to cope with thepandemic and to avoid unilateral or violent actions. They affirmed that it isnecessary to resume negotiations between the parties concerned in order to finda long-term and comprehensive solution, based on the formula that the twostates of Israel and Palestine coexist peacefully, in accordance with UNResolutions./.