GAZA, December 3, 2008 (WAFA)- All crossings for goods going into the Gaza Strip from Israel remained closed on Wednesday, with no fuel, humanitarian supplies or commercial commodities reaching the 1.5 million inhabitants of the Strip, the United Nations reported today.

The Karm Abu Salem crossing was last open on November 27, the Nahal Oz fuel pipelines and Karni conveyer belt last functioned on  November 26, and the crossings at Sufa have been closed since September 13, According to the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO).

Several UN officials, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, have repeatedly called on Israel to urgently permit the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza’s citizens.

Meanwhile, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry stressed, Wednesday, the urgency of reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement in 2009. “We have genuine international unity and determination behind the drive towards the Two-State solution. What we may not have is the luxury of time,” he said at an international media seminar on peace in the Middle East, held in Vienna.

The Two-State solution, with Israel and a Palestinian State living side by side in peace, justice and security, is the goal of the Roadmap plan championed by the Quartet, and was originally slated for attainment by the end of 2005. Another deadline is due to expire on 31 December 2008. Last year at the Annapolis conference in the US, both sides committed to reach an agreement by the end of this year.