JERUSALEM, May 29, 2012 (WAFA) – Failure to grasp current opportunities in the Middle East would not only slow down progress on two-state solution, but would also take the process down the path of one-state solution, a United Nations official said on Tuesday.

Briefing the UN Security Council in New York on developments in the Middle East in the last month, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry noted a number of positive trends which he said, “if sustained would offer renewed hope for progress,” according to a statement issued by Serry’s office in Jerusalem.

Serry spoke of the 'quiet engagement' between Palestinians and Israelis in the context of the exchange of letters between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The parties must now also be willing to take the much needed steps to capitalize on the potential for progress,” said Serry, adding that, “the current situation remains fragile and uncertain.”

The UN Special Coordinator said the Arab Spring has made “the search for a lasting peace that ends the Arab-Israeli conflict and resolves all claims is in my view more urgent than ever.”

He added that, “if the parties do not grasp the current opportunity, they should realize the implication is not merely slowing progress toward a two-state solution. Instead, we could be moving down the path toward a one-state reality, which would also move us further away from regional peace in the spirit of the Arab Peace Initiative.”

In concluding his brief to the Security Council the UN Special Coordinator expressed his hope that the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli Government will find a way forward in the coming months, while also reasserting the commitment of the United Nation’s to work for a comprehensive resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

M.S.