Ghana’s President John Mahama has counseled Israel to as a matter of urgency withdraw from Palestinian territories to pave way for peaceful coexistence between the two states.

There is no gainsaying that the decades-old conflict between Israel and Palestine has led to loss of thousands of lives, and properties running into millions of dollars have been destroyed in the wake of misunderstanding over who has the right to lands including West Bank and Gaza Strip.

But President Mahama has implied many peace deals have fallen through and talks broken down because of Israel’s persistent occupation of lands that do not belong to it.

He was speaking to the world when he addressed the 71st UN General Assembly in New York Wednesday, the fourth time for Ghana’s leader.

President Mahama reiterated that there could only be a “two-state solution” to the conflicts between Israel and Palestine.

“There is no military solution to this conflict. An Israel security can only be guaranteed by peaceful and stable Palestinian state coexisting side by side.

“Unfortunately, the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands continues to make such a solution more and more difficult to attain.”

In a related development, US President, Barack Obama had a day before insisted that Israel cannot permanently occupy Palestinian lands.

Obama said the Jewish state would be better off if it did not “permanently occupy and settle Palestinian land.”

He also said that Palestinians would be better off if they were to “reject incitement.”

By Isaac Essel|3news.com|Ghana

Twitter: @3Newsgh