UN envoy: tough choice for Israel, Palestinians

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N.'s top Mideast envoy says Israel and the Palestinians must decide whether to entrench the current "one-state reality" or find a way to salvage the two-state solution following their failure to reach a peace agreement during a nine-month negotiating period.

Robert Serry, the coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon firmly believes there is a window for a two-state solution. But he said the parties must reflect whether they want to live up to their stated commitment to the two-state solution, or whether they will let it slip further away by default.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had envisioned brokering a final peace agreement when he brought the sides together last July but negotiations made no progress.