IRNA � While the Zionist regime is marking 50 years of its settlement in the Palestinian Territories, the United Nations Secretary-General in a statement has denounced Israel�s five decades of occupation.

�Now is the time to end the conflict by establishing an independent Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security with the State of Israel,� Ant�nio Guterres said in a statement released on Monday.

The Zionist regime occupation of the Palestinian Lands took place 50 years ago in 1967, following the Arab-Israeli war.

�The occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem [Al-Quds], Gaza and the Syrian Golan, which displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Syrians, has imposed a heavy humanitarian and development burden on the Palestinian people,� Guterres said.

�Now is not the time to give up on this goal� but is the time to return to direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, agreements and international law,� he added.