Archives for 08 December 2017

Statement by H.E. Dr. Riyad Mansour, Ambassador, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, United Nations Security Council, The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestine Question, 8 December 2017

Mr. President,

I thank Japan, in its capacity as Security Council President, for its leadership and its convening of this emergency meeting.  I also express our gratitude to the eight members of the Council – Egypt, Bolivia, France, Italy, Senegal, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Uruguay – that requested this meeting as a matter of urgency following recent alarming developments regarding Jerusalem. We also thank Special Representative and Special Coordinator Nikolay Mladenov for his briefing to the Council and thank the Secretary-General for his statement in this regard.

Mr. President,

We come before the Security Council today with a sense of urgency and foreboding. We urge the Council to act swiftly to uphold its Charter duties and the integrity and authority of its resolutions in light of the violations and provocations against Jerusalem’s legal, political and historic status and the rights and legitimate national aspirations of the Palestinian people.

The extremely regrettable announcement, on 6 December, by United States President Donald Trump, declaring America’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and its decision to move its embassy to the City, in direct contravention of Security Council resolutions and the longstanding international consensus on Jerusalem, has heightened tensions and risks complete destabilization of this volatile situation, with far-reaching consequences. [Read more…]