Statement of H.E. Minister Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, before the Security Council, 27 May 2021

English Translation

Mr. President,

Israel has failed. Failed in defeating Palestinian consciousness and in breaking apart our national belonging. For 73 years, Israel has developed a plan, adopted policies and imposed punishments and devoted tremendous resources to forciblychange the historic, geographic and demographic reality in our homeland, believing that eventually a Palestinian generation will come about and acknowledge defeat and surrender to it. But after over 70 years since the Nakba, the Israeli scheme falls apart at the hands of a new Palestinian generation more rooted in the land than ever and more committed to life, able to forge unity and believing in the inevitability of victory. We have, generation after generation, remained dedicated to Palestine, the color of skin resembling its soil, as there is no alternative to justice and freedom, and occupation cannot last forever regardless of its military might or its colonial appetite.

Israel has failed to distort the consciousness of peoples around the world, unable to hide its colonial and racist nature behind its aggressive attacks and its rabid readiness to hurl libelous accusations against all those who might dare criticize its occupation and call for its end and against all those who stand in solidarity with Palestine and its just cause. There is a new generation worldwide that stands unafraid of Israel and its threats.

How can Israel hide any further the Apartheid it imposes while its features appear everywhere from the river to the sea?

How can it justify calling for a right of return for Jews that would span over 5000 years while denying the right of return of Palestinians to their land and homes after 73 years?

How can it justify the forcible transfer in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, under alleged property claims for Jews while denying the property rights of Palestinians all over historical Palestine?

How can it justify demolishing our homes and razing our fields and stealing our water and resources while claiming its “right” to build illegal settlements on our land and military checkpoints and a wall on our path?

How can it justify vandalizing and inciting against our Christian and Muslim holy sites while claiming that its colonization is a “divine right”?

How does it call for the release of the bodies of killed Israelis while burying hundreds of Palestinians in the cemeteries of numbers (where the name of the buried is replaced by a number to hide his identity) and keeps other bodies hostage of its freezers?

How can it justify that the occupying Power claims an absolute “right to self-defense” and it considers as criminal any action undertaken by any Palestinian to defend his home, his family and his land against the blockade, the aggression of Israel’s occupation forces and the terrorism of Israeli settlers?

How can it justify that its Courts consider every Israeli innocent regardless of his crimes and every Palestinian guilty regardless of his rights?

How can it justify demanding the compassion of the world for its children in the shelters, while being outraged that the world might condemn its kidnaping of our children from their homes and their schools, and their killing in their neighborhoods or playgrounds or in their sleep at home in the arms of their mothers and fathers?

How can it justify all this, and is there anybody left to believe its claims after all of this?

Mr. President,

Didn’t this Council receive the UN reports that warned of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, stating it was on the verge of collapse and cautioning that violence will resume for as long as this 14 years long illegal blockade continues?

Didn’t Palestinian youth rebel and demonstrate in the return marches for over a year demanding their rights and the lifting of the criminal Israeli blockade that was characterized by international experts as a violation of international law amounting to collective punishment against Palestinian civilians in Gaza?

Didn’t we come time after time warning of the consequences of Israeli policies in occupied Jerusalem and against our Christian and Muslim holy sites, especially its provocations at Al-Haram Al-Sharif, and of its policy of forcible displacement in the old city, Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan and all of Palestine?

Didn’t Israel come over and over again to this Council displaying the arrogance of the occupier and the oppressor, always ready to accuse any of you of anti-semitism, justifying its grave violations as if it was entitled to act as a State above the law, attacking those who dare to call for an end of its settlement policy and for respect of the character and status of Jerusalem and of the historic status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif and for the lifting of the blockade over the Gaza Strip? It shows no remorse or shame in violating its legal obligations as an occupying Power.

The deterioration of the situation in the occupied State of Palestine, especially as we witnessed in Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, is Israel’s making and responsibility and the inevitable result of its oppressive policies and colonial occupation.

We are here today to tell this august Council that ending the latest Israeli aggression against Gaza did not end the catastrophe, and it will not bring back the loved ones fallen martyr or the homes that were destroyed, it will not spare the orphans and the bereaved from the devastating losses they have endured.

We are here to tell you that the postponement by the Israeli Courts of decisions on forcible displacement of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan did not protect the families from the ongoing aggression by the settlers nor end the tragedy endured in occupied Jerusalem. This did not mean that the Israeli provocations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque have ceased or that measures to change the status of the city and its character have stopped. This has not put an end to Israel’s colonial appetite and desire to annex occupied Palestinian land, remove Palestinians from their land or besiege them in it.

We all stand at a crossroad and if Israel is allowed to choose the way ahead, it will choose the same path and the same policy. It will impose on us Apartheid and annexation, blockade and destruction, and will demand for itself security and stability, refusing to acknowledge the failure of its colonial and racist policies, that are the source of violence and the root cause of the conflict.

We, Palestinians, will not be subjugated. We will not surrender to this occupation. Israel should know that by now. It must confront this reality, that the Palestinian people in all its components will not be subjugated and will not relinquish its right to freedom, independence and self-determination wherever they are. We will only accept the path that leads to the freedom of our people, preserve their national and human dignity and guarantees all their rights as enshrined in international instruments.

This Council and the international community determined a vision for peace decades ago and adopted resolutions that defined the framework and terms of reference for such a solution, as well as the obligations of the parties and of third parties, including not to recognize or render aid or assistance to illegal actions and to distinguish between the occupied territory and the territory of the occupying Power, and to respect and ensure respect for international law. You have to implement these resolutions to achieve just and comprehensive peace, as foreseen in your resolutions, including resolution 2334 (2016).

You have preserved the international consensus and protected it from all the attempts to legitimize occupation and colonization and of distorting the terms of reference, and now that the Trump administration is gone, and with it the illusions it was trying to promote, and with the return of the United States to the international consensus and the reactivation of the Quartet, it is no longer enough to restate what the law says, it must be enforced.

Please, don’t ask us to be patient, as every additional hour carries with it pain and suffering. Until when should we be patient, until the next massacre? Until the child grows in the occupation cells? Until the family is displaced for the third or fourth time? Until the settlement expands and closes of the veins of life in Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley? Until an entire generation grows knowing nothing but siege and deprivation?

Mr. President,

The battle for existence in Palestine, and at its heart Jerusalem, is taking place on the ground, house by house, and in the alleys of the Old City, and in our Aqsa and Holy Sepulchre, and on every hilltop and neighborhood and village and refugee camp. Peace can not be achieved in the land of peace and the City of peace without the recognition of Palestinian sovereignty and respect of the Hashemite custodianship.

Your responsibility is not only to adopt resolutions here, but to change the reality there, to protect the Palestinians there, to ensure freedom prevails there, to achieve peace there.

The reconstruction of the besieged Gaza Strip must be a top priority right now, starting with providing immediate humanitarian assistance to the thousands internally displaced, especially in the context of the pandemic. But we all know that what is required is addressing the root causes of this situation in a manner consistent with the unity of our people, land and destiny and lifting the blockade and ensuring freedom of movement of people and goods to revive economic life and to allow the provision of fuel, medical equipment, medicine and construction material as well as the normal and sustainable functioning of the power plant so as to end the humanitarian tragedy the Palestinian people in Gaza have endured for the last 15 years, and to unleash the true potential of its youth so they can express their talent and creativity.

Mr. President,

The last few weeks demonstrated that Israel’s claim that the question of Palestine no longer inhabits the hearts and minds of peoples in the Arab and Muslim world, or peoples worldwide, and that it has become a marginal issue with no relevance or influence, is a false and invalid claim.

The question of Palestine can not be overlooked or bypassed, given its regional and international significance. We commend all regional and international efforts to put an end to the Israeli aggression on Gaza and to launch a credible political process that places Palestine at the top of the list of priorities. We stress however that the success of such a political process is contingent on ending the ongoing aggression against our people, our land and our holy sites, and on the ability of this Council to implement its resolutions and on the international community’s rejection of double standards and its ability to uphold the rules it has adopted and enshrined in the UN Charter, international law and relevant resolutions.

Mr. President,

We, the Palestinian people, are, despite all the killing and destruction, a living nation, thriving by its history, its traditions, its culture, its poets, its dreams, its creativity, its bravery, its diversity, its love, its anger, its tolerance, its patriotism and its humanity. We resemble our land and belong to it, and will never abandon it, whether we live in it or it lives in us, one rebellious generation after the other, impossible to uproot. Here in Palestine we have a past, a present and a future. Regardless who agrees and who objects.

I thank you, Mr. President.

Statement by H.E. Riad Malki, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine, before the UN Security Council, 16 May 2021

Mr. President

Allow me to thank China for convening this important meeting and for being represented at Ministerial level, as well as Tunisia for their relentless efforts within this Council, and my Arab brothers who decided to participate in this meeting as an integral part of their efforts to end the aggression against our people, land and holy sites. Allow me also to thank the Secretary General for his participation and ongoing efforts, together with Special Coordinator Tor Wennesland, to end this latest aggression against our people.

Mr. President,

There are no words that can describe the horrors our people are enduring. Baby Omar Al Hadidi came to life only 5 months ago and will now have to go through life without his mother and brothers Osama 6, Abdelrahman 8, Suheib 14, all killed by an Israeli airstrike. His family is not the only one. Members of the family Abu Hattab were killed, including Alaa 5, Bilal 10, Youssef 11, and the family Al Tanani, Rawya was 4-months pregnant, she was killed together with her husband and sons Ismael 6, Ameer 5, Adham 4, Mohammed 3. A few hours ago, 15 members of the family Al-Qolak were killed, including Zeid 8, Adam 3 and Qossai 1 and their parents. Aziz survived, he is 10.

When you embrace your children and grandchildren tonight, think of our children and of how you can honour those killed and spare those still alive. Think of what it feels to see your world crumbling down and not being able to protect them. Think of what it means to sleep not knowing which one of you will wake up. Remember that each time Israel hears a foreign leader speak of its right to defend itself, it is further emboldened to continue murdering entire families in their sleep.

Israel is killing Palestinians in Gaza, one family at a time. Israel is trying to uproot Palestinians from Jerusalem, expelling families, one home, one neighbourhood at a time.

Israel is persecuting our people, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Some may not want to use these words, but they know they are true. Israel is unapologetic and relentless in pursuing its colonial policies. We are therefore left with two questions.

The first one is: What are the Palestinian people entitled to do to resist such policies and defend themselves. The following questions hold the answer: Is violence when committed by Palestinians terrorism and when committed by Israel self-defense? Who will be arrested, the settlers or those resisting their presence and assaults? Will our peaceful protesters enjoy international protection or be left to face Israeli bullets and slander? Will we receive support for investigations by the ICC, or will some search for reasons to object, shielding war criminals and depriving Palestinian victims from any avenue for justice? Will products of Israeli settlements be banned, or will those who call for boycott be prosecuted? What are we entitled to do apart from hoping that one day Israel will be ready to end its occupation on its own and to negotiate peace?

The second question is: What are the tools the international community is ready to deploy to ensure compliance by Israel with its obligations and an end of its occupation, tools it uses regularly in other conflicts. Military intervention? Sanctions? Suspending bilateral relations? Prosecuting perpetrators of crimes? Deploying protection forces? Imposing an arms embargo? Or will it rely simply on the possibility of convincing the occupying Power to end its colonial occupation while history has proven that Israel is not willing to listen?

Mr. President,

Israel keeps doing the same things expecting a different result. Did it believe that its troops storming the holiest of sites, Al Aqsa Mosque, on the holiest of months, Ramadan, and on the holiest of nights, the night of destiny, would bear no consequences? Did it believe Palestinians would accept to live in enclaves and wait for the Israeli settlers to seize the next house? Did they expect Palestinians to coexist with the occupation, its walls, its blockades, its settlements and its prisons? There is no people on earth that would tolerate this reality.  

Israel keeps telling you “put yourself in our shoes?” But Israel is not wearing shoes, it is wearing military boots. It is an occupying and a colonial power. Any assessment of the situation that fails to take into account this fundamental fact is biased, discredited and unjust. We are not two neighbours living side by side in peace. Israel is the armed thief who has entered our house and is terrorizing our family. It destroys our homes, oppresses our people, generation after generation, decade after decade, and then claims a right to security that it denies us.

Why don’t you put yourself in our shoes. What would you do if your country was occupied, your people persecuted, besieged, massacred? Better yet, what did you do to achieve your independence and end the oppression of your people? We made a difficult choice to pursue a peaceful path to freedom, and it is in everybody’s interest for that path to be successful. But that will not happen without ensuring that Israel bears the cost of occupation instead of reaping its benefits.

Mr. President,

How many Palestinian civilians killed is enough for a condemnation? We know a single Israeli is, but how many Palestinians? 200 Palestinians have been killed, a third of them children and women. What is the threshold for outrage? An entire family wiped out of existence is not enough? Dozens of families killed is not enough? Residential buildings brought to the ground and tens of thousands of Palestinians displaced for the fourth or fifth time is not enough?  All this in the midst of a pandemic.

Israel is not only an occupying Power, it is a nuclear power, it has a military arsenal, the iron dome, shelters, while our people in Gaza are besieged, trapped, with nowhere to go and no safe haven. Even the UNRWA schools within which they shelter are vulnerable to Israeli attacks. It is Palestinian civilians who need protection. They deserve compassion, solidarity and action.

The Palestinian people have risen everywhere, because they are victims everywhere. Victims of dispossession, forced displacement, discrimination and denial of rights on both sides of the Green Line and in exile. When hearing Israeli officials speak one could wonder how horrible it must be for them to live under our occupation, with our forces deployed in their streets and our settlers terrorizing their people and taking over their land and homes, and with millions of them under blocakde. As many colonial powers before it, Israel holds its victims responsible for their own death. Israel is the victim forced to kill the Palestinians because they do not behave. If only Palestinians could coexist with their occupiers and oppressors in peace.

Some wonder why Palestine enjoys so much solidarity and support from so many nations around the world, and the reason is that these nations are informed by their own history, their own struggle for freedom, and they know oppression when they see it. The countries who sit in these United Nations would be dishonoring the memory of those who fought for freedom in their respective countries if they were to accept colonialism and Apartheid in Palestine.

Mr. President,

Where are they those who proclaimed they had achieved peace in the Middle East by brokering agreements between countries who were actually not at war? Where are they those who proclaimed that peace in the Middle East could be achieved without the Palestinians and at their expense? Where are they those real estate agents who decided they could sell what they do not own to those who have no rightful claim. We told them then and we say now, Jerusalem is not for sale. Our roots are deep, our history long, our heritage etched in every stone, street and alley in this City.  War and peace start from Jerusalem. You want to save peace, start by saving Sheikh Jarrah. Protect Al Haram Al Sharif from attempts to divide it temporally and spatially. Israel continues proclaiming that Jerusalem is the unified capital of Israel. Have you ever seen the city more divided?

The international consensus you have all helped shape and defend is being destroyed in front of our very eyes. The alternative that Israel chose is Apartheid. Yes Apartheid. And one day soon, even this Council will not be able to deny this reality. Act now to end the aggression and the assault on our people, our homes, our land. Act now so freedom can prevail, not Apartheid.

Mr. President,

As the Palestinian people mark the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba, Israel pursues the same policies of dispossession, forced displacement, discrimination and denial of Palestinian rights.

Israel may believe it is winning, but it is no where closer to defeating the Palestinian people. Our people will never surrender or forgo their rights. Palestinian freedom is the only path to peace.  Since peace is the responsibility of this Council, helping achieve Palestinian freedom is its legal and moral duty. Thank you

Statement by H.E. Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine, at the UN Security Council Debate on the Middle East including the Question of Palestine, 22 April 2021

Mr. President,

I wish to begin by congratulating Viet Nam on its skillful presidency of the Security Council this month. I also thank Special Coordinator Wennesland for his briefing and engaged efforts on the ground, including in regards to the Palestinian elections process and the humanitarian situation.

Mr. President,

The Palestinian people in the occupied territory have overwhelmingly registered to participate in the upcoming elections, clearly demonstrating their thirst and desire for democracy. These elections are vital for Palestinian democracy and unity and must not be jeopardized. Our people are entitled to freely express their will, without foreign intervention. In this context, we urge your help in preventing any Israel actions that might obstruct these elections, notably in occupied East Jerusalem. We have witnessed in recent days alone the arrest of several candidates, and the impeding or disbanding of meetings of parties and civil society. Such unlawful and irresponsible actions must stop at once.

We have, with the support of regional actors, notably Egypt, and international partners, been able to address all the internal challenges needed to hold these elections, with the understanding that the international community will help provide the necessary guarantees for these elections to proceed unhindered. We have reached the moment of truth. The ability of Palestinians to campaign, run for elections and vote throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in East Jerusalem, is enshrined in international law and in previous agreements. There is also a well-established precedent observed in all prior elections in 1996, 2005 and 2006 and it must be respected.

Mr. President, 

The Palestinian people, like many nations around the world, are suffering from the horrific impact of the Coronavirus, and we are grateful for the international community’s support, including through COVAX. However this suffering could have been alleviated had Israel, the occupying Power, upheld its obligations. Israel, which does not lack the means to provide such relief, including through vaccination of the people under occupation, has chosen to only vaccinate those who are in interaction with Israeli citizens, namely Jerusalemites and Palestinian workers, and not the others. It has also refused to provide coronavirus relief to the Gaza Strip and is using the pandemic response as a political bargaining chip, pursuing its unlawful policy of collective punishment and its inhumane blockade affecting over 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Mr. President,  

The latest report of the Secretary-General pursuant to resolution 2334 (2016) underlined the “continued Israeli settlement expansion, particularly into highly sensitive areas, which entrench the Israeli occupation, erode the possibility of a contiguous, independent and viable Palestinian State and further threaten the prospect of achieving a two-State solution”. This threat must be taken seriously and addressed immediately. What we are witnessing today in Jabal Abu Ghneim, in Sheik Jarrah and in Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem, in Bethlehem, in Al-Khalil (Hebron), in Nablus and all across the West Bank with Israel’s frenzied settlement drive, eviction of Palestinian families and demolition of Palestinian homes and properties, is altering the landscape and demography of our territory dramatically and illegally. The impact on the viability of the two-State solution on the pre-1967, to which the international community remains committed, can no longer be ignored.

The Israeli objective is blatant: to unlawfully seize maximum Palestinian land with minimum Palestinians. It is to erase the 1967 borders that are indispensable for the realization of the two-State solution. Israel has prevented us for over 50 years from building on two-thirds of the Palestinian land occupied in 1967, while at the same time building and expanding its illegal settlements, entrenching its illegal occupation instead of ending it.

The result today is Palestinian bantustans, isolated and disconnected by Israel so it can push its double narrative, that this is disputed territory while it is in fact occupied, and that it should be divided based on where Israeli Jews and Palestinians live, thus moving forward with its unlawful annexation of our land handing a deadly blow to the two-State solution and any chance for peace.

This is the Israeli plan that is now presented loud and clear, in a shameless and unapologetic manner. It even attacks those who dare criticize its colonial policies, including Security Council members and the ICC, accusing them of antisemitism for challenging Israeli actions that violate international law, the same law we are all expected and obliged to respect without exception.

Mr. President,

We are in dire need for an international plan of action to defeat this colonial plan, which runs counter to the law and counter to Palestinian rights and Israeli interests, and which undermines regional and international peace and security. The foundation and parameters of this plan exist; it is the international consensus enshrined in the internationally-endorsed terms of reference, including relevant UN resolutions. This international consensus has prevailed despite the passage of time and Israel’s attempts to negate it, and we welcome the positions of the new US administration that are consistent with international law and the resolutions of this Council, as well as its decision to resume assistance to the Palestinian people, including for the Palestine refugees through UNRWA, and the steps to restore diplomatic ties.

To move forward we need more positive and proactive collective action, including :

  1. reinvigorating the Quartet, which has resumed its meetings and empowering it to monitor and accompany final status negotiations, and to intervene to ensure that the parties observe their commitments and obligations, as well as mobilizing this Council and the international community to assist in advancing freedom, peace and security, including through the convening of an international peace conference.
  2. Ensuring all States observe their obligation of non-recognition and non-assistance to Israel’s illegal actions, distinction between the territory of Israel and the occupied territories, in line with relevant resolutions, including resolution 2334, and of recognition of Palestinian rights and Palestinian statehood and support to them.
  3. Ensuring an end to impunity, which is the only way to explain the persistence of violations despite repeated condemnations including by this Council.  War crimes hinder peace, holding perpetrators accountable does not. The premise that peace can be achieved  in the absence of justice contradicts all logic. It is time for accountability and deterrence, to save human lives, give justice to the victims, and salvage the prospects for peace.

Mr. President,

We know only too well that there are many challenges ahead of us and understand there are other priorities and crises around the world that may plead for delayed action, but there is one strong argument for immediate and resolute action. Those who think that time plays in our favour should go to Jerusalem and Hebron and see what settler colonialism means. They should go to Gaza mutilated by 14 years of an inhumane blockade. They should go to the Jordan Valley and see how our resources are being stolen. They should hear from the families who are suffering endless dispossession and oppression, traumatized across generations, yet still believing in and yearning for freedom in their homeland and the security and prosperity that only peace can bring.

The map the Israel is drawing with its bulldozers, cranes and military might is one of perpetual conflict and apartheid. We have a collective map for peace. It should not be relegated to drawers and presentations. It has to find its way to our reality, now. Waiting means allowing Israel to finalize its plans to only lament once they have sealed our fate. The 4 June 1967 borders are the demarcation line between peace and conflict. We must consolidate and defend them so peace can prevail.

I thank you, Mr. President.

4 February 2021 – Remarks by H.E. Minister Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, at the first annual meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People

Excellencies,

Mr. Secretary-General António Guterres

Chair of the Committee, Ambassador Cheikh Niang of Senegal

Vice-Chairs of the Committee Bureau, Afghanistan, Cuba, Indonesia, Namibia, Nicaragua

Members and Observers of the Committee

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasures seeing you all, nearly a year since we last met in person.

I am honored to address you on behalf of the State of Palestine and wish to reaffirm our gratitude to the Chair and Bureau and all Members and Observers of the Committee for their steadfast support for our just cause and the pursuit by the Palestinian people of their inalienable rights. Your principled solidarity is deeply appreciated and needed now more than ever and we are ready to fully cooperate to implement the Committee’s forward-looking programme of work for 2021.

Mr. Secretary-General, we are honored by your presence at our meeting today and thank you for your strong support to the Committee. We deeply appreciate your dedication a just and lasting peace and your tireless advocacy, consistently striving for an active and meaningful role for the United Nations, as per its Charter and in implementation of its resolutions, the foundations of a peaceful solution.

Excellencies, Dear Friends,

The past year brought immense challenges and changes for the international community, sparing no one and deepening existing vulnerabilities, inequities and suffering around the world. For the Palestinian people, bearing the burden and hardships of decades of occupation, oppression and displacement, those challenges and changes have been even more trying and painful.

As the international community confronts the COVID-19 pandemic and array of other crises, from poverty and hunger, to climate change, to conflicts and the grave humanitarian, socio-economic and security consequences they are wreaking, the goal of ‘building back better’ must be broad and inclusive. We appeal that Palestine not be the exception to these lofty goals.

As we look towards the future, we must learn the lessons of the past to redress all that has diminished multilateralism and undermined respect for international law, not only impairing our collective abilities to overcome prevailing crises, but exacerbating them.

Building back better makes it imperative to revive global cooperation to address the greatest challenges. The UN clearly remains at the center of these efforts, which must include action to resolve protracted conflicts and prolonged injustices – the longest on the UN agenda being the Palestine question, whereby an entire people is being deprived of the freedom, rights, dignity, equality and the peace and security that all peoples yearn for and are entitled to.

This Committee is the essence of multilateralism and the commitment to international law as the keys for resolving this conflict. The foresight of those who preceded us and established the Committee in 1975 should be recognized, for long before us they sought peaceful, diplomatic means, in a spirit of dialogue, collective responsibility and action, as the path for a just solution.

That same spirit is what is most needed today and being widely summoned to tackle other urgent global issues based on the rule of law and our common values and goals. So, we regret the dismissal and even maligning of this Committee by some – including by false accusations of bias or being anti-Israeli – denying to it the support it deserves for its positive, peaceful, multilateral mandate, as enshrined in the relevant General Assembly resolutions.

So, today we once again urge all States to support and cooperate with the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People as we seek together to realize peace. We need to mobilize collective efforts to achieve a just solution that guarantees the rights of the Palestinian people and establishes lasting Palestinian-Israeli peace and security.

The basis of that solution is reflected in the longstanding international consensus, a consensus that  remains strong despite cynical attempts in recent years to undermine and dismantle it. It has been repeatedly reaffirmed in this Assembly and in the Security Council, most recently at the high-level debate of 26 January convened under the Presidency of Tunisia, with the broad calls for serious efforts to bring an end to the Israeli occupation since 1967, to achieve the two-State solution on the pre-1967 borders in accordance with international law and the relevant UN resolutions, and to realize the rights of the Palestinian people, including to self-determination and including a just solution for the Palestine refugees on the basis of General Assembly resolution 194 (III).

We have the tools to achieve these noble goals. General Assembly resolutions and Security Council resolutions over the decades, including resolution 2334 of December 2016, have set forth the terms of reference and parameters for a just solution that have global backing. What is missing is the will.

We appeal today for:

  • the will to learn from past mistakes and avert repeated failure;
  • the will to uphold the law in all circumstances and to hold Israel, the occupying Power, accountable for its flagrant and systematic violations – whether settlement colonization of our land, displacement, collective punishment and blockade of our people, or racist, discriminatory policies that amount to apartheid – with a view to ending them and the suffering caused to the Palestinian people and to salvaging the two-State solution;
  • and the will to implement UN resolutions, without exception or bias, for the promotion of human rights and a just peace and security.

We appeal to the international community to act. We urge you, Secretary-General, to continue your efforts to mobilize international action, including in terms of UN engagement within the Quartet and with regional and other partners, including for the convening at the earliest possible date of an international peace conference, as called for by President Abbas, to revive a credible process to justly resolve the Palestine question and realize Palestinian-Israeli peace.

We welcome the appointment of your new Special Coordinator and Special Representative, Mr. Tor Wennesland, and are ready to work with him as well to address the needs of the Palestinian people at this critical moment, in cooperation with UN agencies on the ground, and to overcome the persistent impediments to peace. We call for international support for these efforts, including urgent funding for UNRWA, to address the dire situation on the ground, alleviate hardships, and restore hope.

Excellencies,

There are those who say that the problems are too many, the obstacles too great and that now is not the time for grand initiatives for peace. Such views contradict the mandate and purpose of this Committee and indeed the purposes and principles of the UN. For those denied their freedom, rights and dignity – the essence of human existence and survival – nothing is more urgent. How can we ever say that the time is not right to protect human rights, to end conflict, to make peace?

We appeal to all to join us in working for a just solution that will allow the Palestinian people to fulfill their inalienable rights, including to self-determination and the independence of their State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side on the basis of the pre-1967 borders with Israel and all of its neighbors in peace and security, a peace that will be the true cornerstone of peace and stability in the Middle East.

In closing, I wish to again thank the Secretary-General for joining us today; to congratulate the Chair and Bureau on their re-election; and to reiterate our thanks to the Committee, as well as the Division for Palestinian Rights, for their tireless efforts in support of and solidarity with the Palestinian people; and also all the States, intergovernmental organizations and civil society groups extending their support to the Committee and solidarity to our people, looking forward to working with all of you to revive hope and make real progress towards a more just and peaceful future.

Statement of H.E. Riad Malki, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine before the Security Council, 26 January 2021

Mr. President, 

Allow me at the outset to congratulate Tunisia on its skilled presidency of the Security Council and to express our appreciation for the high-level convening of this open debate, as well as to wish my brother Othman Jerandi a swift recovery. I also wish the President of Mexico a swift recovery. May this year witness an end to this terrible pandemic. Let me note in this regard that the occupying Power has not provided any vaccines to the Palestinian people under occupation to this day, insisting it is under no obligation to do so.

Allow me to also thank Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for his participation and to seize this opportunity to thank Russia for its leading role in the Quartet in the most difficult of circumstances, and President Putin for his repeated efforts to bring the parties together, as well as the Foreign Ministers of Ireland, Mr. Simon Coveney, Mexico, Mr. Marcelo Ebrard Casaubón, and Norway, Ms. Ine Eriksen Søreide, colleagues that I have worked closely with to advance peace, and the Deputy Foreign Minister of Estonia, Mr. Rein Tammsaar, for participating in this meeting. 

I congratulate Mr. Tor Wennesland for assuming his functions as the UN Special Coordinator. We look forward to working with him in his new capacity to advance a just peace. I also welcome my brother Ahmed Aboul Gheit, who remains a tireless advocate of peace. 

I also wish today to express our appreciation to the States that concluded their Security Council terms, Belgium, Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia, and South Africa, thanking them for their commitment to international law and peace, and for their support for the rights of the Palestinian people; while also expressing our congratulations to India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway and wishing them every success as they undertake their terms on the Council.

Mr. President,

The countdown for the demise of the two-State solution is underway. Some say the time has already elapsed. It is our collective responsibility to salvage the two-State solution on the pre-1967 borders before it is too late. 

Some wonder if this is the right time for peace. But the very reasons that demonstrate how difficult achieving peace is going to be, including the situation on the ground, the mistrust, the illegal unilateral actions, should prompt more, not less, international involvement, especially since we all agree that we are running out of time.

How much trust was there when the parties to the conflict met in Madrid 30 years ago? How ready were they to negotiate? How willing was then Israeli Prime Minister Shamir to make peace?  How pleased were the Palestinians that the PLO could not even send its own delegation? What did the situation on the ground look like? The world decided it was time to solve this conflict and was not going to take “no” for an answer. I can tell you with certainty, without Madrid, we would not have made it to Oslo. 

The momentum for peace is something we create, not something we wait for, and I know there is no lack of willingness around this table and beyond to see peace prevail.

We thus reiterate our call for a collective approach mobilizing the international community and demonstrating its resolve to achieve peace. In this context, we call for revival of the Quartet and its engagement with partners and the parties, as well as for the continued mobilization of this Security Council. We also reiterate our call for the convening of an international peace conference that can signal a turning point in this conflict, like Madrid did three decades ago, and to launch final status negotiations based on the international terms of reference and parameters. Our call for multilateral engagement is not an attempt to evade bilateral negotiations, but rather an effort to ensure their success.

Mr. President,

Does anyone here believe that Israel has really dropped its annexation plans? Or is the reality actually that it is finalizing those plans on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, as we speak, advancing over 3000 new settlement units in the last few weeks alone, accelerating demolition of Palestinian homes and the displacement of our people, with settlers’ violence reaching an all-time high, and with repeated provocations at the holy sites, especially at Al-Haram Al-Sharif? 

Israel’s goal has always been the same: grabbing maximum Palestinian geography with minimum Palestinian demography. The outcome of this policy is known. Millions of Palestinians enduring oppression, discrimination and blatant segregation, denied their most basic rights and deprived of control over their land, their resources, their borders and their lives. Who would accept that? We cannot. Would any of you? The question therefore remains how to convince Israel to choose peace not annexation, or in the words of former US President Jimmy Carter, peace not apartheid.

In 2016, the Quartet stressed the urgent need for affirmative steps to reverse the negative trends on the ground in order to “prevent entrenching a one-state reality of perpetual occupation and conflict that is incompatible with realizing the national aspirations” of the Palestinian and Israeli peoples. In response to the rapid deterioration of the situation on the ground, the Security Council adopted resolution 2334 (2016), a roadmap to salvage the two-State solution and achieve peace. 

In his speech explaining why the United States did not resort to the veto, Secretary Kerry explained that the two-State solution was a Palestinian interest, an Israeli interest, a regional and international interest, but also a US interest. He stressed that the “critical decision about the future – one state or two states – is effectively being made on the ground every single day”, noting that “the status quo is leading towards one state and perpetual occupation, but most of the public either ignores it or has given up hope that anything can be done to change it”, adding that “with this passive resignation, the problem only gets worse, the risks get greater and the choices are narrowed”.

This lucid assessment about the urgency to act to salvage the two-State solution was followed by four years where the Trump administration used the United States’ might and influence to support Israel’s unlawful efforts to entrench its occupation and control, breaking with decades of US diplomacy. Even the most vulnerable, millions of Palestine refugees, were not spared as the Trump administration withdrew US funding from UNRWA seeking to bring the Agency to collapse in spite of the international consensus on its indispensable role pending a just solution. What if these considerable resources were used to advance freedom, justice and peace, not annexation and apartheid? 

Mr. President,

The last four years have tested our collective resolve, yet the international consensus has endured and prevailed. The members of this Council, of the Quartet, the Munich group, and the international community as a whole stood up against annexation, reaffirmed their support for Palestinian rights, supported UNRWA, and continued to work for a just and lasting peace. Now is the time to heal and repair the damage left by the previous US administration.

President Abbas has congratulated President Biden on his election and expressed our hope for the resumption of relations and positive engagement. We look forward to the reversal of the unlawful and hostile measures undertaken by the Trump administration and to working together for peace. We welcome the decision of the new administration to rejoin the international law-based order and hope the US will play an important role in multilateral efforts for peace in the Middle East.

Mr. President,

This is not a time for passive resignation but a time for resolute action. Without such action, neither reversing negative trends on the ground, first and foremost illegal settlement activities, nor resuming meaningful final status negotiations, will be possible. The deterioration of the situation on the ground is directly linked to the attempts of one party to prejudge and dictate the outcome of negotiations, implementing annexation that would destroy any prospect for a sovereign and contiguous State of Palestine, while pretending to accept a two-State solution.

There are those who ask: what can be done that has not been tried already? But did the world truly use the toolbox available to it to end this occupation and conflict? 

How does the world deal with other conflicts? Does it say that the parties shall negotiate and just wait for them to be ready and agree? Or does it find the necessary resources to push parties towards negotiations and away from unlawful unilateral actions, including by upholding third parties’ obligations? Does it only condemn violations or make sure that their cost far outweighs their benefits by creating incentives for compliance with obligations and disincentives for their breach? Does this Council in adopting its resolutions accompany them with the means to ensure their implementation as per its Charter duties, or does it offer its resolutions as mere advice for the parties to decide if they take it or not? 

Since both parties say they are committed to peace, why not allow the deployment of international observers truly empowered to assess compliance? Why fear consequences for whomever breaches their legal obligations? Why not conduct final status negotiations under international auspices? Why reject the idea of binding timeframes? This is the path towards changing the dramatic reality underway in Palestine. We stand ready to do our part and will continue fulfilling our obligations.

Mr. President, 

An entire nation is yearning for freedom and its calls must be answered. We do not ask for anything more than what the UN Charter prescribed for all peoples, nor will we accept anything less. We cannot accept a future of walls and blockades, humiliation and subjugation. We will spare no effort in advancing an independent, sovereign, viable, contiguous and democratic State of Palestine on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. We will do by resorting to peaceful means alone, even in the most challenging of circumstances. 

While we pursue our long journey to freedom and peace, we call for immediate protection for our people, who are equally entitled to security, until such time where we can ensure their protection as a sovereign State. 

President Abbas has issued a decree calling for Palestinian legislative and presidential elections, as well as for the Palestinian National Council. This is an integral part of the efforts to resume our democratic life and to achieve national reconciliation and unity. We thank all those who are supporting these efforts and ask for international support and assistance to ensure the integrity of these elections, including by helping to avert and remove any Israeli obstacles to their conduct, notably in East Jerusalem, as well as respect for the outcome.

In this period of electoral campaigns, there are those who, in trying to secure votes, remain committed to international law, the two-State solution and peaceful means, and those who instead announce settlements, advance annexation and persist in their provocations. May people not be duped by the ills of demagogy, supremacy and domination and rather choose the path of equal rights, mutual respect and shared dignity. With your help, may our future be one of freedom, security and prosperity for all. A future of peace, not apartheid. Thank you.

General Statement after Vote by Ambassador Feda Abdelhady-Nasser, Deputy Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, United Nations General Assembly, Resolutions under Agenda Item 38: Question of Palestine, 75th Session, 2 December 2020

Thank you Mr. President,

I wish to take this opportunity to express the State of Palestine’s sincere gratitude to all the Member States that voted in support of the important resolutions that have just been adopted by the General Assembly under agenda item 38, Question of Palestine, once again by a resounding majority.

We convey additional appreciation to those countries that cosponsored these resolutions for their strong endorsement and support, and express in this regard our special appreciation to Senegal, Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, for leading the co-sponsorship of these resolutions, to Namibia, Vice-Chair of the Committee for presenting the resolutions to the Assembly; and to Afghanistan, Vice-Chair and Acting Rapporteur of the Committee, for presenting the annual report of the Committee, reflecting on the ongoing plight of the Palestinian people, the continued search for a just solution, and the Committee’s continuous efforts in this regard, in line with its General Assembly mandate, since it was established in 1975, forty-five years ago.

We renew our gratitude in this regard to all Members and Observers of the Committee and to the Division for Palestinian Rights and the Department of Global Communication’s Special Information Programme on Palestine for all of their efforts, advocacy and outreach in support of the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the achievement of a just, lasting and peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Question of Palestine as a whole in accordance with international law and the relevant UN resolutions.

Mr. President,

The resolutions adopted today constitute important contributions by the General Assembly, in line with international law and the letter and spirit of multilateralism, towards addressing the fundamental issues and prolonged challenges we continue to face more than seventy-two years since the Nakba that befell the Palestinian people in 1948 and the dire consequences and painful hardships they continue to endure to this day, including the continued deprivation and denial of the right to return of more than 5.6 million Palestine refugees and the cruel, fifty-three year Israeli occupation of the Palestinian land and oppression of the Palestinian people since 1967.

Central to all of the resolutions just adopted, both the programmatic and political, is the goal of a just, lasting, comprehensive and peaceful solution to the Question of Palestine that will bring an end to the Israeli occupation, fulfill the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including to self-determination and freedom in an independent, sovereign State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the pre-1967 borders, and a just solution to the Palestine refugee question on the basis of General Assembly resolution 194 (III). These are the pillars of a just and lasting Palestinian-Israeli peace and of genuine security and stability for both peoples and the region, pillars on which the international consensus remains strong, as reflected in the overwhelming support once again for the resolution on the “Peaceful settlement of the Question of Palestine”.

Mr. President,

We reject the offensive remarks by the Israeli representative against the integrity of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian people and against the States who have sponsored and voted in favor of these resolutions. This is not the so-called “Question of Palestine”, as he flippantly stated, it is in fact the longest standing item on the UN agenda. And, once again he went on to insult the General Assembly by claiming everyone in this chamber is “detached from reality”. On the contrary, this is reality and what has been said here in the General Assembly are not so-called “Palestinian talking points”, these are the international talking points, this is the international consensus, the consensus that Israel – the occupying Power – continues to reject, obstruct, deny, belittle, and attempt futilely to destroy.

The debate today in this chamber, with the participation of countries from every region of the globe, is clear expression of international law and its respect by the international community. The exception is Israel, which refuses to abide by international law, flagrantly trampling the Charter, international humanitarian and human rights law and UN resolutions, having gotten too accustomed to violating the law with zero consequences.

We reiterate what was stated in our intervention earlier today: it is high time for accountability for such blatant and systematic breaches of international law and violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people. Only accountability can change this miserable situation and give hope for a future of justice and peace. Peace cannot be built on the basis of illegality and oppression. Peace is built on the foundation of justice, that is international law, and upon compromise, and no one, no one, has made a greater compromise for peace than the Palestinian people and their leadership.

The hypocritical and degrading claim by the Israeli representative that this institution’s approach has “failed” perhaps should highlight even more the need for concrete action by States to implement the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and of course the Security Council, to give meaning and substance to the commitments made, to give life to the international consensus, and to ensure accountability for such illegal and contemptuous behavior, which we all know is what is causing so much grief and suffering in Occupied Palestine, what has undermined every single peace initiative and negotiations across over two decades, and what is preventing the establishment of genuine peace and security between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples and in the Middle East region as a whole.

We urge mobilization of the necessary political will to change course of decades of inaction towards real action for a peaceful end to this conflict. We call for respect of these resolutions and the obligations and commitments affirmed therein. Implementation is not only paramount for the realization of just solution, but equally paramount for the credibility of this organization and the viability of our international rules-based order for the benefit of all countries and peoples.

Mr. President,

In closing, I wish to reiterate our deep gratitude for principled support given to the resolutions on the Question of Palestine and for the support and solidarity to the Palestinian people expressed in the debate and in the many messages of solidarity received in these past days, from all corners of the globe, from countries small and large, in commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. These resolutions reflect the collective will of the international community to uphold the law as it pertains to the Palestine question and ultimately contribute to a just, lasting and peaceful solution. For this, the General Assembly should be proud.

I thank you, Mr. President.

Statement by H.E. Dr. Riyad Mansour, Ambassador, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, before the United Nations General Assembly, Agenda Item 38: Question of Palestine, Agenda Item 37: Situation in the Middle East, 2 December 2020, New York:

Mr. President,

We thank you for convening the General Assembly address the Question of Palestine as we mark 73 years since the Assembly’s adoption of resolution 181 (II) and decision to partition historic Palestine. The consequences of that decision continue to unfold to this day as the Palestinian people have been left without remedy for the injustice done to them, enduring decades of exile as refugees since the 1948 Nakba, decades of foreign occupation and oppression, and denial of their most basic human rights.

Mr. President, we deeply appreciate the principled stance you have affirmed and your calls for respect of United Nations resolutions and the mobilization of international efforts to end this injustice and achieve Palestinian-Israeli peace and security, crucial for both regional and international peace and security.

Today, we also reiterate our deep gratitude for the support and solidarity extended by the international community, including unequivocal support for the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, to live in freedom, independence and dignity in their homeland, an inalienable right we will never forsake.

The messages received on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People – from governments, parliaments, civil society and peoples of conscience across the world – reassure us, even in these difficult times, of the strength of this support, firmly rooted in the UN Charter, international law, and the principle of the equality of all peoples and nations. Your solidarity has helped us persevere despite the many hardships and crises faced by generations of Palestinians, who remain steadfast in the struggle for their rights and the belief that justice and peace will ultimately prevail.

Mr. President,

While grateful for this global solidarity, we come today with an urgent appeal for action to back it up. Statements are not enough. The time is past due to fulfill the longstanding promises to Palestine that have kept an entire people in limbo for over a century. States must fulfill their obligations under international law, including in implementation of UN resolutions and obligations under the 4th Geneva Convention, if we are ever to heal these wounds and enter a new era of justice and peace.

Without action – without accountability and real consequences – it is painfully apparent that Israel, the occupying Power, will continue to ignore the international community and trample international law, violating the rights of the Palestinian people and destroying the prospects for genuine peace, security and coexistence. Words and commitments must be backed by serious action, employing all legitimate political, legal and popular means available. History teaches us that this is how all other forms of colonialism and apartheid were defeated. Palestine cannot be the exception.

Decades of appeasing this illegal occupation have not worked, and neither have the attempts to break will of the Palestinian people, as proven in recent years despite the pressures of one punitive measure after another. Attempts to bully and exhaust them into accepting partial solutions will never work; the Palestinian people will never accept less than their legitimate national rights, less than their full human rights, less than freedom.

A just solution rests in international law. It is that simple. International law is rightly at the center of the international consensus on the Palestine question and the parameters enshrined in General Assembly and Security Council resolutions and in the Madrid principles and Arab Peace Initiative.

We respect and have long aligned ourselves with the international consensus, in word and deed. The two-State solution was devised by the international community, but the Palestinian leadership was courageous enough to accept it, over 32 years ago, when it made the major, historic compromise of declaring the independence of the State of Palestine on the 4 June 1967 lines.

There is only one State that has never accepted the internationally-agreed parameters and never truly and honestly endorsed the two-State solution, instead continually working against it, undermining it every single day with countless illegal and destructive policies and practices: Israel, the occupying Power.

Mr. President,

The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territory since 1967, including East Jerusalem, is illegal in every aspect and must end. This occupation is propped up only through systematic breaches of international law, many amounting to war crimes, and long ago passed the threshold of legality. Whether the settlement colonization and annexation of our land, or the repression, collective punishment and apartheid against our people, all must end.

Those who believe Israel has actually suspended or ceased its annexation plans are, willfully or mistakenly, ignoring what is happening, every single day, in Occupied Palestine, including East Jerusalem. Settlements are being rabidly expanded as Israel moves ahead with plans to construct thousands more settlement units in just the period since its so-called “suspension” announcement, especially in the Jerusalem and Bethlehem areas, proving over and over that it rejects the two-State solution and has no intention to end its occupation.

The occupying Power also persists with its wall construction, confiscation of Palestinian land, exploitation of natural resources, dangerous excavations under holy sites, and violations of the historic status quo at Al-Haram Al-Sharif. Hundreds more homes and civilian structures, including schools and clinics, have been demolished. Palestinian families are being evicted and dispossessed, rendered homeless even in this time of pandemic, as our civilians are forcibly transferred in an ongoing ethnic cleansing. Extremist settlers and militias, abetted by the Israeli military and openly funded and incited by the Israeli government, also continue their reign of violence and terror, attempting to drive our people from their land.

The scope and scale of the occupation’s human rights violations are too vast to enumerate here, but are corroborated by the many reports of UN agencies and international organizations. Palestinian children, women and men tragically continue to be killed and injured in daily military raids on Palestinian cities, towns, villages and refugee camps. Palestinians, especially young males, continue to be arrested, administratively detained, imprisoned, medically neglected and tortured, with nearly five thousand now captive in Israeli jails, including at least 155 children. The bodies of Palestinians killed by the occupying forces continue to withheld, obstructing their proper burial and deepening the trauma endured by their families.

Moreover, Israel continues to collectively punish the Palestinian people and impose a racist, apartheid regime controlling and blighting every aspect of their lives. The occupying forces routinely threaten, humiliate and abuse Palestinian civilians, particularly at the hundreds of military checkpoints restricting freedom of movement and fragmenting our land into walled-in, isolated Bantustans. Most shocking remains the illegal 13-year blockade by which Israel has turned the Gaza Strip into an open-air prison and methodically inflicted a humanitarian crisis on the entire civilian population in what constitutes a massive violation of human rights tantamount to a crime against humanity.

This cruel and deliberate deprivation of 2 million people is nearing the brink of disaster, averted only by international humanitarian support, foremost via UNRWA, which itself faces a financial crisis threatening continuity of its vital assistance to 5.6 million Palestine refugees across the region. We appeal for attention to this crisis, demanding an end to the Israeli blockade and calling for support to UNRWA to ensure the well-being of the refugees pending a just solution to their plight.

Mr. President,

Against this dire backdrop, humanitarian support and positions of principles remain of utmost importance. But neither assistance nor statements alone will ever be enough to rectify this situation. The occupation in all of its manifestations is illegal, immoral, an affront to the rules-based order, and must end.

To those who claim “the same old methods won’t work”, we say: We fully agree. The situation is beyond untenable and attempts to continue “managing” the conflict unacceptable and dangerous. The international community needs to break out from the old cycle of appeasing Israel even as it flagrantly breaches the law, violates human rights, and destroys the two-State solution on the pre-1967 borders.

The failure to uphold the law and human rights standards when it comes to the Israeli occupation and the failure to enact consequences for violations has only emboldened more violations. States must act on their responsibilities and commitments and end the double-standard of rewarding, rather than punishing Israel, for its illegal behavior. It’s singling out for exception treatment must end here and now. There is no alternative if we are to change the dismal situation that prevails.

Accountability is the key to deter further crimes, spare the suffering of more innocents, and create a credible horizon that can take us from talking and dreaming of a just peace to making it a reality. Accountability is a legal obligation and is what can ultimately compel compliance in the face of decades intransigence and help us open a new chapter that brings both the Palestinian and Israeli peoples peace, stability and security.

The General Assembly’s resolution “Peaceful settlement of the Question of Palestine”, along with other relevant resolutions, including Security Council resolution 2334, have long set forth the legal obligations of States and the pillars of a just peace. Those terms of reference and parameters continue to enjoy broad international support. Significantly, this international consensus has not wavered despite Israel’s constant undermining of the two-State solution and the punitive actions and pressures by the Trump administration. Clearly, when the will for justice and peace is strong, nothing is irreversible.

What is needed now is the political will to take concrete action, including lawful countermeasures to bring the necessary pressure to bear to bring a halt to Israeli violations, and collective efforts to salvage and restore peace prospects, which are diminished every day that action is delayed.

We urge all States to uphold international law in regards to the Palestine question, in word and deed, including through support for our UN resolutions and tangible efforts to implement them at the national and international levels.

We urge support for President Abbas’ call for an international peace conference in 2021 based on the international consensus enshrined in UN resolutions as the most effective means to resolve this conflict and establish a just and lasting peace. We call for activation of the Security Council in line with its Charter duties, the Quartet in line with its mandate, and all concerned regional and international partners for this purpose.

We urge continued support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including to self-determination and independence, and call for recognition of the State of Palestine on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, by States who have not done so.

We urge the continued provision of humanitarian and development assistance, including to the Palestine refugees through UNRWA, until a just solution to their plight in accordance with resolution 194 (III), which affirmed their right to return.

Lastly, we call for practical measures to ensure respect for the Charter and all relevant provisions of international law. This must include support for international accountability mechanisms, including legal action in courts, including at the ICC and ICJ. Israeli government officials, organizations, and corporations and individuals aiding and abetting this illegal occupation must be held accountable. We also call on all States to ensure they are not complicit with Israel’s illegal actions. States have a duty not to recognize as legitimate the unlawful situation created by Israel’s policies and measures in Occupied Palestine, including East Jerusalem, including as a result of its settlement activities; not to render aid or assistance in maintaining this unlawful situation; and to distinguish, in all of their relevant dealings, between the territory of the occupying Power and the territory occupied since 1967, including with regard to Jerusalem, as called for by Security Council resolution 2334 (2016).

One very basic yet crucial step in this regard is to ban the entry to markets of settlement products – produced in illegal settlements and with natural resources illegally exploited from our land. This is a minimal ask, as is the obligation to ensure that agreements signed between any State and the State of Israel are not applied to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. This is where accountability begins and how the road to a just solution and a better future is paved.

Mr. President,

The Palestinian people and leadership remain steadfast in their pursuit of justice and peace. The path we have chosen to resolve the Question of Palestine, the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict and cornerstone of peace and security in the Middle East, is a peaceful path. We are committed to diplomatic, political, legal and non-violent means to realize our rights. This includes negotiations, to which we long ago committed, but is not exclusive of other efforts and cannot be detached from respect for international law and UN resolutions, the guarantors of a just solution.

We urge all who believe in the purposes and principles of this organization and the rule of law to join us in our peaceful efforts. In this regard, we urge support for the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, whose mandate is rooted in the relevant resolutions and international consensus and whose work has always upheld the spirit of multilateralism, dialogue and peaceful settlement of conflicts at the heart of the UN. We reject the false claims that the Committee is biased or anti-Israeli; this is simply not true and the Committee’s efforts with partners from across the international community, including parliamentarians and civil society, both Palestinian and Israeli, is testament to that fact.

We are grateful to the Committee for its support for the Palestinian people’s rights and its constant, positive engagement aimed at promoting just, lasting, comprehensive peace, whereby the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, can live side by side with Israel, based on the pre-1967 borders, in peace and security. We thank Senegal and Ambassador Cheikh Niang, Chair of the Committee, for undertaking this important responsiblity over the years, and thank all other Bureau members – Vice-Chairs Afghanistan, Cuba, Indonesia, Namibia and Nicaragua – along with all Committee Members and Observers for their unwavering, principled support. We also thank the Division for Palestinian Rights, as well as the Department of Global Communications’ Programme on Palestine, for such commendable efforts.

In closing, we renew our appreciation to Secretary-General António Gutteres for his leadership on the Palestine question, including through the good offices of his Special Representative and UN Special Coordinator, and our deep gratitude for the tireless efforts of the many UN agencies assisting the Palestinian people – UNRWA, OCHA, UNDP, UNICEF, OHCHR, UN Women, WFP, WHO, UNFPA, UN-HABITAT, UNCTAD and UNMAS – with the generous support of States, organizations and partners from around the world. We urge continuation of this life-saving and hope-giving support, while at the same time, once again, urging the international community to redouble the efforts to fulfill the political, legal and moral obligations towards the Palestine question, and to act forthwith to bring an end to the occupation, assist the Palestinian people in achieving their long-denied rights, including to self-determination and freedom, and finally achieve a just and lasting peace.

I thank you, Mr. President.

Statement by H.E. Riad Malki, Foreign Minister of the State of Palestine, before the Security Council Open Debate, 26 October 2020

Mr. President,

At the outset, I wish to thank Your Excellency Deputy Minister Vershinin for presiding over this meeting and for the leadership role of Russia in the pursuit of Middle East peace. Let me also thank my brother Mohamed Ali Nafti, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Tunisia, and H.E. Dang Minh Khoi, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, for participating in this meeting. I also wish to thank Mr. Mladenov for his briefing and efforts.

Mr. President,

It is time to drop the old talking points.

It is ridiculous to claim that the Palestinians “never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity”, when in fact the PLO signed an agreement with Israel just months after the start of the first ever negotiations between the two sides, despite all the shortcomings of those accords, which history has proven.

It is preposterous to consider that Israel’s right to security could justify its occupation and oppression of an entire nation for decades, or justify denying us our right to self-determination and to a sovereign and independent State, and or justify denying our own right to security.

It is absurd to claim that it is the Palestinian side that does not want negotiations, when Israel is the one trying, on the ground every single day, to illegally preempt the negotiations on all final status issues.

It is ludicrous to claim that the obstacle to peace is Palestinian intransigence, when our positions are actually aligned with the international consensus and the resolutions of this Council, while Israeli positions and policies are flagrantly in breach of international law and UN resolutions.

The parties identified final status issues that should be negotiated based on internationally-agreed terms of reference and parameters by 1999. Here is Netanyahu’s stance on these issues: Jerusalem, including occupied East Jerusalem, shall be Israeli. Illegal settlements shall remain in place. Refugees shall remain refugees. Israel shall continue to control our borders. Israel shall control all of the Jordan Valley and with it most of our natural resources. These positions are contemptuous and unlawful, and they translate into a simple truth: Israel does not want to end its illegal occupation, it wants to make it permanent. And we are the ones labeled ‘intransigent’?

It is time to abandon the failed recipes of the past.

We cannot allow Israeli unilateralism to prevail while the world continues calling for bilateral negotiations.

It is no longer enough to call on parties to negotiate, this call must be accompanied by measures to incentivize respect for obligations and to dissuade from illegal unilateral actions.

It is no longer enough to say settlements are illegal, one must ensure accountability, distinction and non-assistance.

It is no longer enough to speak of a two-State solution, it must be accompanied with the recognition of the State of Palestine and support to its sovereignty over the territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.

We could have tried to find answers to Israel’s violence through violence, to be heard and considered relevant. We did not.

We could have adopted a disruptive behaviour, since constructive behaviour is underrated these days. We did not.

We could have contributed to transforming this political conflict into a religious one, fueling it so we are not the only ones to feel its flames. We did not.

Despite decades of Israel’s oppressive policies, and of measures aimed to bring us to our knees, politically and financially, President Abbas called in his message to the General Assembly, as he has before this Council, the UN Secretary-General to undertake, in cooperation with the Quartet, mandated by this body to advance peace, and the Security Council, preparations to convene an international conference, with the participation of all concerned parties, early next year, to engage in a genuine peace process, based on international law, UN resolutions and the relevant terms of reference.

This call is the ultimate demonstration of our commitment to peace and to a path based on inclusion not exclusion, legality not illegality, negotiations not diktats, multilateralism not unilateralism. I know many of your countries have already expressed support to President Abbas’s initiative and we look forward to continue working with all of you to see it materialize, including through meetings of this Council, such as this one held during Russia’s presidency. 

Mr. President,

Israel decided, only under pressure, to freeze its plans for formal annexation of areas beyond occupied East Jerusalem. But it has not renounced its decades-long policy aiming to control maximum Palestinian land with minimum Palestinians, in other words maximum Palestinian geography with minimum Palestinian demography. Its de facto annexation continues with the advancement in recent days of 5000 settlement units deep into the West Bank, including in and around occupied East Jerusalem. The international community must act to salvage peace, or we will all bear the consequences.

As long as Israel does not bear the cost of occupation, and instead continues reaping its benefits, it will never negotiate in good faith. The international community must address the shortcomings of the past, by linking its relations with the parties to their respect of their obligations under international law and the peace process, by helping them reach an agreement and implementing it and by enforcing a binding timeframe.

The international peace conference can generate the necessary momentum and mobilize the international community at large to help the parties negotiate a peace agreement that will forever change our region. Anything else is volatile, and it is futile.

Two-third of our people were forced into exile, and we did not surrender. Tens of thousands were killed, and we did not surrender. Hundreds of thousands were displaced, and we did not surrender. The equivalent of half of our male population, over 800,000 Palestinians, was arrested and we did not surrender. What makes anyone think we would surrender now?

Israel often wonders why we enjoy such international solidarity. It is because former colonial powers and liberation movements alike know these colonial policies well: violence, subjugation, intimidation, mass arbitrary imprisonment, discrimination, humiliation, fragmentation of the land, confinement of the occupied people, expansion of illegal settlements, exploitation. They cannot support such actions. History has taught them better.

The international consensus, UNRWA’s mandate and role, the Palestinian people’s resilience have all been sorely tested. And yet they prevail. It is now time to take the initiative. There isn’t a people too many in the Middle East, there is an independent state missing. You cannot solve the Middle East equation by denying this fundamental factor. You cannot end this conflict without freedom for the Palestinian people, and our freedom will never be compatible with Israeli soldiers in our streets, Israeli drones in our skies and Israeli control over our borders.

Ask Maher Al-Akhras who has been on hunger strike for over 90 days to denounce, at the peril of his life, the most arbitrary form of detention, the so-called administrative detention, ask Amer Snobar, barely 18, and beaten to death yesterday by Israeli soldiers who had apprehended him and kept hitting him on his head and neck with the butt of their rifles until he could no longer breathe, ask the mother of the child killed on his way to school, the athlete whose leg was amputated after a sniper acted as if he was playing a videogame, the owner of a house built by years of sweat and destroyed in an instant, and the farmer whose crops were burnt by settlers, they will all tell you “we will not coexist with occupation”. We want to end occupation, so we can coexist, so we can know justice, so we can be free, so our region can know true peace and security.

Thank you Mr. President.

Statement of H.E. President Mahmoud Abbas President of the State of Palestine UN General Assembly General Debate of the 75 th Session 25 September 2020

In the name of God, the Merciful,
H.E. Mr. Volkan Bozkir, President of the General Assembly
H.E. Mr. António Guterres, Secretary General
Ladies and Gentlemen, Heads and Members of delegations,

I wondered while preparing this statement what more could I tell you, after all that I have said in previous statements, about the perpetual tragedy and suffering being endured by my people – which the world is witness to daily – and about their legitimate aspirations – which are yet to be fulfilled – to freedom, independence and human dignity, as enjoyed by the peoples of the world.

Until when, ladies and gentlemen, will the question of Palestine remain without a just solution as enshrined in United Nations resolutions? Until when will the Palestinian people remain under Israeli occupation and will the question of millions of Palestine refugees remain without a just solution in accordance with what the United Nations has determined over 70 years ago?

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Palestinian people have been present in their homeland, Palestine, the land of their ancestors, for over 6000 years, and they will continue living on this land, steadfast in the face of occupation, aggression and the disappointments and betrayals, until the fulfilment of their rights. Despite all they have endured and continue to endure, despite the unjust blockade that targets our national decision, we will not kneel or surrender and we will not deviate from our fundamental positions, and we shall overcome, God willing.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have accepted the rule of international law and UN resolutions, and we have done so in spite of the historic injustice that we have borne from 1917 to the present day, and even though these resolutions only acknowledged as Palestinian the territories occupied in 1967. Yet, the Israeli occupying Power, with the support of the present US administration, wants to substitute this basis for a just solution with the US ‘Deal of the Century’ and the planned annexation of over 33% of the land of the State of Palestine, in addition to the annexation of occupied East Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We have rejected this deal, as did the international community, as it contravenes international law and
UN resolutions, which recognized, inter alia, the existence of the State of Palestine in 2012 as part of the international order.

We have always sought a just, comprehensive and lasting peace, and we have agreed to all the initiatives presented to us. I have personally dedicated my life to achieving this desired peace, notably since 1988, followed by the Madrid Conference and the Oslo Accords in 1993, and to this very day. We accepted and remained committed to the Arab Peace Initiative, as it provides for peace, security and coexistence once the occupation ends. We did all of this for peace.

What did Israel, the occupying Power, do in return? It violated all agreements signed with us, undermined the two-State solution through its oppressive practices of killing and maiming, arrests, home demolitions, asphyxiating our economy, and systematically acting to alter the character and identity of occupied Jerusalem, attacking its Muslim and Christian holy sites, notably Al-Aqsa Mosque, and pursuing its settler colonialism on our land and against our people, ignoring the Arab Peace Initiative for peace and actively attempting now to kill another opportunity for peace through reckless unilateral measures.

Finally, it announces normalization agreements with both the UAE and Bahrain, in violation of the Arab Peace Initiative, and the terms of reference of a comprehensive, lasting and just solution in accordance with international law. The Palestine Liberation Organization has not
given a mandate to anyone to speak or negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people and the only path to lasting, comprehensive and just peace in our region requires ending the occupation and securing the independence of the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders with East
Jerusalem as its capital.

In this regard, I call on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to undertake, in cooperation with the Quartet and the Security Council, preparations to convene an international conference with full authority and with the participation of all concerned parties, early next year, to engage in a genuine peace process, based on international law, UN resolutions and the relevant terms of reference, leading to an end the occupation and the achievement by the Palestinian people of their freedom and independence within their State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the 1967 borders, and resolving all final status issues, notably the question of the refugees, based on resolution 194.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Those who believe the Palestinian people can coexist with the occupation or be subdued by pressure and diktats are under an illusion, as are those who are being misled to believe that they can circumvent our people, who bear this struggle and are its only address. Let everyone know there will be no peace, no security, no stability and no coexistence in our region while
this occupation continues and a just, comprehensive solution to the question of Palestine, the core of the conflict, remains denied.

In Palestine, ladies and gentlemen, there is a living nation, creative, civilized, peace-loving, aspiring passionately to freedom. A nation that has been able – despite the occupation that besieges our lives – to build an active and modern society, that believes in democracy and the
rule of law and has been able to preserve its national existence and identity despite all the political and philosophical differences between its diverse components. Here we are, despite all the obstacles that you know too well, preparing ourselves to hold parliamentary elections, followed by presidential elections, with the participation of all factions and political parties.

We will continue creating life and hope under the flag of national unity and democracy. We will continue resisting all attempts and plans to erase us, and we will secure our rightful and natural place among nations and exercise the rights granted to us by international legitimacy, including our right to resist this occupation in accordance with international law.

We will continue building the institutions of our State and consolidating them on the basis of the rule of law. We will continue combating international terrorism, as we have done for years past. We will remain faithful to peace, justice, human and national dignity under all circumstances. I salute the great Palestinian people that bravely pursues the struggle for freedom and independence. I salute our martyrs, prisoners and wounded. I salute Jerusalem and our people who remain steadfast in its holy sites. I salute our people in the besieged Gaza Strip. I salute our people in the refugee camps everywhere. I salute all those who stand with us and with our rights from all countries, nations and organizations.

Peace be upon you.

Statement by H.E. Minister Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, before the United Nations Security Council, Open Debate on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestine Question, 21 July 2020

Mr. President,

We appreciate your presence among us today, which highlights the importance of the matter at hand especially at this critical juncture. We also express our appreciation as to Mr. Mladenov and to the briefers, Mr. Shikaki and Mr. Levy, for their important presentations.

Mr. President,

As we celebrate Nelson Mandela Day, we must honor, through action, the struggle Mandela dedicated his life to. As highlighted in the important vision presented by the Secretary-General in his statement on this occasion, Mandela devoted his life to fighting inequality and injustice, regardless of its sources, and in solidarity with all its victims.

This included solidarity with the Palestinian people, with Mandela stressing “We know too well our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians”. There is a reason why those who have fought against colonialism and Apartheid remain the strongest advocates of the Palestinian cause. They recognize the similarity of our chains, but also our common aspiration to freedom, and we are proud to have them by our side in our ongoing just struggle.

Mr. President,

In times of war and times of peace, Israel has relentlessly entrenched its control over Palestinian land and Palestinian lives. Immediately after the start of the 1967 occupation, it initiated its first illegal settlements. In 1980, even as it concluded a peace agreement with Egypt, it unlawfully annexed Jerusalem. In 1993, as we concluded the Oslo Accords, it decided to speed up its settlement activities, with the number of settlers now being 7-fold what they were at the time. During the 2nd Intifada, it built a wall to cement its de facto annexation, as pronounced by the ICJ.

Regardless of what the Palestinian people did, and of what the international community said, Israel never changed course. Whether there were negotiations or not, violence or not, international efforts or not, it pressed on, and impunity from accountability under the law guaranteed that the benefits of occupation would far outweigh its cost. Its strategic objective has never changed: grabbing maximum Palestinian geography with minimum Palestinian demography.

In a week from now, we will commemorate 40 years since the unlawful annexation of East Jerusalem. Since then, Israel has launched a full-fledged war against Palestinian presence in the City. It is a cold-blooded and systematic endeavor through a well-oiled machinery of illegal laws, policies and practices. Discriminatory zoning and planning has isolated Palestinians within 13% of their own City, the area of East Jerusalem already built-up in 1967. The occupying Power has created a coercive environment with constant home demolitions, revocation of residency cards, preventing family reunification, all designed to achieve the forcible transfer of Palestinians. It has closed down Palestinian institutions, continues preventing elections and regularly arresting the Palestinian Governor of Jerusalem.  Its settlers have besieged the City from inside out. It is a slow, silent and yet violent process of dispossession and annexation.

Since then, Israel has not declared its annexation of any other part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It feared the consequences of such action, especially given the strong international reaction to its decision, including by this Security Council, as witnessed in 1980 and again in 2017. It kept waiting for a crack in the international system to formalize what it had illegally advanced on the ground. It finally thought it had reached this long-awaited moment, where it could reveal its true and not so well-hidden intentions.

However, something happened in these last few weeks that, if furthered, may allow us to shift course towards peace. The firm positions expressed by so many governments, including Security Council members at Ministerial level, intergovernmental organizations, including the Arab League, EU, NAM, OIC, parliamentarians, civil society actors, legal scholars, independent human rights experts, the Elders, women leaders and peoples of conscience worldwide demonstrated the global commitment to justice and international law and human rights. It is a formidable international front against annexation and occupation and for peace that must be sustained.

Stopping annexation is a critical battle that we must win, but we should not forget the war that Israel has been waging for decades. Israel may abandon declaring de jure annexation, but it will not abandon its annexation plans. They are being implemented as we speak, one military order at a time, one demolished house at a time, one confiscated parcel of land at a time, one Palestinian family displaced at a time, one settlement unit at a time. 

The Prime Minister, the soldier, the settler, the bureaucrat, the parliamentarian, the judge in the military court, they all conspire towards that objective Israel has pursued obsessively: grabbing maximum Palestinian geography with minimum Palestinian demography.

The world cannot unsee what Israel has so starkly revealed. It has no intention whatsoever to end its 53-year occupation and make peace. Israel wants its illegality to be considered an irreversible reality, asking for recognition instead of displaying contrition. We tell Israel: what is irreversible, as Mandela said, is our march to freedom.

A people that has been uprooted from their homeland, dispossessed, exiled, occupied, colonized, annexed and deprived of their fundamental human rights cannot continue to be blamed for their plight and inability to bring an end to it, while they continue, against all odds, to seek a solution through the most peaceful, legitimate means, until now to no avail.

The South African Nobel Peace Laureate Chief Lutuli declared “Who will deny that thirty years of my life have been spent knocking in vain, patiently, moderately, and modestly at a closed and barred door? What have been the fruits of moderation? The past thirty years have seen the greatest number of laws restricting our rights and progress, until today we have reached a stage where we have almost no rights at all”.

We could, 27 years since the signing of the Oslo Accords, almost repeat what he said word by word. But we believe that the international community can and must reward moderation and sanction extremism before it is too late.

Mr. President,

Who are the rejectionists? Those adhering to UN Security Council resolutions or those violating them? Those accepting the two-State solution on the pre-1967 borders or those destroying it? Those calling for international involvement, including through the Quartet and other multilateral efforts, to foster peace and hold the parties accountable, or those who seek endless “talks” with no results? Those who have presented maps and clear positions on all final status issues or those fleeing and violating any commitment?  

Who are the delusional ones? Those seeking just and lasting peace that ensures the rights, dignity and security of all, or those who believe that Palestinians must accept, after a century of struggle for freedom, to live in Bantustans and surrender to perpetual injustice? Those who pursue an end of occupation to allow for peaceful and normal relations in the region, or those who believe it is possible to achieve acceptance by the region and security while denying the rights of an entire nation and undermining regional peace and security? Those advocating respect for international law and UN resolutions, or those who use religious extremism, supremacist theories, and unhinged nationalism to justify violating them.

Mandela’s legacy is under threat in many parts of our world, and nowhere is this more true than in Palestine. 40 years ago, this Council stated, after the annexation of Jerusalem, its determination to examine practical ways and means, in accordance with the Charter, to secure the full implementation of its resolutions, in the event of non-compliance by Israel. Time for action by all is long overdue, and indispensable to ensure the triumph of freedom and dignity, justice and peace.

The law matters. Principles matter. Accountability matters. This is the lifeblood of the international community and the basis for peaceful relations and stability and security worldwide. Palestine is no exception.

I thank you, Mr. President.