Statement by Ambassador Dr. Riyad Mansour, before the United Nations Security Council, Open Debate on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestine Question

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Mr. President,

I wish to begin by congratulating you and your friendly country, Guatemala, on the presidency of the Security Council this month. I also convey our appreciation to Germany for the wise stewardship of the Council last month.

I thank the Under-Secretary-General, Mr. Jeffrey Feltman, for his briefing to the Council today and reiterate our appreciation to Mr. Robert Serry, the United Nations Special Coordinator and Special Representative of the Secretary-General, for his briefing last month and for his efforts on the ground on behalf of the UN and within the Quartet.

Mr. President,

We regret, once again, that we are unable to report any positive developments to the Security Council. Since our last open debate in July, the political process has remained deadlocked and the situation on the ground has sharply deteriorated. Israel’s flagrant flouting of the law has obstructed the resumption of peace negotiations and intensified hardships for the Palestinian people in all aspects of life. It has also thwarted the Palestinian leadership’s efforts to strengthen national institutions and realize the legitimate aspirations and rights of our people. This has, in turn, diminished hopes in the peace process and in the prospects for achieving the two-State solution – the physical and political viability of which is being severely, if not permanently, undermined by the illegal measures being carried out by Israel, the occupying Power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

Alarming developments in this period have sharply raised tensions and further destabilized the situation on the ground. Extremist Israeli settlers continue to wreak terror and destruction. Military attacks and raids by the Israeli occupying forces, particularly against the Gaza Strip, continue to cause civilian casualties and destruction of property, threatening to fuel another deadly cycle of violence. Thousands of Palestinians remain captive in Israeli jails, subject to deplorable conditions and gross human rights violations, with recurring hunger strikes a matter of utmost concern. And, all the while, Israel has continued its illegal colonization of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, further fragmenting its unity and contiguity and gravely impairing the efforts for socio-economic rehabilitation and development, compounding the humanitarian crisis.

Mr. President,

Despite all appeals and demands by the international community, including by this Security Council in numerous resolutions and by the Quartet, for an immediate and complete halt of

settlement activities, Israel has not only continued, but intensified, its expansionist, colonial drive in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around Occupied East Jerusalem. In grave breach of numerous provisions of international humanitarian law, the occupying Power persists with its expansion of settlements and construction of so-called “outposts” – with thousands more units built and planned in this year alone; its construction of the Wall, which is dissecting and isolating East Jerusalem and walling-in Palestinian communities in separated enclaves; its confiscation of vast tracts of Palestinian land, especially fertile agricultural lands and areas above water wells and basins; and its demolition of Palestinian homes and displacement of Palestinian families, particularly from East Jerusalem and other vulnerable communities, such as in the southern hills of Al-Khalil and villages in what is often referred to as “Area C” of the West Bank, including the Jordan Valley. This deliberate land grab continues, under the same old, and some arrogantly new, empty pretexts, all aimed at the de facto annexation of more Palestinian land and the further blurring and breaching of the pre-1967 borders, on which the two-State solution is founded.

Occupied East Jerusalem in particular remains a central target of this illegal settlement campaign, as the occupying Power persists with attempts to artificially and forcibly alter the natural demography, historic character, legal status and Palestinian-Arab identity of the City in order to cement its illegal de facto annexation, which remains unrecognized by the entire international community to this day. We reject all such illegal Israeli measures in the Holy City and demand their immediate cessation, reaffirming once again that East Jerusalem is an integral part of the Palestinian land occupied since June 1967 and is the heart and capital of the State of Palestine.

 At the same time, we draw the Council’s attention to the rising instability and pressure in Occupied East Jerusalem following an escalation of attacks on Muslim and Christian holy places by Israeli settlers and other extremist Jewish groups. Recent months have witnessed repeated attempts by extremists to take over Al-Haram Al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), which houses Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, as well as acts of violence and desecration against mosques and churches in the City. These vile actions have led to several confrontations, including between Jewish extremists and Palestinian worshippers at Al-Haram Al-Sharif, raising alarm throughout the region and the Islamic World, as stressed by His Excellency President Mahmoud Abbas and His Majesty King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan before the General Assembly. These serious concerns have led the Palestinian leadership to call for an emergency high-level meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as well as of Al-Quds Committee, chaired by His Majesty King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco, to determine the necessary measures to address these deplorable actions and to protect the holy sites in Occupied East Jerusalem from acts of aggression by the occupying Power and its extremist settlers.

Illegal, destructive actions by the settlers have, of course, not been confined to Occupied East Jerusalem. Regrettably, fanatic settlers also continue to rampage throughout the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. They are constantly terrorizing and harassing Palestinian civilians, including school children, elderly persons, and farmers. They are launching attacks against Palestinian properties and agricultural lands, with particular ferocity unleashed against olive groves and orchards, with hundreds upon hundreds of trees being torched and uprooted, destroying the livelihoods of thousands of families. And, settlers continue to commit violent acts of desecration against mosques, churches and monasteries in our land, defiling these properties with racist, hateful and provocative slogans that are inflaming tensions and inciting religious enmity. The potential for escalation of settler terror remains dangerously high, as Israel continues to provide excuses and protection for this depraved lawlessness, rarely holding settlers accountable for their vicious crimes.

The recent period has also witnessed another series of Israeli military assaults against the Gaza Strip. Missile airstrikes and artillery bombardment of Palestinian civilian areas have continued, killing and injuring dozens of people, including children and women, and destroying homes and infrastructure. Such attacks are traumatizing our people, who also continue to suffer the multitude of social, economic, humanitarian and psychological impacts stemming from the continuing illegal blockade and the Israeli military aggression against Gaza. We reiterate our demand for the lifting of this inhumane Israeli siege on our people and our demand for respect for international humanitarian and human rights law and the protection of the Palestinian civilian population.

Mr. President,

In sum, the political, humanitarian and security situation being faced by the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation remains grave. We remain adherent to our conviction that action by the international community is imperative for averting the deepening of this crisis. Serious efforts must be made to overcome the paralysis in the international community, including in the Security Council, especially with regard to ending Israel’s impunity and compelling its compliance with international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, and with the relevant UN resolutions. This is a matter of urgency because, in the midst of turbulent crises wracking the region that are also affecting our refugees in the Diaspora, the instability and steep decline of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, portends an explosive situation that must be prevented at all costs.

On its part, the Palestinian leadership has continued to act with utmost responsibility to serve its people, uphold its legal obligations and international commitments, and preserve security and calm. It has consistently acted in good will for the sake of peace, repeatedly reaffirming its adherence to the longstanding parameters of the peace process – embodied in Security Council resolutions, the Madrid principles, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Quartet Roadmap – and its adherence to the two-State solution on the basis of the pre-1967 borders.

All of this has been steadily pursued despite the countless illegal actions to the contrary by Israel, the occupying Power, and the serious obstructions it has imposed. This includes Israeli actions that have debilitated economic activity and development, including continuing restrictions on the movement of persons, goods and commercial flows, which have undermined the Palestinian Authority’s efforts on the ground, undermined donor support for crucial development projects, and contributed to the grave financial crisis we now face.

Indeed, despite all these challenges, as reaffirmed by President Abbas before the General Assembly, the Palestinian leadership remains committed to the pursuit of a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement by peaceful means: political, diplomatic and non-violent means. Thus, our efforts have continued to salvage the two-State solution and to create an environment conducive for the resumption of credible, fair negotiations between the two sides.

In early September, President Abbas once again met with the Arab Foreign Ministers in Cairo to consult on the way forward. This resulted in Arab endorsement of Palestinian efforts to secure non-Member Observer State status for Palestine in the General Assembly during the 67th session as an interim step in light of the obstacles before Palestine’s application for full membership due to the situation in the Security Council. We have now embarked on wide consultations towards this end, including the establishment of an Arab Ministerial Committee and a similar Committee here in New York, to assist with consultations with the geo-political groups.

It is our intention to engage all concerned Member States as we seek broadest support for this important multilateral initiative, and we hope it can be acted on by the Assembly in the coming period, as soon as possible. We believe that this effort is positive and constructive, in line with relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions and consistent with the goal of the peace process, i.e. the two-State solution of Palestine and Israel living side by side in peace and security on the basis of the pre-1967 borders. In fact, we believe that this effort constitutes a significant contribution to actually preserving the two-State solution at a time when Israel is incessantly and recklessly undermining that solution and the prospects for achieving a just peace.

Further, we stress that this initiative is neither an alternative nor contradictory to the peace process, to which we remain committed. We believe that enhancement of the status of Palestine in the United Nations system is our right, consistent with the longstanding historic international covenant to Palestine. Yet, at the same time, we fully understand the need for, and remain ready for, negotiations between the two sides for achieving a just resolution of all final status issues – Jerusalem, the Palestine refugees, settlements, borders, security and water. Thus, last week, President Abbas publicly declared the Palestinian leadership’s readiness to proceed to peace negotiations with the Israeli Government immediately following the adoption of such a resolution by the General Assembly.

Mr. President,

We therefore reiterate our call on the international community, including the Security Council, to do its part to uphold the Charter, to uphold international law, to uphold UN resolutions, and to uphold the collective responsibility to Palestine. The Palestinian people continue to await justice and to seek their independence and freedom, the fulfillment of their inalienable human rights, and peace and security, the same desires shared by all peoples of our region and the world. At this very critical juncture, we renew our appeal to the international community to support our legitimate efforts to achieve the national rights of our people, including to self-determination and to return, and realize the independence of the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, achievements that will undoubtedly usher in a new era in a Middle East long seeking peace, stability and security.

I thank you, Mr. President.