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 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.

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 by H.E. Minister Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Security Council open high-level video conference on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, 27 May 2020

Mr. President,

Allow me at the outset to thank the Estonian Presidency for convening this important high-level debate and for placing at the center of its Presidency the lessons of the Second World War, which served as the foundations for the establishment of the multilateral rules-based order. At a time when this order is threatened, it is important to remember why it was built and what the alternative would be.

We thank the Secretary-General for his report and for his central role in helping preserve this order at this critical juncture, including when it comes to the defense of international law and the protection of civilians.

Mr. President,

I must address the situation of the Palestinian people, which OCHA characterizes “as a protracted protection crisis driven by lack of respect for international law, and a lack of accountability for violations”, and let me do so by stating some hard truths.

  1. There is no right to security of the occupying Power at the expense of the security and protection of the occupied people, or at the expense of a people’s right to self-determination. There is no right to security that justifies permanent occupation or the illegal acquisition of land by force and its colonization. There is no right to security that justifies a blockade imposed on two million people for 13 years and the oppression of an entire nation. International law draws a clear line between legal action and war crimes and crimes against humanity. Allowing any country to blur this line places civilians in harm’s way and undermines peace and security.
  2. Are the Palestinian people entitled to the protections availed by the UN Charter, international humanitarian law, international human rights law? The answer must be yes. Is anyone under the illusion that Israel, the occupying Power, has any respect for its obligations under these instruments? Israel has demonstrated time and time again its contempt for the rule of international law and for Palestinian rights and lives. Can one rely on Israeli courts to ensure the occupied people of the protections they are entitled to? The Israeli NGO B’Tselem, explaining its decision to no longer cooperate with the military law enforcement system, stated that it reached “the realization that there is no longer any point in pursuing justice and defending human rights by working with a system whose real function is measured by its ability to continue to successfully cover up unlawful acts and protect perpetrators”. So Israel cannot be trusted to ensure accountability for violations planned at the highest level and perpetrated with the virtual guarantee of total immunity.
  3. The ICC was established to fill the gap left when national courts are unwilling or unable to hold perpetrators of grave crimes accountable and fail to deliver justice. The situation in Palestine corresponds exactly to this reality. Attacks and threats against the Court for fulfilling its mandate are intolerable and should be strongly rejected. The efforts to prevent the Court from exercising its jurisdiction in the Occupied Palestinian Territory aim at effectively denying Palestinian victims – millions of civilians – any avenue for justice while guaranteeing to Israel that there will be no accountability for its crimes, thus enabling their recurrence.
  4. While some misguidedly state that Israel suffers from being singled-out in the UN, the reality is that Israeli exceptionalism, which has effectively guaranteed its total impunity for actions deemed as grave violations of the law by the international community, is the main reason for the perpetuation of its violations and crimes.
  5. The Security Council and the General Assembly have called for international protection of the Palestinian people, and the Secretary-General made concrete recommendations in this regard in his report of 14 August 2018, and yet the Palestinian people continue to be denied this most elementary right, as the occupying Power has granted itself veto power over any effective action to provide protection for the Palestinian civilian population. The international community cannot continue tolerating this situation.
  6. Now with the threat of further unlawful annexation looming, and as existing violations and crimes against the Palestinian people continue unabated, the price of impunity continues rising, and the Palestinian people continue paying it. This must change. The cost of occupation should fall on the occupying Power, not the occupied people, and only when this cost outweighs the benefits of occupation, will Israel be compelled to respect the law and work for peace.
  7. The fate of the Palestinian people cannot be left to the mercy of the occupying Power. The international community cannot abdicate its obligations, especially as Israel systematically breaches its own. We call on the Council to fulfill its mandate under the Charter, and we call on all States that believe in the rule of international law, to uphold the law in a situation where its breach has been condemned and yet tolerated for too long, prolonging this illegal Israeli military occupation and its crimes against our people and preventing the achievement of peace. Third parties have the obligation to respect and ensure respect for international law, including by not recognizing the situation created by illegal actions, not rendering aid or assistance in maintaining the illegal situation, and by holding the State, entities, companies and individuals responsible for such violations accountable.

Mr. President,

In his report on protection of civilians in armed conflict, the Secretary-General identifies respect for the law and accountability for serious violations as the two most pressing challenges to strengthening the protection of civilians. He rightly notes that the normative framework and the tools to uphold it already exist. What is needed is the political will to use these tools to enforce the law. The international community displaying such political will not only help end the prolonged suffering of the Palestinian people, but will also help achieve peace in our region and beyond. Impunity is the enemy of peace. Accountability is the only path towards it.

I thank you.

29 April 2020 – Letter by Ambassador Dr. Riyad Mansour to the President of the Security Council

Excellency,

During the recent VTC meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question, held on 23 April, the Israeli Representative once again accused me of antisemitism. This accusation is too grave, even when used in such outrageous and untruthful manner, to be left unanswered.

Such accusations have been repeatedly used to taint legitimate criticism of Israel’s violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory with the aim to silence or delegitimize anyone speaking out and must be directly challenged. This has become a systematic policy that has even targeted Security Council members, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, as well as international figures, who – in upholding their moral, legal, political and/or humanitarian obligations – dare to denounce Israel’s violations of the Palestinian people’s rights and its colonization of their land.

Israel has blatantly dismissed resolutions adopted by the Security Council and the General Assembly,  the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, and statements, including by its closest allies, as stemming from antisemitism instead of acknowledging that such legislations, decisions
and declarations reflect on facts and are grounded in the rules that were created to save successive generations from the scourge of war by preventing and deterring violations, regardless of the identity of the victim and of the identity of the perpetrator.

Antisemitism is one of the most despicable forms of racism, that has culminated in one of the greatest tragedies of our time. Our multilateral rules-based order has been established in response to the horrors of the Second World War, including the Holocaust. The UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Conventions, the International Court of Justice, international criminal law, all were designed in response to these tragedies and to prevent their recurrence and the human suffering
and turmoil they caused. 

We honor the victims by upholding the rule of international law, not undermining it. We honor them by denouncing war crimes, not by using their memory to shield perpetrators. We honor them by ensuring accountability, not by perpetuating impunity.

Antisemitism and all other forms of discrimination and racism must be condemned and confronted wholeheartedly, never justified or overlooked. We all need to fight antisemitism while rejecting the instrumentalization of the accusation of antisemitism to shield illegal actions from criticism and accountability. 

We pay tribute to all those, from every creed, race, color, and background who have fought for justice anywhere and everywhere, including in Palestine. We will remain steadfast in our struggle against the ills of oppression, occupation, dispossession, discrimination and injustice and will not be silenced by those who accuse us in a failed attempt to justify the crimes they are responsible for. Let them know that when it comes to our stance for justice, we stand undeterred.

History has taught us what it means to live in a world without rules. What it means to be able to allow anyone to justify widespread and systematic denial of rights. What it means to look away when others are suffering from injustice and oppression. The representatives here at the UN have a particular duty to uphold that collective memory so that the words of our UN Charter can live on, including our determination “to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small”. 

I have dedicated my life to the fight for justice, equality and freedom for the Palestinian people and beyond and to the fulfilment of that very pledge of the Charter. I have fought racism in all its ugly forms. I have served this multilateral rules-based order with commitment and principle. I doubt that my accuser can say the same. 

I should be grateful if you would arrange to have the text of the present letter made available to the members of the Security Council for their immediate, valuable consideration and also distributed as an official document of the Security Council.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Dr. Riyad Mansour
Minister, Permanent Observer
of the State of Palestine to the United Nations

Statement by H.E. Dr. Riyad Mansour, Minister, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, before the United Nations Security Council, “The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestine Question”, 18 December 2019

Madam President,

I congratulate you for assuming the Presidency of the Security Council during this month. We thank the UN Special Coordinator, Mr. Nikolay Mladenov, for his presentation of the report of the Secretary General, and the briefer for her testimony.

Madam President,

As Christians around the world prepare to celebrate Christmas, Palestinian Christians joined them in decorating trees, singing carols, and praying for peace in the holy land and across the globe. But the reality of occupation did not spare them, even in this special period of the year. Palestinian Christians from Gaza were barred by Israel from celebrating Christmas in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, the two twin cities separated for the first time in history by a shameful wall.

As Palestinians prepare to welcome another year, their ordeal is nowhere close to an end. They continue to fear for their lives, for their families, for their homes and for their future. And yet, they find everyday the courage to persevere. They remain steadfast in the face of adversity and carry the hope to live and thrive on their own land, in dignity and freedom.

Madam President,

Allow me to draw here a map of our reality. Two words can summarize it: “Confinement” for Palestinians. “Expansion” for illegal Israeli settlements. The members of the Council may have in mind when I say the word confinement, and rightly so, the two million Palestinians besieged in the Gaza Strip. But Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have also been confined to the areas where they already lived in 1967.

In the so-called Area C, which represents 60% of the West Bank, and includes the resource-rich Jordan Valley, only 1% has been planned for Palestinian development, while 70% of that area is included within the boundaries of the regional councils of illegal Israeli settlements. Similarly, only 13% of East Jerusalem is zoned for Palestinian construction, much of which is already built-up, while 35% of land in East Jerusalem has been confiscated for Israeli settlement use.

The purpose of this policy is crystal clear: Acquiring maximum Palestinian land with minimum Palestinians. Illegal annexation of Palestinian land is not an unexpected result of the Israeli occupation, it is its overarching objective.

Madam President,

The Security Council adopted three years ago its resolution 2334, reaffirming the international consensus regarding just and lasting peace based on international law and identifying the obligations of the parties and of the international community at large. Had there been enforcement and accountability, I assure you the report of the Secretary General today would be extremely different. But instead, Israeli exceptionalism and impunity continued, emboldening Israel to pursue and entrench its illegal occupation, to the detriment of the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights. Peace requires fulfilment of these rights and certainly not acceptance of their continued denial.

Madam President,

This morning, the General Assembly is adopting the resolution on the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State. This resolution garners the support of over 90% of the UN membership. Is this support an expression of a bias against Israel? Can resolutions about Palestinian rights, the peaceful settlement of the conflict, a shared Jerusalem, or against Israeli settlements be characterized as anti-Israel?

The General Assembly’s resolutions regarding Palestine are firmly rooted in the UN Charter, international law, human rights and the resolutions of this very Council. And yet, it is cynically called biased and one-sided, with Israel’s representative calling the Assembly, i.e. the countries comprising it, “morally bankrupt”. The General Assembly is more universal and representative today than at any point in history, so Israel can not celebrate resolution 181 and commend the General Assembly for adopting it 70 years ago, while dismissing all other resolutions adopted since. Israel’s very selective approach to UN resolutions and international law, claiming rights and dismissing obligations, should never be condoned nor encouraged.

The claim that the UN passes a disproportionate number of resolutions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a distortion that dismisses key facts and context. Any reference to the number of resolutions adopted by the General Assembly on the Palestine question must be seen in the context of the paralysis of the Security Council when it comes to this conflict. There lies the real imbalance, the real bias.

In the past decade, out of 636 Security Council resolutions, only 2 were adopted on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. TWO – 1860 (2009) and 2334 (2016). Likewise, out of 271 Security Council Presidential Statements in the past decade, only 3 PRSTs concerned Palestine/Israel. THREE. 

So claims that the UN is singling out Israel through an inordinate number of resolutions is selective and misleading at best, biased at worst, because such claims ignore the situation in this Council, where the opposite is true and any effort to address Israel’s blatant contempt of international law, the authority of the Council and its resolutions, including 2334, as just conveyed once again in the Secretary-General’s report, is obstructed.

The Security Council did not adopt any resolution regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict under Chapter VII – even though more than 50% of the resolutions adopted regarding other conflicts in these past 10 years have been under Chapter VII and even as the situation demonstrates the necessity for such endeavor.

The fate of the region lies to a great extent in the capacity of the international community to demonstrate that the international will to achieve peace is stronger than the Israeli will to colonize Palestinian land. We call on the Council and all States to act now to advance accountability and justice, freedom and peace, for the sake of the Palestinian people, the Israeli people, and future generations, for the sake of regional and global peace and security and the international rules-based order.

Madam President,

Before concluding, I wish to take a moment to convey our deep appreciation to the members of the Security Council whose terms will soon end and to recognize their service with principle and distinction throughout their tenures. We congratulate and thank Kuwait, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Peru and Poland.

Thank you, Madam President.

12 November 2019 – Extrajudicial Assassinations Perpetrated by Israel

Excellency,

I write to urgently draw the international community’s attention to Israel’s escalation of military aggression against the Palestinian people under its occupation, particularly in the besieged Gaza Strip. This most recent unlawful military aggression risks the outbreak of another deadly and destructive cycle of violence, endangering the lives of millions of innocent civilians.

This must be averted at all costs and international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, must be upheld to protect civilian life and prevent the further deterioration of this already volatile and dangerous situation.

This latest escalation began in the early morning hours of today, 12 November, when Israeli occupying forces carried out an extrajudicial assassination of a Palestinian man in an airstrike targeting his home in the Shuj’aiya neighborhood of Gaza City, which also killed his wife and seriously injured his four children and also injured a woman in a neighboring home. That attack was followed by several other missile strikes on different locations in the Gaza Strip, killing another three Palestinians and injuring more than 30 other Palestinian civilians at the time of the writing of this letter.

These attacks are causing widespread fear and trauma throughout the entire civilian population being inhumanely held captive under Israel’s illegal occupation and blockade, with nowhere to escape or shelter from the onslaught. Life in Gaza has come to a standstill, with schools, universities and institutions shuttered, as the defenseless Palestinian civilian population braces for the possibility of another full-scale deadly, military aggression and campaign of terror by the occupying Power that will only bring more death, destruction and misery to so many innocents.

The Palestinian leadership condemns these criminal attacks, as well as all attacks that preceded it, including the cold-blooded murder of a 22-year old Palestinian man yesterday by Israeli occupying forces in the Arroub refugee camp in Al-Khalil (Hebron). This constant perpetration of violence by Israel, its occupying forces and settlers, against Palestinian civilian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, must be stopped. We reiterate our call for the immediate protection of the Palestinian people in accordance with international law, including the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, and the lofty commitments repeatedly made by the international community to protect civilians in all cases.

There cannot be one standard for the entire world and an exception made for Israel, which continues to violate human rights and impose a protection crisis on the Palestinian people under its illegal occupation with absolute impunity. A clear message must be sent to the occupying Power that it is bound by the same rules of international law that all other States are bound by without exception.

Today’s criminal attack, which was planned by Israeli government and military constitutes wanton killing officials at the highest level with deliberate intent to cause death and injury, including to women and children, a grave breach of international law, a war crime. Those responsible for this crime and all the other war crimes that have been, and are being, perpetrated against the Palestinian people by Israel, the occupying Power, must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law, including under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

In closing, we reiterate our unequivocal condemnation of all acts of violence, provocation, incitement and terror against civilians.

This letter is in follow-up to our 676 letters regarding the ongoing crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, which constitutes the territory of the State of Palestine.  These letters, dated from 29 September 2000 (A/55/432-S/2000/921) to 21 October 2019 (A/ES-10/–/2019/–), constitute a basic record of the crimes being committed by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian people since September 2000. For all of these war crimes, acts of State terrorism and systematic human rights violations being committed against the Palestinian people, Israel, the occupying Power, must be held accountable and the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.                 

Signature_English

Dr. Riyad Mansour

Ambassador, Permanent Observer

of the State of Palestine to the United Nations

Statement by H.E. Dr. Riyad Mansour, Minister, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, before the United Nations Security Council, “The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestine Question”, 28 October 2019

Mr. President,

I wish to begin by expressing our congratulations and appreciation to the Republic of South Africa for its most able leadership of the Security Council in this month of its presidency.

We thank the UN Special Coordinator and Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Nikolay Mladenov, for his briefing on the current situation in Occupied Palestine, including East Jerusalem.

Mr. President,

Every month, we come before the Security Council appealing for it to act to ensure implementation of its resolutions on the Palestine question, certain that only such action can bring us all back from the brink, stopping the senseless, painful human suffering being caused by this man-made crisis and salvaging the prospects for a just peace. Yet, every month we are compelled to listen to reports of a worsening situation, as Israel, the occupying Power, intensifies its illegal occupation and colonization of our land and a political horizon for a peaceful solution remains obstructed.

It cannot be that the role of this august Council is reduced to that of a gathering for the airing of grievances, statements of sympathy and solidarity, as important as they are, and helpless hand-wringing. The Palestinian people and global community at large expect, and await, more. The Security Council’s Charter mandate to maintain international peace and security surely requires more.

As the calls to preserve multilateralism against current threats grow, shoring up the Security Council’s role in the peaceful resolution of conflicts must be front and center. This requires urgent action to uphold and enforce international law, aimed at halting violations, deterring future violations, and fostering an environment conducive for the pursuit and achievement of peace.

In the case of Palestine, the Council’s relevant resolutions – from resolution 2334 (2016) to all the resolutions preceding it – provide a solid basis for such action. The international consensus is firm, and attempts to alter or negate it have failed. Indeed, we have often heard that, when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is no need to reinvent the wheel; international law is clear, the parameters of a just solution are clear, and there is no alternative to the vision of two-States based on the 1967 lines and in accordance with international law, the relevant UN resolutions, the Madrid principle of land-for-peace, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Quartet Roadmap.

But, in the absence of serious action to give tangible meaning to this consensus, the alternative is rapidly unfolding before our eyes and it is one of an apartheid State in control of the lives of millions who are being oppressively, violently and unjustly deprived of their fundamental rights, even the right to live as free and equal human beings.

Mr. President,

After over 52 years of this illegal occupation and the cruel exile imposed on millions of Palestinians for over seven decades, it is clear that he failure to achieve a solution is not for lack of attention to the conflict or lack of resolutions; it is for lack of genuine efforts to uphold the rules, decisions and humanitarian commitments repeatedly pledged.

As concluded by the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in his latest report, “no occupation in the modern world has been conducted with the international community so alert to its many grave breaches of international law, so knowledgeable about the occupier’s obvious and well-signaled intent to annex and establish permanent sovereignty, so well-informed about the scale of suffering and dispossession endured by the protected population under occupation, and yet so unwilling to act upon the overwhelming evidence before it to employ the tangible and plentiful legal and political tools at its disposal to end the injustice.”

Without accountability, the deplorable situation we have faced will surely only worsen, paving the way for more suffering and insecurity for all, with innocent civilians, among them children and women, bearing the heaviest and most heartbreaking weight of the international community’s negligence.

Indeed, despite decades of global attention, none of Israel’s violations in Occupied Palestine have stopped. Whether the colonization or de facto annexation of our land by all means, the settlements and wall being the most insidious; the inhumane 12-year blockade and collective punishment of 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, inflicting devastating poverty and despair; the killing and injury of defenseless Palestinian civilians by the occupying forces and extremist settlers; the destruction of homes and properties and forced displacement of Palestinian families, especially in Occupied East Jerusalem, with 140 homes demolished in the City in 2019 alone, rendering homeless 238 Palestinians, more than half of them children; the dangerous provocations and assaults at holy sites; the imprisonment and detention of thousands of our civilians; or the blatant theft of our natural and financial resources – all continue unabated.

The fact is that the occupying Power has been led to believe it has carte blanche to act as a State above the law, going so far as to openly threaten to annex our land in flagrant breach of the universal prohibition on the acquisition of territory by force. With or without a formal government, Israeli politicians and candidates shamelessly compete as to who can be more brutal and punishing to the Palestinians and who can cater more to extremist Israeli groups, who will never be satiated, as evident in their daily terror campaign against our civilians, incitement, and rabid land grabs.

Nothing else could be expected in the absence of consequences for such grave violations by this most protracted foreign occupation in modern history. Only accountability can change this.

Mr. President,

We thus once again appeal to the Security Council and all States to act. We urge you to mobilize the political will to fulfill your obligations by taking practical measures, in line with international law and the relevant resolutions, the guarantors of just and sustainable peace and security.

The Security Council must shoulder its responsibilities and act immediately in line with its resolutions to bring about a halt to this occupation’s crimes, avert further destabilization, protect innocent civilians, and salvage the chances for peace. States, inter-governmental organizations and civil society must also uphold their respective roles and responsibilities.

Should Israel continue to defy the Council and will of the international community, it must bear the consequences of its violations. All legitimate political and legal tools and measures available – including sanctions and prosecution in courts – must be pursued to ensure accountability.

This must include action pursuant to the call for distinction in resolution 2334 (2016) and other relevant resolutions, including, inter alia, resolution 478 (1980) on Jerusalem and resolution 465 (1980), in which the Council clearly called on all States not to provide Israel with any assistance to be used specifically in connection with its settlements in the territories occupied since 1967.

We urge States to take concrete steps in this regard, in both multilateral and bilateral frameworks, in conformity with their legal obligations and affirmed support for the two-State solution. We reiterate our call for release of the database on businesses engaged in activities related to the illegal settlements, which was mandated by the Human Rights Council and will help States to uphold their obligations.

States also have a duty of non-recognition of any decisions or measures altering or purporting to alter the geographic, demographic, character or status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, in violation of the law, including the 4th Geneva Convention. All such decisions and measures must be deemed unlawful, null and void and should incur consequences if not rescinded. Also, the legal and historic status quo at the holy sites in Occupied East Jerusalem, including Al-Haram Al-Sharif, must be respected, as well as Jordan’s custodianship for the Muslim and Christian holy sites.

Lastly, we reiterate our call for continued principled support for the rights of the Palestinian people, including to self-determination and freedom. Until they are realized, we continue our appeals for humanitarian assistance to alleviate the plight of our people, including Palestine refugees, and to ensure that they are not left behind. We recognize with deep gratitude the generous international support in this regard through UNRWA and urge strong backing for renewal of its mandate, an important expression of responsibility and solidarity and an indispensable source of hope and stability until a just solution for the Palestine refugees is realized based on resolution 194 (II).

Only such determined, collective and coordinated action can move us from deadlock to progress towards finally bringing an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967, fulfilling the Palestinian people’s right to independence in their sovereign, contiguous, democratic State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace and security, the cornerstone for peace and security in the Middle East, as per the longstanding international consensus.

For the sake of peace, the benefit of all peoples of the region and the authority of international law, we must together act to change course, restore hope and attain a just and comprehensive peace. Failure to do so will have far-reaching repercussions, unraveling decades of efforts and resources invested for our shared, noble goals of peace, stability and human dignity. We must not let another generation suffer this injustice.

I thank you, Mr. President.

كلمة معالي وزير الخارجية والمغتربين لدولة فلسطين د.رياض المالكي أمام مجلس الأمن في جلسته حول الحالة في الشرق الأوسط، بما في ذلك قضية فلسطين، التي تصادف تقديم الأمين العام تقريره الدوري العام حول تنفيذ القرار 2334 (2016) في تاريخ 20 سبتمبر 2019

أتوجه في البداية بالشكر الجزيل والامتنان العميق لرئيس مجلس الأمن والوفد الروسي على قيادته القديرة للمجلس، وعلى عقد هذا الاجتماع الهام. كما نشكر مبعوث الأمين العام، السيد نيكولاي ملادينوف، على تقديمه لتقرير الأمين العام حول تنفيذ قرار مجلس الأمن 2334، وبدوري أرحب بمعالي الوزير، أيمن الصفدي، وزير الخارجية وشؤون المغتربين للمملكة الأردنية الهاشمية الشقيقة. 

 السيد الرئيس،

نستمع اليوم للتقرير العاشر للأمين العام حول تنفيذ القرار 2334، وللأسف فإنه لا يشتمل إلا على المزيد من الجرائم والانتهاكات والسياسات التعسفية الاسرائيلية غير القانونية، ولا يبشر بأي تقدم يذكر بشأن تنفيذ بنود القرار، مثله مثل ما سبقه من تقارير. وهذا يجعلنا نتساءل، ألم يكن هدف المجلس من إسناد هذه المهمة للأمين العام هو متابعة تنفيذ هذا القرار على الأرض، وقياس مدى التزام الأطراف ببنوده، وعليه أخذ ما يلزم من إجراءات للدفع نحو سبل تنفيذ القرار؟ نحن لا نعتقد أن هدف المجلس من طلب تقرير دوري من الأمين العام كان لمجرد الاستماع لحجم انتهاكات القانون الدولي وعدد الضحايا في صفوف المدنيين دون الاستجابة لها ودون الوقوف عند التحذيرات التي تحملها هذه التقارير والتي تنذر بغياب فرص إحلال السلام العادل وتكريس الاستيطان والعنف والتحريض. 

لا نتوقع أن يخبرنا الأمين العام في تقريره القادم بأي خطوة إيجابية نحو تنفيذ القرار 2334 طالما لا يوجد أي دافع أو رادع لإسرائيل يجعلها تعيد النظر في فرض احتلالها العسكري على أرضنا الفلسطينية، والكف عن استهداف المدنيين الفلسطينيين، والتراجع عن نهجها الاستيطاني التوسعي الاستعماري الذي يئد الأمل في إنهاء الاحتلال غير القانوني لأرضنا، و يجعل حل الدولتين على أساس حدود 1967 حلا شبه مستحيلا. 

السيد الرئيس، 

لم تلتزم إسرائيل بقرارات هذه المنظمة أو ميثاقها، ولم تحترم يوماً حقوق الشعب الفلسطيني، ولم تعترف أبداً في حقه الطبيعي في تقرير مصيره وفي حقه بقيام دولته الفلسطينية الحرة المستقلة على أرضه. وأمعنت بكل تكبر وتصلُف بانتهاك القانون الدولي وقرارات الشرعية الدولية بشكل دائم ودون اكتراث، ظناً منها بأنها تتمتع بوضعاً استثنائياً يمنحها “الحق” في الاعتداء على أرض وحقوق الغير، ويحفظها من النقد ويُحصنها من المساءلة.     

إن استهتار إسرائيل بحقوق الشعب الفلسطيني وأمن المنطقة ككل وصل إلى حد تقديم أراض وطننا الغالي كهدية وعرضها كرشوة للجماعات اليمينية المتطرفة في إسرائيل لكسب أصواتهم الانتخابية.  فإن إعلان نتانياهو نيته ضم الأرض المحتلة في الأغوار وشمال البحر الميت ما هو إلا اعتراف المجرم بجريمته. فهل يفلت من العقاب؟

إن محاولات إسرائيل الممنهجة لتغيير التركيبة الديموغرافية والجغرافية للأرض الفلسطينية المحتلة منذ يونيو 1967، بما في ذلك القدس الشرقية، هي محاولات غير قانونية ومرفوضة ولن تغير من الوضع القانوني للأرض الفلسطينية كأرض محتلة، ولن تضفي على احتلال إسرائيل لأرضنا أي صفة شرعية أو قانونية. فلقد باتت نية هذا الاحتلال مكشوفة وهي الاستيلاء على الأرض المحتلة بالقوة وضمها وتهجير الفلسطينيين قسرا ونقل مستوطنين قوة الاحتلال إليها، وهو ما يشكل انتهاكا جسيما للقانون الدولي الإنساني وجرائم حرب بموجب ميثاق روما. 

اسرائيل هي السلطة القائمة بالاحتلال التي تفرض حصارا غير قانونيا على قطاع غزة وتبني جدار التوسع والضم العنصري في الضفة الغربية وتعزل القدس الشرقية المحتلة وهي التي تقتل عمدا ممرضة وصحفيا، وهي التي  تخطف طفلا نائما في فراشه ليلا أو تقنصه وتصيبه في رأسه أو قلبه جبنا، وهي التي تحرم طفلة في خان الأحمر من مقعد دراستها، وهي التي تهدم بيت العائلة في صور باهر٬ والتي تمنع شابا من غزة من السفر للخارج لإكمال دراسته أو امرأة من الحصول على العناية الصحية الملحة، وهي التي تمنع رجلا من الصلاة في القدس وتحمي مستوطنين استولوا على بيت عائلة فلسطينية وأقاموا به غطرسة وجورا، وهي التي تقوم بالممارسات الاستفزازية في الحرم الشريف والأماكن المقدسة، وهي التي تطرد تواجدا دوليا يوثق ممارساتها العنصرية في الخليل، وتقيم الحواجز العسكرية ونقاط التفتيش التعسفية بين أقصى شمال أرضنا المحتلة وحتى جنوبها، وتقتحم القرى الفلسطينية ومخيمات اللاجئين بحثا عمن يرفض ظلمها وقمعها ويطمح للحرية والكرامة للزج به في سجونها ومعتقلاتها، وهي التي تقرصن أموالنا وتنهب مواردنا الطبيعية، وترفض بعد ذلك كله أي نقد يوجه لها في الأمم المتحدة والمحافل الدولية.

ولا ينتهي الأمر عند ذلك، فتقوم إسرائيل، السلطة القائمة بالاحتلال، بخلق حقائق جديدة على الأرض تهدف إلى تغيير ماهية وطبيعة قضايا الحل النهائي، ومحاولات تركيع الشعب الفلسطيني، ومعاداة قيادته وابتزاز حكومته، والتنصل من كل الاتفاقيات الثنائية الموقعة والتفنن بوضع المزيد من الشروط العبثية، ليصبح المطلوب في نهاية المطاف من الطرف الفلسطيني التحلي بالواقعية العملية والقبول بما هو متبقي أو متوفر، وكأنه يمكن التصديق بأن هذا هو الطريق الذي يجب أن نسلكه من أجل تحقيق السلام العادل والدائم بين شعوب المنطقة وضمان عيش أجيالنا القادمة في أمن منشود. هل يوجد منكم من يقبل بمثل هذه التسوية؟ حقوقنا ليست مجرد طموحات وليست للمساومة، وشعبنا عزيز النفس ووطننا غالي وقضيتنا العادلة ليست للبيع والشراء. 

السيد الرئيس،


في واقع الأمر، خطة سلام تعتبر تواجد إسرائيل على أرضنا ليس احتلالاً، وحل الدولتين شعاراً مستهلكاً، وترى أن قرارات الشرعية الدولية ومرجعيات السلام المتفق عليها بالية عفى عنها الزمن، والتوقع بعد ذلك كله من المجتمع الدولي كافة ومن الفلسطينيين شعباً وقيادةً القبول بذلك، هو في حد ذاته شرطاً يتناقض مع متطلبات السلام.   

إن أي عملية تفاوض جادة لا بد لها من أن تنطلق على أساس إنهاء الاحتلال الإسرائيلي الذي بدأ في عام ١٩٦٧، بما في ذلك القدس الشرقية، ضمن اطار زمني محدد وتهدف لمعالجة كافة قضايا الحل النهائي ضمن الإطار المرجعي المتفق عليه دولياً والذي يتمثل في قرارات الشرعية الدولية ومرجعيات مدريد، بما فيها مبدأ الأرض مقابل السلام، ومبادرة السلام العربية وخارطة الطريق التي وضعتها اللجنة الرباعية، على أساس حل دولتين، وتحقيق استقلال الدولة الفلسطينية على حدود ١٩٦٧ وعاصمتها القدس الشرقية وبرعاية دولية كما ورد في خطاب الرئيس محمود عباس امام مجلسكم الموقر في فبراير 2018.

هذا ليس ” شرطا فلسطينيا”، أو كما يدعي البعض “حجة” للتهرب من الحوار ورفض المفاوضات وعرقلة السلام. إن ذلك هو الحل الذي أجمع عليه العالم بأسره، ونجدد اليوم قبولنا والتزامنا به. إن وجود إطار مرجعي للتفاوض أساسه القانون الدولي هو متطلب بديهي يفرضه المنطق على أي عملية تفاوضية وعلى أي مبادرة سياسية لحل أي نزاع، ولا يجب أن تكون القضيةُ الفلسطينيةُ استثناءً لذلك ولا يعقل أن يتم التعامل مع قرارات مجلس الأمن بانتقائية حسب الأهواء والمصالح. 

Mr. President,

While important, it is not enough to proclaim there is no plan B, we need to identify the means for plan A to prevail. And we need to beware of the alternative reality Israel is creating on the ground. Let us properly name it to be able to combat it, it is not a one state reality, it is an apartheid reality.

The will of the peacebuilders needs to triumph over the will of the bulldozers. In this regard, allow me to commend the firm and consistent positions expressed by Security Council members and the international community at large which have demonstrated how deeply rooted and how solid the international consensus for just and lasting peace is. I also wish to thank all those who provide support to the Palestinian people, including to Palestine refugees through UNRWA. We also commend the strong response by the Arab world, the OIC and freedom and peace loving nations around the globe to provocative statements regarding annexation of Palestinian land. And I also seize this opportunity to thank Jordan for its role in support of the rights of the Palestinian people and as custodian over the Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, including its role in preserving the historic status quo over Al Haram Al Sharif.

The UN Security Council in adopting its resolutions, including 2334, was motivated by the pursuit of international peace and security, in fulfilment of its mandate. But stating the law is not enough, we must find the avenues to act to ensure its enforcement. Each country present here in the United Nations can make a further contribution to peace by upholding its obligations including under this resolution:

1) By supporting our inalienable rights, including to self-determination, and their fulfilment and by providing humanitarian and development assistance to the Palestinian people

2) By not recognizing illegal actions undertaken by Israel, including those that seek to alter the character and status of Jerusalem

3) By not rendering aid or assistance to illegal settlement activities

4) By distinguishing, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967

5) By ensuring accountability as impunity is the greatest obstacle to peace. 

Make no mistake about it, the real bias regarding Israel in the UN is the one shielding it from accountability. Impunity is the greatest obstacle to peace as it allows the occupying power to reap benefits from its occupation instead of facing consequences, incentivizing illegal actions instead of ensuring compliance with the law. A State that feels it is above the law will be tempted to continue acting as an outlaw State. For the sake of peace, and for the benefit of all peoples of the region, and for the authority of international law, we need to urgently and collectively act to change course, restore hope, and achieve a just and lasting solution to the conflict. We seek justice not vengeance. Freedom not conditional liberty. Peace not Apartheid.