YouSaid · the spoken record

Al-Kidwa

lines on the record: 724
first: 1992-01-06
most recent: 2004-10-06
sittings or episodes: 59
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Sharon, are very clear: to destroy the Palestinian Authority and to break up the Palestinian leadership in order to create a situation of vacuum and anarchy with a View to subjugating the entire Palestinian population. Its purpose is not only to prevent permanent settlement that would ensure Israel's withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territory, but to ensure the continuation of occupation and colonial settlement. In fact, Mr. Sharon, and unfortunately some of his supporters, do not want a different Palestinian leadership, but total absence of any leadership. He does not want a solution with the Palestinian people, but wants to force it to abandon its rights. What I have just said is not an analysis. Mr. Sharon has been very clear in his public statements for those who want to listen and understand. Mr.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“Israel has continued to severely restrict the movement of persons and goods, including those of United Nations agencies and other humanitarian organizations, imposing closures and, most recently, imposing a curfew on hundred of thousands of people. In brief, Israel, the occupying Power - even during periods of calm on the Palestinian side, including over the past six weeks - has continued to destroy the Palestinian Authority and its institutions and to destroy the entire life of the Palestinian people. Israel has reoccupied the areas under Palestinian control, as if to return the situation to what it had been before the peace process. The political objectives of the Israeli side, in particular those of Mr.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“Throughout the years, the Palestinian people have been subjected to uprooting, displacement, denial of their existence, destruction, murder and confiscation of their land and property. They have been the target of massacres, from those at Deir Yassin and Kafr Qassem to that at the Jenin refugee camp. During the past two years in particular, since Mr. Sharon assumed power, Israel, the occupying Power, has not stopped its extrajudicial executions, its collective punishments such as home demolitions, the deliberate murder of civilians and the infliction of maximum injury, continuing its abductions and arrests and causing widespread, deliberate destruction to property and farmland.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“Despite everything, we officially call on the Council to adopt a clear resolution demanding that Israel withdraw immediately from the headquarters of President Arafat, in addition to whatever other action the Council might deem appropriate in order to put an end to the humanitarian crisis being endured by our people and to the tragic confrontation between the two sides. It is not too late to do that, despite the regrettable and unwarranted delay of this Council meeting from last Friday until today. I express that position not only in my national capacity, but also as this month's Chairman of the Arab Group, which had requested an immediate Council meeting to consider this grave situation.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“After those events, the population of Ramallah and of many other Palestinian cities defied the curfew imposed upon them and took to the streets to express their rejection of the new Israeli criminal aggression. The reaction of the Israeli occupying forces was typical: they fired directly on the demonstrators, resulting in the martyrdom of five civilians and the injury of scores of others. Clearly, there is no limit to the crimes committed by Mr. Sharon, by his Government and by his army in the series of war crimes and acts of State terrorism committed against the Palestinian people. Unfortunately, it is all being carried out with total impunity while the international community, represented by the Security Council, fails to fulfil its obligations because of the position of a permanent Council member.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“Those grave and illegal criminal acts, which are yet another assault on the entire Palestinian people, were accompanied by announcements from Israeli officials that the Palestinian President would be deported from Palestinian territory and that he would be harmed, along with other statements concerning the wish of Israel, the occupying Power, to arrest a number of the officials who remained with the President. Needless to say, those announcements are absolutely unacceptable, as they represent an escalation of the aggression and an attempt to further humiliate our leadership and our officials. Israel's repetition of such lies will amount to an encouragement of aggression.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“The forces of occupation razed some buildings within the compound and blew up others, digging a trench around the only remaining and now damaged building, in which President Arafat and other officials and security officers remained. Israeli forces also built a barbed wire fence around that building. Meanwhile, the Israeli occupying forces opened fire on the area, resulting in at least one death and an unknown number of injuries and, of course, directly threatening the lives of President Arafat and those with him. The explosions, the razing and other forms of threat and coercion have continued for days.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“Mr. Al-Kidwa (Palestine) (spoke in Arabic): I congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the current month. I also thank your predecessor, the Permanent Representative of the United States of America, for his stewardship of the Council last month. In addition, I should like to join you in welcoming the Secretary- General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and I thank him for his tireless efforts to bring about peace in the region. We urge him to pursue those efforts, including his work with the Quartet. Last Thursday, 19 September 2002, Israel, the occupying Power, sent its forces and tanks to reoccupy the compound of President Yasser Arafat in the city of Ramallah.”
2002-09-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4614 (2002) · source
“The growing Israeli violations and crimes are suffocating, and indeed killing, any potential for peace between the two sides. This tragic situation is only being further exacerbated as the international community continues to stand idly by while the Israeli occupying forces continue to wreak devastation and destruction against the Palestinian people. We will continue to cooperate with the "quartet" and with other interested parties, but we strongly believe in the need for decisive action, especially on the part of the Security Council, to prevent the worst from happening and, hopefully, to carry us forward to a different and better situation.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“Finally, with regard to the political aspect, let me also say that the Palestinian side believes that the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, is not subject to negotiation. Palestine should be established in that territory, with its borders based on the 1967 lines. We have already compromised more than our share, and any expansionist Israeli designs shall not be accepted. Needless to say, this position is also reflected in the Arab initiative adopted at the Beirut Summit, which was based on the initiative of Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. In all honesty, we feel that the international community needs to show more resolve and seriousness in dealing with the situation, whether on the ground or concerning the political aspect.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“Sharon, from taking specific actions up front and from adopting different policies, would only provide cover for further destructive Israeli actions. Such initiatives would lead nowhere, and no one could even seriously believe in them. Thirdly, we reiterate our belief regarding the need for a comprehensive approach. This does not only mean dealing with political, economic and security issues simultaneously; it also means agreeing from the beginning on the final outcome or the end game. Details, of course, would be left to the parties to negotiate, but the overall framework should be clear. We believe that the Security Council can and should play an important role in this regard.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“Secondly, any talk about restructuring reform or free elections, while important, remains meaningless while the Palestinian people are under Israeli occupation, let alone while Israeli tanks remain in the heart of Ramallah and while Israeli warplanes fly above Gaza. We appreciate the established international consensus that has emerged on the two-State solution, and on the need for the establishment of the State of Palestine. Allow me in this regard to put forward some main Palestinian positions on the debate that is currently taking place. First, the internal Palestinian situation will always remain the domain of the Palestinian people themselves. We hope that no one is trying to give free and democratic elections a new meaning. Secondly, any initiative or plans that would exempt the Israeli side, and particularly Mr.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“At this time, some parties have decided to focus on the issue of reform of the Palestinian Authority, making this the central issue regarding the situation. While we believe that reform is in our national interest, we hope that this focus does not represent another attempt to avoid the realities and divert attention from the imperative of confronting the illegal policies of the Israeli Government of Mr. Sharon. Two clarifications are necessary on this issue. First, the current system of the Palestinian Authority has its limitations and deficiencies as a result of the Oslo negotiating process, and not as a result of a Palestinian choice.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“His aims have always been to drag us all back to a pre-Oslo situation and to destroy the Palestinian Authority, while inflicting maximum pain, suffering and loss on the Palestinian people. Only in that manner could he guarantee blocking any possibility of a serious peace settlement, so that the occupation and the colonization and settlement activities could continue. Unfortunately, some on the international scene have been trying to avoid the realities and to avoid confronting Mr. Sharon. Thus came the search for solutions that would show a lot of motion, even without any real movement. The problem is that such an approach can only make matters worse. Obviously, avoiding the truth is not going to make it disappear.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“Needless to say, Israel, the occupying Power, has not only not heeded those resolutions, but has now created an even graver situation on the ground. We believe that the Security Council has a clear responsibility vis-a-vis the situation, including the necessity for implementing the Council's own resolutions. The Government of Mr. Ariel Sharon has been trying to portray its policies and practices as simply a response to the suicide bombings. Nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, the Palestinian side has condemned this practice that has undermined the Palestinian national interest. In fact, what the Israeli Government has been doing is intended to serve clear political objectives, expressed repeatedly and publicly by Mr. Sharon.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“It essentially represents a direct attack on the leader and symbol of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority. In addition, this siege continues to seriously obstruct the efforts of the Palestinian Authority to exercise its responsibilities and to rebuild itself. All of the aforementioned is an escalation of the same Israeli military campaign against the Palestinian people that began with the infamous visit of Mr. Sharon to Al-Haram Al-Sharif on 28 September 2000. There was, as Council members will recall, another level of escalation prior to this recent period, which began on 29 March 2002, in response to which the Security Council adopted resolutions 1402 (2002), 1403 (2002) and 1405 (2002).”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“Since September 2000, more than 1,705 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli occupying forces in military attacks. This tragic figure does not include the hundreds of other Palestinians who have died as a result of other illegal practices being carried out by the occupying Power. Moreover, thousands of Palestinians have been injured, many seriously and permanently, by the occupying forces. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed, and thousands of people have been rendered homeless. Billions of dollars have been lost in Palestinian wages and other income. Further, the Israeli military siege on the headquarters of President Yasser Arafat in the Palestinian city of Ramallah continues, in violation of all norms and logic.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“Throughout this time, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians - actually the whole Palestinian population in those areas - have been subjected to round-the-clock curfews, confined to their homes and denied any aspect of normal daily life, including access to basic necessities, such as food and proper medical care. In other areas, closures and severe restrictions on the movement of persons and goods also remain in effect. The extent of human loss and physical destruction that has been caused, the continuous confinement of the people, and other Israeli collective punishment measures against the Palestinian people have led not only to socio-economic devastation but also to a real humanitarian crisis, for which the occupying Power must be held responsible.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“Such actual or threatened measures are illegal and are prohibited under the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, which is applicable to all of the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem. Further, they represent a collective punishment as well as a war crime under international humanitarian law and the Statute of the ICC. Again, the international community is obligated to take measures against the perpetrators of these crimes. All of this is happening while the Israeli occupying forces continue with their second wave of reoccupation of most Palestinian cities and population centres in the occupied West Bank, which has now continued for more than a month.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“At the same time, this latest Israeli war crime was committed at a time when serious, and apparently succeeding, efforts were being undertaken to curb the violence and restore some cooperative measures between the two sides. Obviously, the Israeli Prime Minister, the man of peace, Mr. Ariel Sharon, who labelled the crime as a "great success", is once more trying his utmost to prevent any progress towards restoring a meaningful, peaceful process. Mr. Sharon and his lieutenants must be held responsible for such actions and the ensuing results. The aforementioned Israeli war crime comes after the recent demolition of the homes of families of suspected Palestinian suicide bombers, as well as a series of threats by Israeli officials to deport some or all of those family members.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“Yesterday, however, the occupying Power took this practice to a new, extreme level, as the occupying forces knowingly and deliberately killed innocent civilians - children, women and men, many belonging to the same family - in the attack, along with the targeted person, Mr. Salah Shehada. Clearly, there was no way that such a military strike would not cause such tragic results in terms of civilian deaths and injuries and physical destruction. This Israeli assault represents the first blatant war crime committed by the Israeli occupying forces since the entry into force this month of the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). This action definitely falls within the jurisdiction of the Court and, thus, measures to bring the perpetrators to justice should be taken.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“In the pre-dawn hours, Palestine time, yesterday, an F-l6 warplane dropped a one-ton bomb on a three-story apartment building in northern Gaza City. That air strike killed 15 Palestinian civilians and wounded more than 150 people. Among those killed in the attack were 9 infants and children between the ages of two months and 13 years. In addition to the human devastation, the building that was hit, and at least four other homes, were destroyed, and several other nearby buildings sustained serious damage in the attack on this densely populated civilian neighbourhood. Israel, the occupying Power, declared that this military attack was in fact carried out as a targeted killing. This repugnant practice of extrajudicial execution has been repeatedly condemned by the international community and constitutes a war crime.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“Mr. Al-Kidwa (Palestine) (spoke in Arabic): Let me begin, Sir, by congratulating you on your assumption of the Council presidency for this month, and by wishing you every success in your work. Let me also take this opportunity to praise Ambassador Mikhail Wehbe for the way in which he conducted the work of the Security Council last month. Also, I would like to express our thanks to all Council members, and to you personally, Mr. President, for your speedy response to the Arab Group's request through its Chairman, the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and for convening this important meeting. (spoke in English) Israel, the occupying Power, continues to commit and escalate war crimes and State terrorism against the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem.”
2002-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4588 (2002) · source
“We do so while we continue to maintain that the Security Council has its own Charter responsibilities and a natural role in the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East.”
2002-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4552 (2002) · source
“We want the Security Council to take the required measures immediately, because - in all honesty and candour - the situation, particularly with regard to the intolerable conditions in which our people are living, does not allow for any delay. Some members of the Council hold a different view. We have been clearly informed that there is a serious political impetus to address the situation on the ground and to push towards political action and that important developments are anticipated shortly. We have also been informed that meetings of the "quartet" and the Group of 8 are to be convened that may make a positive contribution to the issue. Given all this, we, along with the entire world, shall wait and see what happens in the next few days.”
2002-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4552 (2002) · source
“First, Israel's practices against the Palestinian people must be condemned and ended, while the outcome of the voiding of the Oslo Accords - including the preservation and maintenance of the Palestinian Authority - must be rejected. Secondly, efforts must be made to implement the relevant Security Council resolutions. Such efforts are an official responsibility of the Security Council as a matter of principle, but are particularly significant in View of the critical and deteriorating conditions on the ground. Thirdly, a campaign for a comprehensive approach towards a solution must be engaged, allowing the Council to play its natural role in this regard.”
2002-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4552 (2002) · source
“The existence of such a clear definition of the final solution would in itself create a new and different dynamic allowing all other major aspects to be addressed, including the current security situation and the creation of State institutions, an international presence on the ground, the proposed mechanism for negotiations between the parties - that is, the international conference - and even interim steps towards the final objective, so long as a specific time frame is spelled out. That is precisely what we need; in the absence of such a vision, we will continue, at best, to remain in a vicious circle. My fear is that we will descend into more dangerous conditions in Palestine and, indeed, throughout the entire Middle East. What do we want from the Security Council? From our point of View, there are three priorities.”
2002-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4552 (2002) · source
“Only a comprehensive approach that addressed all aspects of the problem - political, economic and security - could salvage any hope from this true tragedy and help to build peace in the region. More important, such an approach would require the development of a clear definition of the final form of the resolution of the problem. This definition would include the emergence of the State of Palestine in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the basis of the 1967 borders, guaranteed security for Israel and other countries of the region and the establishment of normal relations among all these States.”
2002-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4552 (2002) · source
“Sharon repeated his lies and made ludicrous comments about the idea of an international conference, ending by taking a clear position on the issues of the borders and Jerusalem that, in essence, represents a total rejection of the initiative of Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia - an initiative that, after being adopted at the Beirut Arab Summit, has become an overall Arab initiative. It is well known that Mr. Sharon was implicated in war crimes, massacres, including at Sabra, Shatila, Kibya, Khan Younis and, most recently, perhaps - pending receipt of the report of the Secretary- General - in the Jenin refugee camp. Furthermore, Mr. Sharon is now taking on - with great conviction - the role of the enemy of peace. This man must be stopped; that would represent the beginning of a return to the path of peace.”
2002-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4552 (2002) · source
“Sharon from killing off the Mitchell recommendations, should prevent him from stifling all hopes for peace before it is too late. If people need further proof of the true attitude and genuine intentions of Mr. Sharon, they need only read his ignominious article, published in The New York Times on 9 June. Mr. Sharon's complete and blatant sabotage of Security Council resolution 242 (1967) in itself should be vigorously condemned by the Security Council, given the dire consequences of such sabotage. Of course, Sharon did not stop there, but reiterated his well-known rejection of any attempt at a bilateral settlement between the two sides, at this stage or in the future, insisting on only a long-term interim solution.”
2002-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4552 (2002) · source
“However, an evolution of the domestic Palestinian situation and the rebuilding of its infrastructure is in the national Palestinian interest. For our part, we are working seriously to move in that direction. But it must be made clear that the creation of genuine and strong State institutions will be impossible while we are under occupation and, in particular, while we are dealing with unabated and deliberate Israeli destruction. It must also be made clear that Mr. Sharon's true purpose is to cause further devastation and, if possible, to create a state of chaos on the Palestinian side. In that way Mr. Sharon believes that he will be able to put an end to the entire peace process. The international community, which has not succeeded in preventing Mr.”
2002-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4552 (2002) · source
“Sharon and his Government want to kill off any attempt to salvage the Oslo Accords and end the deteriorating situation on the ground. Specifically, we referred to the fact that Mr. Sharon would like to make the Mitchell recommendations a dead letter. In this context, he has devised various scenarios, the most significant of which is his insistence on seven days of complete calm. Regrettably, some have covered for him, and Mr. Sharon has indeed succeeded in aborting progress on the Mitchell recommendations. Now, Mr. Sharon has come up with a new idea. He is insisting that there is no Palestinian partner for him to work with and refusing to negotiate until changes have been made on the Palestinian side. Palestinian issues remain entirely a matter for the Palestinians; Israel has nothing at all to do with them.”
2002-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4552 (2002) · source
“Israel, the occupying Power, claims that all its acts of destruction and suppression are designed to pre- empt suicide bombings - bombings that we, for our part, have condemned time and again. Israel's claim cannot be taken seriously. It is not acting in self- defence, and its actions will yield only counterproductive results that will not serve its declared objectives. The true political purpose of all of Israel's actions is to take us back to the period before the Oslo Accords. Their purpose is to destroy the Palestinian Authority and to prevent any final settlement between the two sides so that Israel's process of colonizing the territory can continue, with more and more settlements being built, thereby preventing the establishment of a Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capital. In the past, we have said that Mr.”
2002-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4552 (2002) · source
“As we await that report, we call upon the international community and the Security Council to condemn all such acts and to take serious steps to put an end to them immediately, as they represent a gross violation of the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention and other international humanitarian legal instruments, as well as of Security Council resolutions. Israel has blatantly rejected the relevant Security Council resolutions; indeed, it has shown contempt for them. How can the Security Council allow this situation to continue? When will Security Council resolutions - in particular the recent resolutions 1402 (2002) and 1403 (2002) - be implemented?”
2002-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4552 (2002) · source
“Furthermore, the colonization of our Palestinian land continues unabated through the building of more and more illegitimate settlements, including the settlement activity that is now in its initial stages on Mount Scopus in East Jerusalem. Since 28 September 2000 and, on a greater scale, since 29 March 2002, Israel, the occupying Power, has committed great atrocities against the Palestinian people, including undoubted war crimes and acts of State-sponsored terrorism. We are, of course, waiting for the issuance of the report of the Secretary-General on recent Israeli actions in Jenin and other Palestinian cities, as requested in General Assembly resolution ES-lO/lO, adopted during the tenth emergency special session.”
2002-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4552 (2002) · source
“Throughout that period, the Israeli occupation forces maintained a tight siege on Palestinian cities, and on several occasions reoccupied them for days, killing many civilians, abducting many more citizens and laying waste to many institutions; this threatens the present and the future of the Palestinian people. In addition, Israel has feverishly tried to institutionalize the appalling situation resulting from the military assault against our people. It has removed the lines that define the areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority under signed agreements, by isolating residential areas in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip from one another and isolating all such areas from occupied East Jerusalem, by reinstating military administration and by requiring licenses to move people and goods from one Palestinian city to another.”
2002-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4552 (2002) · source
“On 10 June, Israeli occupation forces reoccupied the Palestinian city of Ramallah, from which they withdrew last night, and imposed a military curfew on the headquarters of the President of the Palestinian Authority, President Yasser Arafat, in that city. A few days earlier, the occupation forces attacked the President's compound with tank shells and bombarded most of the buildings in the compound. In the course of that operation, two people were killed and the personal safety of President Arafat was undoubtedly put at immediate risk.”
2002-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4552 (2002) · source
“Mr. Al-Kidwa (Palestine) (spoke in Arabic): Let me start, Sir, by congratulating you on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the current month. We express our pride in seeing you, the representative of sisterly Syria, in the presidency of the Council, and we pay tribute to the great skill and efficiency you have displayed in moving the work of the Council forward. Our thanks also go to your predecessor, the Permanent Representative of Singapore, and to the members of his delegation for their skilful and efficient stewardship of the Council during the past month. I would further like to thank all members of the Council for responding to the Arab Group's request, made by the representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain, to convene this important meeting of the Security Council.”
2002-06-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4552 (2002) · source
“Sharon and his Government has not changed, notwithstanding the resolutions of the Security Council and the position of the international community in this regard and the efforts of some parties, which we fully appreciate. Still, those efforts have not yet led to the full implementation of resolutions 1402 (2002) and 1403 (2002). The entire issue requires the Security Council to take a more serious position on the basis of the Charter. That is precisely what we now look forward to.”
2002-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4525 (2002) · source
“Israel, the occupying Power, continues to tighten its siege of all Palestinian towns and is reoccupying some parts of those towns, as has happened recently in Hebron, Qalqilya and other Palestinian towns and villages and, today, in Nablus. The purpose of the Israeli military campaign remains the same: to cause devastating harm to our population and to the Palestinian Authority and to prevent the situation from returning to where it was before the campaign, let alone before September 2000. It is not, of course, to put an end to the Israeli occupation of all Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem. The essence of the position of Mr.”
2002-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4525 (2002) · source
“After several weeks of sweeping Israeli military assault, the Israeli occupation forces have left some towns, but they have tightened their siege against all of them and the occupation forces remain inside some cities. The compound of Chairman Yasser Arafat in Ramallah was, until the day before yesterday, under military siege. The end of that siege, despite the fact that it was a positive step, is not a source of satisfaction to us. The situation arising from the Israeli military assault is illegal and represents a gross breach of the Security Council resolutions I have just mentioned. The Church of the Nativity is still under military siege and yesterday was a target of another military assault that set a Franciscan convent and a Greek Orthodox church on fire, which constitutes another Israeli crime.”
2002-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4525 (2002) · source
“These acts constitute war crimes. What remains now is to establish the scope of those crimes and whether they indeed constituted a massacre and crimes against humanity. The world must investigate these crimes and get to the bottom of the facts in full. It must adopt the measures necessary to prosecute the war criminals and the commanders and members of military units who deliberately killed civilians and wreaked unwarranted, wide-scale destruction, especially, as we indicated earlier, General Shaul Mofaz, chief of staff of the Israeli occupation army. Resolutions 1402 (2002) and 1403 (2002) have not yet been fully implemented. It has now been more than a month since their adoption and the resolutions have yet to be implemented in full.”
2002-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4525 (2002) · source
“The position of Israel towards the fact-finding team, among other things, proves beyond any doubt that the Israeli occupation forces have indeed committed unspeakable atrocities against our people, especially in the Jenin refugee camp. Israel committed war crimes and probably carried out a massacre of the camp population. The atrocities committed by the Israeli occupation forces are now established facts. The firing of missiles from helicopter gunships at that very tiny, densely populated area; the use of tanks and armoured bulldozers to demolish houses, in some cases while civilians were still inside them; the obstruction of the delivery of food and medicine; the denial of access of humanitarian agencies to the camp for 11 days; and, last but not least, the use of human beings as shields are all established facts.”
2002-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4525 (2002) · source
“It will constitute a breach of the provisions of the Charter and abrogation on the part of the Council of its responsibilities, and it will have serious political and operational implications on the ground. We still hope that the Council will be able today to adopt an appropriate resolution even at a minimum level. Even if the Council fails to do so, we will resort to a resumption of the tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly in order to address this situation, if only partly. The fact that we all should bear in mind - and that must be the focus of any analysis of the situation - is that Israel is the occupying Power and that the Palestinian territories are occupied territories to which the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 applies, as has been set forth in 25 resolutions adopted by the Security Council.”
2002-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4525 (2002) · source
“Following the Secretary-General's decision, we thought that the Council should take a drastic step to stress the need to implement resolution 1405 (2002), order Israel not to impede the team, request the Secretary-General to dispatch the team immediately and request both sides to cooperate with the team without obstacles or conditions. The Arab Group had indeed submitted a draft resolution along those lines. Unfortunately, it did not receive adequate support because of the objections of one of the permanent members of the Security Council. The Council's backtracking before the Israeli rejection will constitute a real scandal for the Council.”
2002-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4525 (2002) · source
“The content of the Secretary-General's letter itself constitutes full condemnation of the position of Israel - the occupying Power - regarding the team. We strongly condemn the decision of Israel - the occupying Power- to refuse compliance with resolution 1405 (2002) and to impede the work of the fact-finding team. We believe that the entire world should fully condemn Israel's position. We also believe that the Security Council should have supported the Secretary- General's efforts a few days earlier. Indeed, we proposed that to the Council, but, to our deep regret, the Council did not respond accordingly.”
2002-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4525 (2002) · source
“The Secretary-General sent letters to the Permanent Observer of Palestine and the Permanent Representative of Israel on 27 April 2002, in which he outlined the parameters and modalities of the work of the fact-finding team. We agreed generally with the content of those letters, and we had intended to clarify fully our position once we had received an indication that the team was proceeding to the region. I wish to express our appreciation to the Secretary-General for his efforts and his insistence on maintaining his basic position and for preserving the integrity of the team's mandate. The day before yesterday, the Secretary-General sent a letter to the Security Council on this matter, which contained a description of Israeli positions and of the Secretary-General's conclusions and announced his intention to disband the team.”
2002-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4525 (2002) · source
“The Palestinian side and the entire world welcomed the composition of this team as a serious step toward finding out exactly what happened in the Jenin refugee camp. Subsequently, we all have seen how the Israelis completely reneged on accepting the fact-finding team. We have also seen a series of Israeli positions aimed at undermining the team and jeopardizing any results that it might reach, as well as attempts to blackmail the Secretary-General and the United Nations Secretariat. Despite the Secretary-General's response to accommodate the Israeli side's concern regarding clarifications - on which we had reservations - the Israeli positions deteriorated and basically represented rejection of the Secretary-General's initiative, his fact- finding team and Security Council resolution 1405 (2002).”
2002-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4525 (2002) · source
“It came as a natural and responsible response to increasing reports about the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the Israeli occupation forces, particularly in the Jenin refugee camp. Resolution 1405 (2002) addressed the horrific humanitarian situation of the civilian Palestinian population in a general way and established the framework for addressing the events in Jenin. It is impossible to fully understand what occurred there without putting it in the context of the activities of the Israeli occupation forces in all the re-occupied Palestinian cities and towns. Following the adoption of resolution 1405 (2002), the Secretary-General formed the team, which was made up of three widely respected personalities. It also included two high-level senior advisers. Two others were subsequently added, as were several experts in various areas.”
2002-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4525 (2002) · source
“Mr. Al-Kidwa (Palestine) (spoke in Arabic): I wish at the outset to congratulate you warmly, Mr. President, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this month. We have full confidence in you, Sir, and in your friendly country, Singapore. Allow me also to express our deep appreciation to Ambassador Sergey Lavrov, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, for his great skills and personal contributions to the Council's achieving important successes under his leadership. Fourteen days ago the Security Council adopted resolution 1405 (2002), which welcomed the initiative of the Secretary-General to develop accurate information on recent events in the Jenin refugee camp through a fact-finding team. That resolution also requested the Secretary-General to keep the Security Council seized of the matter.”
2002-05-03 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4525 (2002) · source