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

“Only the realization of the rights of the Palestinians and coexistence between the two States of Palestine and Israel will bring security, stability and peace for both sides and for the region. In this regard, we would like to express our appreciation for what was stated by President George Bush before the General Assembly as well as the statement made by Secretary of State Colin Powell on 19 November with regard to the Middle East. We accept the content of that statement as a basis for moving forward, with regard both to dealing with the current situation on the ground and to the final settlement between the two sides.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“The responsibility of the international community is perfectly clear, as are the responsibilities of the Security Council, particularly in the light of the campaign against international terrorism. The peoples of our region, as are many throughout the world, are looking to see how the international community deals with this grave and tragic matter. In any case, the Israeli occupation of our land and our people remains the main problem and the source of all of these disastrous events. The only solution to the situation is an end to the occupation and the realization of the rights of our people, including the establishment of an independent state, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“Further, we hold it responsible for all other war crimes committed by members of the occupying army and by Israeli settlers, in accordance with article 29 of the Convention. The responsibilities of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention are very clear, as defined in common article 1 and article 148. The responsibilities of the Security Council are also clear. We also charge Israel, the occupying Power, with carrying out State terrorism against our people. It has engaged in the killing of civilians and in the vast destruction of property, with the aim of instilling fear and terror in the population and forcing it to submit to its political will.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“We should also refer here to the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, which was reconvened on 5 December and unanimously adopted an extremely important declaration calling on the occupying Power, inter alia, immediately to cease committing grave breaches of the Convention, including any of the acts mentioned in article 147, and to refrain from any other violations of the Convention. Regrettably, Israel has continued and escalated these violations. On the basis of the clear provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention and its first Additional Protocol, we charge the Government of Mr. Ariel Sharon, the Government of the occupying Power, with war crimes committed against the Palestinian people, pursuant to the official policies of that Government.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“Israel has also caused the widespread destruction of private and public property, including economic institutions; the uprooting of thousands of trees; and the despoiling of agricultural land. All of these actions represent serious breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The occupying Power has also committed other serious violations of the Convention, including the imposition of severe restrictions on the movement of persons and goods and the imposition of closure and of collective punishment.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“Regrettably, we heard nothing from the circles that had spoken out before under different circumstances. Prior to this escalation, the Israeli campaign had not ceased since the infamous visit of Ariel Sharon to Al-Haram al-Sharif on 28 September 2000. Since then, Israeli forces of occupation have killed more than 800 Palestinians, in addition to the hundreds of Palestinian who have been martyred by the occupation in different ways, such as through preventing the movement of ambulances. Israeli forces of occupation have also injured approximately 30,000 Palestinians, many of whom have been permanently disabled, and have caused tremendous suffering among all Palestinians. The occupying forces have committed deliberate killings, and Israel - the occupying Power - has adopted an official policy of extra-judicial executions.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“Recently, Israel, the occupying Power, viciously escalated its bloody military campaign against our people and against the Palestinian Authority. It has made intensive use of F-l6 warplanes, helicopter gunships, tanks and other weaponry. It has re-occupied some areas that are under full Palestinian control; it has tightened its siege of Palestinian cities and has destroyed many Palestinian institutions and symbols of the Authority, including important facilities such as the Gaza international airport and the Voice of Palestine radio station. All of this, of course, has been accompanied by significant loss of life and by widespread fear and terror among Palestinian civilians. Today the Israeli forces of occupation killed at least eight Palestinians; yesterday they killed another six.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“Israeli settlers are there illegally, and were sent in grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and of the first Protocol Additional to the Conventions. They came to colonize Palestinian lands and thus to deny the rights and the existence of our people. I would add that most of the settlers are armed, which makes them illegal combatants or members of militias. Over the years, they have terrorized and attacked Palestinian civilians. One example was the massacre committed by a settler at Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi at Hebron. I speak of this because some parties seem to be trying to lend legitimacy to the presence of the settlers. The Israeli settlers will remain illegal until they depart with the end of the occupation of our land.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“It has persisted in sending the message that there is no hope of a final settlement or of peace. Let me speak now of acts of violence committed in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem. We do not support or condone such acts, because we are trying to reach a peaceful negotiated solution. Moreover, we affirm that those acts are incompatible with our commitments, including our commitment to the ceasefire. But we absolutely do not accept any attempt to label those acts as terrorist acts. Over the years, resistance to foreign occupation has been, and it remains, a legitimate right under international law and international humanitarian law. In the Palestinian case, there are no protected Israeli civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“Despite our clear position, the ability of the Palestinians to confront and put an end to that phenomenon depends, first and foremost, on the capabilities of the security apparatus, including its freedom of movement. And secondly, and perhaps more important, it depends on a halt to the suffering of the Palestinian people and on the restoration of their hope and belief that the process of negotiations will actually lead to an end to occupation and to the establishment of peace. Regrettably, the present Israeli Government has persistently worked to destroy both of those requirements. It has violently assaulted the Palestinian security apparatus, virtually preventing it from functioning. At the same time, it has continued to impose its siege and closures, causing the suffocation, destruction and killing of our people.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“On the question of terrorism, the Palestinian side has taken a clear stand against international terrorism and against terrorist groups with a global dimension. The Palestinian side joined the international consensus on this issue following the September disaster in the United States. In line with that clear position - as well as prior to those events ~ we have also rejected suicide bombings carried out in Israel targeting Israeli civilians. We condemn them as terrorist acts, and we view them as incompatible with Palestinian commitments and as acts that harm the national interests of the Palestinian people. That position remains clear and fair, in spite of all the crimes and all the State terrorism perpetrated against our people by official Israel - not just by Israeli groups or organizations. I shall return later to this question.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“For our part, we have repeatedly stated our commitment to existing agreements and our full acceptance of the Mitchell report, and we have called for the comprehensive and speedy implementation of the report's recommendations. Moreover, we have always expressed our readiness to resume the negotiations on the agreed basis, with a view to the rapid achievement of a final settlement and to the establishment of peace. That has been and remains our position. The Israeli Government must stop doubting that position and casting doubt on it. The Israeli Government must also understand that any retreat from mutual recognition and from existing agreements cannot go in one direction only, and that this can only prolong the pain and suffering of both our peoples, and of all the peoples of the region - although our people remain the principal victim.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“In the meantime, Israel would continue to assault the Authority and its institutions, including its security apparatus, thus making it impossible for them to function. Most recently, he came up with the announcement that he was boycotting the Palestinian Authority. Those are the basic political statements of the Israeli Government and its leader, all of them firmly conveying the determination of that Government to continue its confrontation, its violence and its rejection of any attempt to bring about peace. I regret to have to say here that some have attempted to provide cover for some of those positions, either deliberately or unintentionally, thus encouraging the Israeli Government to continue its destructive policies and its aggression against our people.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“Sharon has repeatedly stated his animosity to the Mitchell Committee and then to its recommendations. In fact, to avoid implementing those recommendations, he concocted the condition of having seven days of quiet - as though a period of quiet would lead to the implementation of the recommendations rather than the implementation of the recommendations leading to a period of quiet, to an end to the violence and to a resumption of the peace process. Once Mr. Sharon had succeeded in burying the Mitchell recommendations for an extended period and in thwarting any attempt to revive them, he came up with a new declaration: that the Palestinian Authority first had to combat and put an end to terrorism.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“The Israeli Government has thus begun to take official and public measures to prevent a final settlement and revert the conflict between the two sides to the era before the Oslo accords instead of resolving the conflict and establishing peace in the region. Despite the immense danger posed by such measures which portend widespread confrontation that could plunge the entire region into war, it would be difficult to say that this came as a complete surprise. It was obvious from the first day that Mr. Sharon and his Government came to power that they were going in that direction. Mr. Sharon has declared on more than one occasion that he does not want a final settlement, and that he wants only an agreement on a cessation of hostilities. Also, Mr.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“Mr. Al-Kidwa (Palestine) (spoke in Arabic): Allow me to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the Council this month. I thank you for your work, and I am grateful to the Permanent Representative of Jamaica, Ambassador Patricia Durrant, for her leadership last month. The Government of Ariel Sharon announced last Wednesday that it would sever all contact with the Palestinian Authority and its elected leader, President Yasser Arafat. This decision means the abandonment of the negotiation process. It appears to be a prelude to the abandonment of all existing arrangements between the two sides.”
2001-12-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4438 (2001) · source
“Frankly speaking, we do not believe that a meeting held in such circumstances would change anything, even though we will try. We have tried before and we will continue to try. However, if we are to be successful there must be a real change in the Israeli position - a change that will lead to different results, a change based on a political vision, not on manoeuvres aimed at hoodwinking the international community and at further eroding the Palestinian position. We have not yet lost hope. However, if our hopes are to be fulfilled, we need the help of the Council. We appeal to the members of the Council, as representatives of the international community, to act in accordance with their duties and responsibilities under the Charter.”
2001-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357Resumption2 (2001) · source
“We also hope it will take into account the deep sense of frustration among many of the Members due to the lack of action by the Council on this situation and its lack of commitment and non- fulfilment of its responsibilities as contained in the Charter of the United Nations. We hope that this will be the end result. Finally, I should like to comment on the possible meeting between Arafat and Peres. The Palestinian side has never opposed such a meeting - it has never opposed serious dialogue. The problem has been on the Israeli side. Were such a meeting to occur - neither the time nor the place for such a meeting has been determined - it would be subject to certain conditions dictated by the Prime Minister of Israel: no serious political questions could be discussed, but only issues related to the current security situation on the ground.”
2001-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357Resumption2 (2001) · source
“The draft resolution is not a Palestinian position, nor is it an Arab position. It is, however, a Palestinian attempt to remind the members of the Security Council what they agreed upon last March. What is the problem here with calling for the implementation of the recommendations of the Mitchell report or calling for an observer mechanism and the resumption of the peace process? What is the problem with this, except for some strange notions that the resolution uses language that takes the side of the Palestinians? What is the meaning of all this? Quite frankly, we hope that the Council will take all this into consideration, that it will take into consideration the language submitted to it in the draft resolution and the positions of the Members of the United Nations.”
2001-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357Resumption2 (2001) · source
“Is it not time for some moderation on the part of the Israelis? Is it not time for some honesty, introspection, some sort of respect for the international community, and some change from the previous positions, which will only lead us all to catastrophe? The Israeli position extends even to the draft resolution, which was tabled informally - it has not yet been formally tabled for the members of the Security Council. Illogical and irrational criticism was directed at its language. This informal draft contains language agreed to by the entire membership of the Security Council last March. In fact, some deletions were made in the language agreed upon. Some issues opposed by one member of the Security Council were deleted, of course. The purpose was to attempt to have that member change its position.”
2001-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357Resumption2 (2001) · source
“Again, the same logic is used to assume that calm could lead to the implementation of the recommendations, and not the fact that implementing the recommendations will help de-escalate the situation. This is the logic of someone who does not accept this report and who is not at all keen on implementing those recommendations. It must be said that with the same arrogance and disdain in addressing others, whatever their viewpoints may be, the Permanent Representative of Israel has referred to The New York Times today. Of course, The New York Times cannot be accused of supporting Palestinian positions. I do not know how he felt when he read the editorial in The New York Times and the front-page article on the Israeli checkpoints and how these checkpoints make the life of the entire Palestinian populations hellish.”
2001-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357Resumption2 (2001) · source
“The overwhelming majority support the establishment of a monitoring mechanism to help in the implementation of those recommendations. Regarding the situation on the ground, the majority was against the bombings that took place in Israel. This again is our position, as well. There was a majority against the oppressive measures taken by Israel against the Palestinian people, a majority against collective punishment and the closure of areas, against Israeli occupation of Orient House and other Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem, and a majority against extra-judiciary killings and all such measures. Most importantly, an overwhelming majority was against the Israeli occupation. Despite all this, the Permanent Representative of Israel tells us today that the Mitchell recommendations could be implemented if the violence stops.”
2001-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357Resumption2 (2001) · source
“Going back to the statements of the Permanent Representative of Israel, I will say that in his statement today, though his French language is far better than his English, the meanings are essentially not different from those of yesterday's statement. It seems that the Permanent Representative of Israel did not understand the interventions of more than 50 speakers, including the 15 members of the Security Council. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the overwhelming majority of the members of the Security Council, if not all of them, did support the idea that the Security Council must do something specific and tangible. The majority, if not all, supported the full implementation of the recommendations of the Mitchell report without any conditions.”
2001-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357Resumption2 (2001) · source
“Yesterday, the Permanent Representative of Israel talked about a report by the fact-finding mission on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and criticized it. I simply ask: is there a report unknown to everyone save the Permanent Representative of Israel, or is there a report that was distributed to some Member States and not to others? Probably the ladies and gentlemen in the Secretariat of the United Nations could enlighten us in this regard. What is the real status of the report to which the Permanent Representative of Israel made reference? And how could he have read that report if it was not a general document available to all Member States of the United Nations?”
2001-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357Resumption2 (2001) · source
“Mr. Al-Kidwa (Palestine) (spoke in Arabic): As usual, the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations has taken the lead in making statements that are so negative and self-contradictory that there is no option but to respond. In our opinion, the statement by the Permanent Representative of Israel yesterday was worse than what we are used to. It was so full of contradictions and, I would perhaps also say, lies - claiming that Israel's actions are in conformity with international law and that Orient House was used for terrorist purposes, et cetera - that we thought we would not respond to it. It was, in brief, a statement that was not worthy of response. Despite that and despite the statement made yesterday, something related to the integrity of the Secretariat of the United Nations caught my attention.”
2001-08-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357Resumption2 (2001) · source
“It is saddening that what is currently happening, and the prevailing situation threatening the region as a whole, come after the parties got close to reaching a final settlement and to achieving peace. In all cases, we believe that there is a solution to the conflict. It is a clear solution, and, more than that, it is achievable. But we need the assistance of the international community to achieve such a solution, and we hope that this will be the case. Towards that end, we hope that this time the Council will succeed in contributing to stopping the bloodshed. To start the path of return to negotiations and peace, we have proposed modest goals to be included in the draft resolution, because we want the Council to succeed, which is an extremely important matter to all parties. Let us work together to achieve this.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“As for the general political context, a matter that cannot be avoided, we once more declare our commitment to signed agreements and our commitment to negotiate on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), taking into consideration the developments in previous discussions between the two sides with the aim of reaching a final agreement on all issues, including Jerusalem, refugees and the borders. We call upon the Israeli side to declare the same commitment and to relinquish the attempts to circumvent the signed agreements and seek partial solutions instead of a final settlement. We, of course, also call upon all other concerned parties to affirm the same position.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“How can the cooling-off period be achieved without the joint implementation of the recommendations by the two sides? If such a cooling down can be achieved before the implementation, why should we need these recommendations to begin with? In short, we believe that this Israeli position is, at best, unrealistic and impractical and impedes the implementation of the recommendations. At worst, it is an expression of the rejection of the report and a means to bury it. This is the truth. We call for the immediate, comprehensive and scrupulous implementation of the recommendations contained in the report, and we call upon the parties, particularly those that have participated in its formulation, to adhere to it and to push in this direction.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“For its part, the Israeli Government has frequently expressed its animosity towards the Committee and its report. Mr. Sharon said before the report was issued that Israel's acceptance of the Committee's establishment was a strategic mistake. After the report was issued the Israeli Government said that it did not accept the recommendation regarding the cessation of settlement activity and did not accept the criticism in the report directed at the Israeli Army. Finally, the Israeli Government said that it accepted the report. Great, but in return, it invented the notion of the separate stages of the implementation of the report, then invented this seven-day cooling-off period that should precede implementation of the recommendations as a condition for such implementation.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“In our opinion, dealing with the situation on the ground in an effective and speedy manner should take place within a political context, because we believe that you cannot separate security or the actual situation on the ground from the political vision and the future that awaits the two sides. What we certainly believe is that dealing with the situation on the ground cannot be achieved by the illogical attempt to put the burden on the Palestinian side, as Israel and some parties are trying to do. For our part, we have clearly declared our acceptance of the report of the Mitchell Committee, and we have called for the comprehensive implementation of the recommendations of the report, which aim at restoring the situation to what it was before September 2000 and towards the resumption of the peace process.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“Tension and confrontation are there because Israeli occupying forces have expanded over Palestinian populated areas, constituting a state of unbearable pressure on our people, and have undertaken an unprecedented bloody military occupation, to which I have referred as well. One issue preoccupying the Palestinian side, which we do not approve of, is the bombings that have taken place in Israel. We do not condone such acts. We have clearly condemned them, as we have condemned all acts of violence against civilians. But in order to understand events correctly, this wave of explosions did not begin until much time had passed after the beginning of the bloody Israeli military campaign last September. How can this dangerous situation be brought to an end, and how can we return to the path of peace?”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“Another factor arises, which is the ongoing existence of occupation and its practices even after the start of the peace process and more than seven years after the signing of the Oslo agreement. Any attempt to ignore or circumvent this, in addition to being immoral, will only lead to failure in finding the necessary solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Middle East crisis. As for the current dangerous deterioration, it is basically an outcome of Israeli actions and measures, particularly the military ones to which I have referred. Tension and confrontation are not caused because the Palestinian side attempts to invade Israel and not because the Palestinian Authority tries, for example, to expand its control and regain Palestinian territory.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“In that connection, we would like to recall that international consensus and relevant Security Council resolutions affirm that all actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, aimed at changing the legal status and demographic composition of Jerusalem are illegal, null and void. After all this, Israel, the occupying Power, talks about Palestinian violence and denounces Palestinian acts of resistance. The origin of the whole conflict is the existence of the Israeli occupation and the practices of this occupation for 34 years, especially settler colonialism manifested in the confiscation of land and the illegal transfer of Israelis to the occupied territory and building settlements for them.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“Recently, Israel has taken yet another illegal step by raiding and closing down Orient House, which is the Palestinian political centre in occupied East Jerusalem. That closure is in addition to the closure of nine other buildings belonging to other Palestinian institutions. This step constitutes a dangerous escalation and an assault on Palestinian national dignity and rights in the Holy City. Furthermore, it also marks a reversal by force of an important part of the agreements reached between the two sides and is a flagrant violation of the explicit commitment made in a letter dated 11 October 1993 from the Foreign Minister of Israel to the Foreign Minister of Norway regarding Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“In general, the result of Israel's bloody military campaign and other measures, such as the withholding of Palestinian funds, has been the transformation of the lives of an entire people into a veritable hell and placing them, in essence, into a number of collective prisons. This is in addition to direct oppression, economic devastation and every sort of suffering to which the Palestinian people have been subjected. We have documented all of Israel's actions in 63 letters addressed to the President of the Security Council, the Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly - letters that constitute the dossier of Israel's crimes. We have done so in order to keep the Council and the representatives of the international community aware of the details of what has been taken place. All ofthis has not been enough for Israel.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“The occupying forces have also committed extrajudicial killings and assassinations against targeted persons by several means, including helicopter missiles and special covert units. On several occasions they have also invaded areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority, and Israeli tanks have recently entered and temporarily occupied an entire Palestinian city. In addition to all that there are the atrocities committed by gangs of illegal Israeli settlers against our people under the cover and protection of the occupying forces. The Israeli occupying forces have thus committed many atrocities against our people, some of which are without doubt war crimes under the clear definition set out in the Fourth Geneva Convention and its First Additional Protocol, as well as the Statute of the International Criminal Court.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“In addition, around 20,000 Palestinians have been injured -many of them have been left permanently disabled. The Israeli occupying forces have also caused extensive destruction to the economy and have razed vast agricultural areas and uprooted thousands of trees. In many instances they have also used heavy weapons- including tanks, helicopter gunships and even F-16 jets - to shell and destroy civilian houses and many sites belonging to the Palestinian Authority and other Palestinian institutions. They have also imposed internal and external blockades, which has led to the complete dismemberment of Palestinian territory and to a severe limitation of the movement of persons and goods between Palestinian territory and the outside world.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“Also yesterday, those forces murdered Ahmed Abu Arar, who was 14 years of age. They also killed another man in Nablus and injured one other while he tried to circumvent an Israeli checkpoint as he travelled back to his village near Nablus after purchasing school supplies for his children in that city. Checkpoints are intended to block the passage of an entire people. When someone tries to bypass those checkpoints he is murdered by the Israeli occupying forces. Is there anything more heinous than that? During this period, therefore, the Israeli occupying forces have killed 572 Palestinians, many of them children. That figure is in addition to the Palestinians who have been martyred through other means, but nonetheless as a result of the occupation.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“We hope that the Council will this time be able to fulfil its duties and adopt the necessary resolution to provide the positive impetus we all need. The unprecedented and bloody military campaign waged by Israel against our people began after Ariel Sharon's infamous visit to Al-Haram Al-Sharif, on 28 September 2000. That visit precipitated the collective rejection by our people of an act of aggression against our sacred sites. It was also a rejection by Palestinians of Israel's continuing occupation and practices, and it ignited the second intifada. Since then, Israeli occupying forces have killed 563 Palestinians, a figure that increased to 572 over the course of the weekend. Just yesterday, by shelling a house in Rafah, the occupation forces murdered Samir Abu Zaid, his seven-year old son Salman and his three-year old daughter Alaa.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“Irrespective of how it is formulated, such an attempt can only mean an effort to evade international law and legitimacy and to deal with matters in accordance with the de facto balance of power. The urgent reason why we have returned to the Council is, of course, the continuing deterioration of the situation to a very dangerous level and the fact that there is no other mechanism or organized sustained effort to halt that deterioration and change the situation. We even believe that the recent period has led to an undermining of the only available plan, which is embodied in the recommendations of the Sharm el-Sheikh fact-finding committee known as the Mitchell Committee. Accordingly, we did not have many options.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“Frankly, it seems to me that there is something fundamentally wrong that is affecting this international mechanism that was agreed upon in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations - an impact that also touches on the mechanism's credibility and effectiveness. We call upon the members of the Council to consider this issue as a matter of principle and to adhere to the Council's role in the maintenance of international peace and security at all times and in all places. We come back once again to the Council today because of our full adherence to the principle of the Council's responsibility - including, of course, its responsibility for the question of Palestine - and because of our rejection of any attempt to neutralize the Council in that regard.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“We sincerely believe that matters might have been different if the Council had been able to take specific measures, and that we would therefore be in a different situation today. In any case, it is difficult to believe, and impossible to justify, the fact that the Security Council has not succeeded in taking any measures since the adoption of resolution 1322 (2000) of 7 October 2000 on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem. This is in spite of the several attempts that have taken place in this regard and in spite of the support of many members of the Council for those efforts. This has taken place at a time when the Council is enthusiastically engaged in considering such issues as the prevention of armed conflict and the protection of civilians in armed conflict.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“Mr. Al-Kidwa (Palestine) (spoke in Arabic): I wish at the outset to congratulate you, Mr. President. We also wish to express our happiness at seeing you preside over the Council during this month, and we wish you every success. I also wish to thank the Permanent Representative of China for his successful presidency in the previous month. The Security Council is meeting today, five months after the vote on 27 March 2001 on the draft resolution submitted by the members of the Non- aligned Movement in the Council on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory. The draft resolution was not adopted due to the exercise of the veto by a permanent member of the Council. Since then, the situation has deteriorated dangerously into the current situation, of which members are all aware.”
2001-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4357 (2001) · source
“This actually undermines the credibility of the Council regarding the prevention of armed conflicts and the achievement of peaceful resolutions of such conflicts. We, for our part, look forward to a rectification of this anomaly.”
2001-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4334Resumption1 (2001) · source
“Thirdly, the failure of the Security Council to play any meaningful role during the past nine months regarding the ongoing events in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, in the face of the oppression and brutality inflicted upon the Palestinians, and the failure to provide international protection for the Palestinian people, indeed represent a challenge to the credibility of the Security Council and its ability to fulfil its duties in a firm and consistent manner that is free of double standards. The Security Council has, in fact, been prevented from fulfilling its obligations under the Charter, vis-a- vis the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem.”
2001-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4334Resumption1 (2001) · source
“It is unacceptable that the question of foreign occupation and what it represents in terms of violations of principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, as well as the threat that it poses to international peace and security that falls within the responsibility of the United Nations 7 particularly the Security Council - should be left to the wishes and policies of occupying authorities.”
2001-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4334Resumption1 (2001) · source
“Especially at this point in time, this lapse is unacceptable and difficult for us to understand, because the Israeli occupation and its illegitimate practices pose a threat to peace and security not only in the region, but also to the entire world. Secondly, this tendency in the reports, whether by commission or omission, reflects a serious disregard for the imperatives of international law and international humanitarian law, as well as the permanent responsibility of the United Nations towards the question of Palestine.”
2001-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4334Resumption1 (2001) · source
“First, we have noticed for some time now that the reports of the Secretary-General and the Secretariat regarding the various aspects of armed conflicts, including this report under discussion today as well as reports issued earlier on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts and other documents, have all avoided - for reasons that we do not fully understand - addressing foreign occupation as being one aspect of armed conflict. These reports have also avoided specific reference to the Israeli military occupation of the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, as well as other Arab territories occupied since 1967. Paragraph 77 of the report before us today refers to "Occupied Territories", but this is unclear, as if those territories belonged to the moon.”
2001-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4334Resumption1 (2001) · source
“In this context we welcome all efforts aimed at promoting the roles of the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and the International Court of Justice, as well as the role of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. I would like to make three specific remarks regarding the report of the Secretary-General, on the understanding that we shall make a more detailed statement before the General Assembly when it considers such report.”
2001-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4334Resumption1 (2001) · source
“The United Nations in general and the Security Council in particular have a clear responsibility in the maintenance of international peace and security. From our perspective, this requires the promotion of a global environment that is anchored in the principles of respect for the Charter of the United Nations, the norms of international law and the resolutions of the United Nations, and the end of what has become known as the "culture of reaction". This also requires the enhancement of the principle of peace, anchored in justice and fairness and the right of peoples to self- determination, especially those who continue to languish under foreign occupation.”
2001-06-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4334Resumption1 (2001) · source