YouSaid · the spoken record

Erdan

lines on the record: 378
first: 2021-07-28
most recent: 2023-12-29
sittings or episodes: 26
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

“But what is worse is that this institution has adopted the Palestinians’ dangerous, one-sided approach. The United Nations, its bodies and many Member States prefer to demonize Israel, blaming only one side for every aspect of the conflict. The biased Human Rights Council, for example, focuses absurdly disproportionate resources on condemning only Israel. Israel was even devoted a permanent item on the Human Rights Council’s agenda, ensuring that each of its sessions provides a chance to bash the Jewish State. The report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel (see A/77/328), which was presented in the Third Committee yesterday, is yet further proof of the anti-Israel prejudice and antisemitism of the Human Rights Council.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“Yet at the same time, they consistently refuse to sit down at the negotiating table with Israel and have rejected every peace plan placed before them, whether by Israel or by American Presidents, from both sides of the political aisle. Peace can be achieved only through direct negotiations and mutual — I repeat — mutual concessions. But that is a fact that the Palestinians refuse to accept. We all heard President Abbas when he spoke in the General Assembly last month, launching once again unilateral campaigns for full membership status or de facto statehood while bypassing the negotiating table. That is not the path to peace. It only makes matters worse. Nevertheless, this institution refuses to see those facts. The United Nations and its bodies prefer to stay tangled in the Palestinians’ web of lies.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“Just a couple of days ago, Palestinian Health Minister Mai Al-Kaila expressed her praise for and respect to the members of the Lion’s Den terror organization. But that should not come as a surprise. After all, their President, President Abbas — just like his predecessor Yasser Arafat — has made his opinions on terror and incitement very clear. From funding terrorists through his twisted pay-for-slay policy to frequently praising martyrs, the Palestinian culture of hate truly stems from the top. And when that incitement trickles down to the bottom, innocent Israelis are the ones who pay the ultimate price. The Palestinian leadership has spent many years repeating its baseless allegations here on the international stage.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“Rather than investing all of its resources into bettering the lives of its people, the Palestinian Authority prefers to foster a culture of hate and promote violence. Generations of refusals to merely recognize the right of a Jewish State to exist is what really prevents any progress, in addition to the fact that the Palestinians are divided and President Abbas does not even represent all of the Palestinian people and does not control Gaza. The Palestinian Authority may play the victim here at the Council. Yet on the streets of Nablus and Jenin, they praise terrorists. Just last week, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh visited the families of terrorists in Jenin, encouraging violence and furthering incitement.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“We are soon approaching the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations partition plan to create a Jewish State along alongside an Arab State — what my friend here called the Nakbah — a United Nations decision. That plan was rejected outright by the Palestinians, and since then their terror against Israelis has grown exponentially. I often ask myself if, here at the United Nations, we all remember the historic decision to establish a Jewish State and an Arab State. Do members of the Security Council remember who it was that accepted the plan and who rejected it and started a war? The extent and threat of Palestinian terrorism did not simply grow on its own. It is the direct result of decades of incitement and hate. That is the part that the Palestinian representative always forgets to mention.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“But Jews have been living in Judea and Samaria for thousands of years. One cannot colonize their own home. If what the Palestinian representative is saying about Israel is true, how can it be that Israel has signed six peace agreements with our regional neighbours? No — Israel is in the midst of a terror wave. Since the start of this year alone, there have been more than 4,000 Palestinian terror attacks perpetrated against Israelis. Car ramming, rock throwing, fire bombing, stabbings, shootings, rockets and many other acts of Palestinian violence have been become a fact of life for millions of Israelis. That reality of Palestinian terror has existed for decades, even well before Israel’s establishment.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“We just heard from the Palestinian representative. We all read his letters — all the hundreds of them. We heard President Abbas speak from the rostrum of the General Assembly just a month ago (see A/77/PV.10). The message is the same. It has not changed. It is a message of false victimhood, lies of oppression and fictions of aggression. Here at the United Nations, the Palestinians paint a picture that is completely detached from reality. Yet many in the international community choose to believe it. All anyone needs to do in order to see past the Palestinians’ falsehoods is to poke their heads outside the walls of this institution. All anyone needs to do is look at the facts on the ground. Today once again, we are hearing blatant lies. The Palestinian representative calls Israel a colonial State.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“They can either choose to condemn a murderous terror organization, or they can make false and immoral comparisons between Israel, a law-abiding democracy, and radical jihadists. If the Council truly wants to improve the situation in Gaza, there must be one outcome and one outcome only: it must condemn the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and hold those terrorists fully accountable for the murder of innocent Palestinians. Holding a Security Council debate on the Palestinian Islamic Jihad while not using the opportunity to fully condemn it for its war crimes will only encourage it to continue its destructive ways. Any outcome of today’s debate that does not place full accountability on the shoulders of that radical group will only make it stronger. I truly hope that the Council does the right thing.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“Actions speak much louder than words, and what Israel does for Gaza eclipses the lip service that the Palestinian Authority pays to it at these debates. Nevertheless, if Israel is threatened, we are forced to take action. Before I conclude, I would like to take this opportunity to thank President Al Sisi and the other senior Egyptian officials who were essential in restoring calm. We deeply appreciate their efforts to restore stability to our region. Israel acted only against the terrorists of Palestinian Islamic Jihad — not against the people of Gaza, or Hamas or the Palestinian Authority — only against PIJ. Sadly, this debate can only cause more harm than good. But rather than making a bad situation worse, there is one way to bring some good out of this debate. Today each and every member of the Council has a critical responsibility.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“That choice of terror and violence over coexistence and peace is the only reason Gaza finds itself in its current situation — there is no other explanation. And the only remedy for the Gazans is for their leaders stop trying to annihilate Israel and stop investing their resources in terror infrastructure. As we saw in the case of the Abraham Accords, there is no economic cure-all for Gaza — only the choice of coexistence over violence. And despite all of the rockets, threats and attacks, Israel still does everything in its power to make life better for Gazans — be it by increasing the number of work permits, allowing in a daily supply of hundreds of trucks full of goods, even in times of conflict, or supplying Gaza with electricity — we still choose goodwill over conflict.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“Hamas quickly took over the Strip, literally throwing the Palestinian Authority representatives off of rooftops — that is why they are no longer there — and it has since spent most of its efforts and resources on expanding its terror infrastructure in Gaza. It has built rocket factories next to hospitals and weapons storage sites inside schools and, as witnessed by many Council members in the past, it has dug cross- border terror tunnels underneath Jewish towns. Hamas also is currently holding two special-needs Israeli hostages in Gaza, Avera Mangistu and Hisham Al-Sayed, as well as the bodies of two Israeli soldiers, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, and we are committed to doing everything to bring them back home.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“I want to remind everyone of the Gaza Strip’s history and the events that led up to the current situation that Gaza is in. The Palestinians seem to think that, if a lie is repeated enough, it becomes truth — but that is not so. No amount of fabrications and libel can change the facts on the ground. Exactly 17 years ago today, Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip, dismantling dozens of Israeli villages and uprooting thousands of its own citizens. We hoped that step would build trust and bring calm. Yes despite our goodwill, we did not receive calm. On the contrary, we received more terror. The Palestinians chose Hamas and their terror ideologies over progress and prosperity.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“Just a week ago, a justified strike neutralized Al-Qaida’s leader, Ayman Al-Zawahiri. Before leading Al-Qaida, Al-Zawahiri was a top member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Does that sound familiar? Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Egyptian Islamic Jihad share more than just a similar name. They share the same values of annihilating the free and modern world in which we live. That is precisely why, when Al-Zawahiri’s was eliminated, this institution, as well as most of the world, gave its full sport. It brought us one step closer to eradicating radical terror from the world. Yet when Israel neutralizes such terrorists in order to prevent an imminent attack against its citizens, United Nations officials are suddenly deeply concerned. It is hard to explain such double standards. I want to make one more thing clear.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“Yes, as I mentioned earlier, not all of the rockets launched make it out of the Gaza Strip. In the process of trying to murder innocent Israelis, nearly 20 per cent of PIJ’s projectiles misfired and resulted in the tragic killing of Palestinians. These evil terrorists hide behind civilians to murder Israeli civilians and end up murdering Palestinian civilians along the way. Their hate knows no boundaries. I want the members of the Security Council to consider how they would react if terrorists were threatening their citizens. How would Norway react to radical Islamists plotting to fire missiles at civilians in Oslo? How would Ireland respond if jihadi rockets were raining down on Dublin in an effort to wipe out the infidels? I think we all know the answer.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“The Israeli air force’s mission to neutralize Khaled Mansour — a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander with a lot of Israeli blood on his hands — had even been aborted three times before it was carried out, owing to the presence of children in the area. Is there any other military in the entire world that goes to such lengths? PIJ has only one goal: to annihilate Israel and replace it with an Islamist State. Does that remind anyone here of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham or Al-Qaida? Of course it does. Those groups are no different — they share the same horrifying and distorted vision. The way they attempt to advance their twisted goal of destroying the State of Israel by firing rockets at Israeli civilians while using Gazans as human shields. That is a double war crime.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“That is why we carried out our operation with astounding accuracy and extreme precision, taking precautions hardly ever seen in areas of conflict around the world. This morning, I also shared footage showing how Israel does everything possible to minimize civilian casualties. Thanks to those extensive and documented precautions, Israel — and I want to stress this — has a lower collateral damage rate than any other military. Despite the absurd lies heard here today, our operation was aimed at targeting PIJ terrorists and nobody else. In fact, most of the casualties were the result of PIJ rocket fire.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“In fact, while the Palestinian Islamic Jihad was indiscriminately firing rockets at Israeli civilians, its leader, Ziyad Al-Nakhalah, was meeting with his Ayatollah-puppet masters in Tehran and receiving orders from them — we can all see the photos. Using proxies to further its ambition of establishing a radical Shiite hegemony is Iran’s modus operandi. Over the course of two and a half days, Palestinian Islamic Jihad rained about 1,100 missiles down on Israeli towns and cities. To prevent that fanatical organization from targeting Israelis, we were forced to carry out precision and surgical strikes against its commanders, as well as its operatives’ launch pads and terror infrastructure. Israel is a law-abiding democracy and always aims to set an example.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“That is the reason, as even the Secretary-General pointed out, that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad deploys its rockets and terror infrastructure among civilian populations. The PIJ was preparing and attempting an imminent and credible attack on Israeli civilians near the Gaza border, forcing Israel to close down roads and civilian activity in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip, essentially paralysing tens of thousands of Israeli citizens for three days. On Friday, shortly before the terrorist attack, Israel had to defend itself. We took action solely to protect our civilians and defend our country. Any other claim is a flat-out lie. For those who are still not familiar with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, allow me to provide some background. The latter is a radical terror organization armed, funded and trained by Iran.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“Just this morning I shared proof at a media stakeout clearly showing a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket falling in Jabalia refugee camp, killing Palestinian civilians, among them children. We have video footage, radar evidence and mission logs proving that the tragic deaths of the children in Jabalia were clearly the result of an Islamic Jihad rocket. Yet no matter how much hard evidence Israel has to show, the Palestinians always fall back on their lies. It is disgraceful and pathetic. If any Council member is interested in receiving and reviewing our irrefutable evidence, I will happily share it with them myself. I will sadly share it with them myself. The enemy that Israel is facing is one that is willing to murder its own children while attempting to murder Israeli civilians and children.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“The debate that we are holding today has the opportunity to go in one of two directions. It can either mark a clear win for the international community against the forces that seek our collective destruction, or it can be a stain on the history of the Council. This debate must focus on the facts. A terror organization attempted to murder Israeli civilians, murdering innocent Palestinian civilians along the way, and because of the terrorists’ clear and present threat to our citizens, Israel defended itself. There is no room for false narratives. The facts are clear. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) deliberately fired 1,100 rockets at Israeli civilians, of which roughly 200 landed inside the Gaza Strip, killing innocent Palestinians, among them young children. That is not an estimate. It is the hard truth, and Israel has full proof.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“By repeating the same argument while ignoring the groundbreaking progress, the only thing we accomplish is the tarnishing of this debate’s credibility and the perpetuity of the conflict. I truly hope that our subsequent debates come to reflect a safe and prospering Middle East — one devoid of radical terror, teeming with cooperation and driven by coexistence. That is the future we all want and deserve.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“I can no longer count how many times I notified the Council, whether in writing or in person, that Hizbullah will wreak havoc on Lebanon. Yet the Council’s silence is deafening. The time has come for the Council to take action, not only against Iran and its nuclear programme but also against its proxies. Hizbullah must no longer get a free pass, just as Lebanon must not get a free pass. Action against those sowing discord and destroying peace must be taken now. If we wish to bring stability and prosperity to our region, which has seen perpetual conflict for the past century, then the time has come to rethink our ways. The time has come to put away our microscopes and our magnifying glasses. The time has come to remove the blinders from our eyes.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“We should make no mistake: all Hizbullah’s attempts to destabilize negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are with Iran’s permission and blessing. While the Iranians go to great lengths to clean up the evidence of their involvement in global terror, every member of the Security Council knows exactly who is responsible. Nevertheless, here we are, moving from one biased anti-Israel report to the next, focusing on inaccurate supposed building-violation conflicts, with zero influence on the bigger picture. Just two weeks ago, Hizbullah launched three drones at the Karish gas field in Israel’s economic borders. Such brazen acts will not be accepted by Israel, and we hold Lebanon, as a sovereign State, responsible for Hizbullah’s military expansion and attacks.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“If only the Iranian people were given the care and attention that their leaders give to Hizbullah, Hamas and the Houthis, then maybe the people of Isfahan would have water to drink. Last week, we commemorated two deadly Iranian- sponsored terror attacks — the horrific 1994 attack in Buenos Aires, which killed 80 people and injured hundreds, and the 2012 attack in Bulgaria, which killed five Israelis. But Iranian terror is not a thing of the past. Over the past couple of weeks, armed Iranian hit squads were caught in Istanbul moments before murdering innocent Israelis. Meanwhile, Hizbullah, Iran’s terror army in Lebanon, is doing everything in its power to destabilize the already fragile country. Productive advances between Israel and Lebanon are under way. Yet Hizbullah is taking every possible step to torpedo any potential progress.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“Now they are a plague, especially for the world of Islam.” Those are not just words. That is pure anti-Semitism. That is a blatant call to commit terror against Jews and Israel. The diplomatic route was tested with Iran time and again. It has failed. Now the Security Council must take action or, at the very least, it must use these debates to start addressing the Iranian nuclear Shia elephant in the room. As the centrifuges spin and Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium grow, the Ayatollah’s terror proxies continue to spread chaos and destruction throughout the region. After all, Iran takes its role as the world’s number one State sponsor of terror very seriously.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“Kharrazi’s statement, coupled with the Supreme Leader’s poisonous vitriol, presents a clear threat not just to Israel, but to the entire region. Here are some of Ayatollah Khamenei’s recent tweets. I would love to hear what participants think of them and what they mean for the future of the Middle East. “The plague of Zionism should be exposed, in any way you can. These Arab and non-Arab States that shook hands, kissed and held meetings with the Zionists will not benefit from what they did at all, not at all. This will only be to their loss.” “Today, Zionism is an obvious plague for the world of Islam. The Zionists have always been a plague, even before establishing the fraudulent Zionist regime. Even then, Zionist capitalists were a plague for the whole world.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“Is stopping a radical regime from acquiring nuclear weapons not high on the Security Council’s priority list? What are we waiting for? Mere days ago, the IAEA’s Director General, Mr. Grossi, warned of Iran’s galloping advances, while leaving his Agency in the dark. That may lead to an immense and pressing threat to global security. But we could also hear that directly from the Iranians themselves. Kamal Kharrazi, Ayatollah Khamenei’s foreign policy adviser, openly stated that Iran was now capable of building a nuclear bomb. A fanatical regime, which blatantly calls for Israel’s annihilation, claims to have the capabilities to build a nuclear weapon, and we are sitting here using a magnifying glass to identify minor conflicts in every village in Judea and Samaria.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“While the good of our peoples was the driving factor behind that deep people-to-people peace, there was also another factor at play that is hardly ever discussed here — the nuclearization process of the radical and dangerous Iranian regime. Iran’s dangerous nuclear ambitions and its axis of terror proxies pushed the moderate Powers of the region together. The peace that we have built is also a by-product of the international community’s inaction. As we sit here, hearing the same grievance every month, the writing on the wall has never been clearer. From the forced removal of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) oversight to the expanded enrichment of uranium to almost weapons- grade level, those are not the actions of a country with innocent intentions.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“The Palestinians can also benefit from all those gains and collaborative projects if they only put the well-being of their people ahead of breeding hatred and incitement against us. Our new peace accords have also reinvigorated far-reaching projects with our old partners, Egypt and Jordan, and those projects are changing the face of the Middle East and beyond. The momentum that that peace has ignited is pushing us to even higher peaks. Following President Biden’s visit to Jerusalem and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia opened its airspace to Israeli airlines. That is a crucial step, and we thank the American Administration and President Biden for helping to facilitate it. Israel looks forward to further developments with Saudi Arabia.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“The Negev Forum, held in Israel with Secretary Blinken and four Arab foreign ministers, is a symbol of our shared commitment to future cooperation. It is a taste of what can be achieved when we work together to overcome shared challenges. When I mentioned that the peace can be felt far beyond the region, I truly meant it. We should take, for example, the recent I2U2 Virtual Summit. The leaders of Israel, India, the United Arab Emirates and the United States held a meeting discussing how to work together to tackle the greatest global challenges, from combating water scarcity and food insecurity to new initiatives regarding energy, health care, transportation and space exploration.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“Not only does President Abbas himself praise and finance terror attacks; he incites them, and members of his party even commit them. The time has come for the Security Council to address the rampant culture of hate that the Palestinian Authority has been cultivating for decades. Security Council members should look at what can happen when the path of collaboration and coexistence is chosen. The fruits of our new regional architecture are being enjoyed across the Middle East and far beyond. With the help of the recent free trade agreement, in the first six months of 2022, trade between Israel and the United Arab Emirates surpassed $1 billion. Last week, the Israeli military chief of staff travelled to Morocco in order to build and cement growing defence ties between our nations.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“Just two weeks ago, during President Biden’s violence visit to the region, the evolution of a big part of the Middle East from conflict to coexistence was openly displayed for the world to see. Without baseless condemnations, repetitive debates or poisonous libel, countries of the region chose peace and, as a result, received progress. That is what happens when one chooses the future of one’s people over conflict — a concept that the Palestinians, who still sadly hate us Israelis more than they love their own children, have yet to adopt. During President Biden’s visit, President Abbas lied again when he announced that the Palestinian Authority was committed to renouncing violence. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“Hamas is undoubtedly one of the most critical barriers to any advancement between Israelis and Palestinians, but it seems from the United Nations reports that the murderous terror group does not even exist. If each debate feels exactly like the last, and no progress has been made, perhaps the time has come to revise the approach. Rather than focusing on the minutia of the conflict, it is time to put the Security Council’s microscope away and look at the bigger pictures. If we are interested in moving forward towards a better future, the starting point should be analysing best practices, and we do not need to look far to find success stories of regional peace.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“The Council is so quick to issue statements regarding events that happen in the Palestinian territories. Where is the statement condemning Hamas for Hisham’s kidnapping and torture? When Hisham’s father, Shaaban, heard that I would bring his son’s plight before the Council today, he asked me to share his heartfelt message. Here is a very short video of what he begged me to say. A video recording was shown in the Chamber. Here is the father of a son with special needs, who is begging the Security Council and its members to take action. Hamas is using his boy as a sick bargaining chip, and the world remains silent. I hope that we all internalized his words.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“What about Hamas, the radical terror organization that rules over Gaza with an iron fist? It targets Israeli civilians with its rockets while using its own civilians as human shields. Everyone here knows that the reason there have been no elections in the Palestinian territories for 17 years is out of fear that Hamas’s influence and power will only grow. That is a huge obstacle to peace. Today Israel does not even have a possible partner for negotiations, because President Abbas does not represent all of Palestinian society. And nevertheless, despite the heinous actions of Hamas, the Council remains silent. That sadistic terror organization took Hisham Al-Sayed hostage — a Muslim Israeli suffering from mental health issues — and after seven years of silence, recently released a video of a dazed Hisham breathing through a ventilator.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“The members of the Council are all aware that the Palestinians’ absurd prerequisite to negotiations is that Israel has to accept all of their radical demands before even sitting down at the table. Is such rejectionism not a topic that should be discussed in these debates? Why does the Council allow it to be forgotten? What about the endless incitement to terror coming from the highest offices of the Palestinian Authority, which is poisoning the minds of an entire generation? Is that colossal barrier to peace not worthy of discussion? Every year, President Abbas pays hundreds of millions of dollars to terrorists as part of the Palestinians pay-for-slay policy. Sickeningly, those payments use a sliding scale. The more horrific the terror attack, the greater the reward. Does that twisted practice not warrant a discussion here?”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“Let us start by taking a look at some of the primary challenges. Despite what has been presented here today, as always, the main obstacle to peace was not and is not the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria. After all, the Palestinians refused to live with us in peace even before 1967. It is a fact that no progress was made even when Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip — indeed, the opposite happened. It is a fact that no progress was made even when peace plans that were presented and supported by several Israeli Prime Ministers and American Presidents — and that included far-reaching Israeli concessions — were all rejected by the Palestinians, one after another.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“When we discuss the Palestinian question, the debates do not focus on productive ways forward, collaborative progress or building a bottom-up peace, all of which are entirely possible. Instead, we dedicate our time and resources to biased reports, often condemning the decisions of Israeli courts or discussing trivial local conflicts between Palestinians and Israelis. We take a century-old conflict and put it under a supermicroscope to analyse its most useless and insignificant aspects, rather than looking at the bigger picture and seeking real solutions to our real problems. Sadly, nothing noteworthy has been achieved as a result of these debates — nothing, for decades. How can it be that the Council cannot see the true barriers to peace? The current approach is broken and now is the time to work together to fix it.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“I am now nearing my two- year benchmark as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, and I have to admit that I am feeling deeply frustrated. The main reason is that these debates on the situation in the Middle East and the Palestinian question are supposed to be dedicated to two primary topics, the Middle East and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Yet at every one of these meetings, the most dangerous threat to the region is hardly discussed, while the true obstacles to solving the conflict are never addressed. When it comes to the situation in the Middle East, everyone knows that the biggest threat to the region is the nuclearization of the radical Ayatollah regime in Iran, as well as its funding of terror and hegemonic ambitions — threats that are almost never discussed here.”
2022-07-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9099 (2022) · source
“Israel agrees that everyone in this Chamber has a duty to protect children in times of peace and in times of war. We commend the efforts of Special Representative Gamba de Potgieter and her team to protect children across the globe. However, we must be careful never to draw conclusions based on numbers alone. Those who are fully responsible for civilian casualties must be held fully accountable. The Security Council must place the full blame where it belongs — on the shoulders of Hamas, on the shoulders of Hizbullah and on the shoulders of radical Islam. There has been enough playing into the hands of terrorists. The lives of children are too precious for that.”
2022-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9096Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Horrifyingly for them, a win is when they can drive up the body count of civilians and then brazenly campaign, primarily here at the United Nations and in the media, to convince the world to blame Israel — all in order to cripple Israel’s right of self-defence. Sadly, this report (S/2022/493) adds fuel to the terrorist fire by counting civilian casualties almost completely divorced from their context. Israel, a law- abiding, democratic State, does everything in its power to protect all civilians. Yet terror groups, which openly violate international law, purposely drive up civilian casualty rates, including among their own children, all while pointing the finger of blame at Israel. Any comparison between murderous terror groups and a democratic State committed to the rule of law has no place in the Security Council or anywhere else.”
2022-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9096Resumption1 (2022) · source
“The Palestinian leadership continues to espouse hate in both textbooks and across social media. From glorifying terrorists to inciting violence against Jews, the minds of young Palestinians are being poisoned. With all of that being said, I will now make one thing abundantly clear: this phenomenon is not a one-off event. Using children as human shields and recruiting them as terrorists and fighters is a central part of the Palestinian terror and radical Islam’s modus operandi. Hamas, Hizbullah and other groups like them want to drive up Palestinian and Lebanese casualties. Do participants know why? It is in order to delegitimize Israel’s basic right to defend itself from their terror. For those terrorists, children are simply another tool to be disposed of in their mission to annihilate Israel.”
2022-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9096Resumption1 (2022) · source
“While Hamas fires rockets at Israeli schools, it uses Gazan schools as rocket launchpads and cover for terror tunnels. They use their own children as human shields. Targeting kindergartens, playgrounds and private homes is a war crime. Doing so while hiding behind civilians is a double war crime. This cannot be tolerated. Beyond purposely using Palestinian and Lebanese civilians as human shields, these terrorists also deliberately and actively recruit and train minors to commit heinous terrorist attacks. My children, along with the children of many others in this Chamber, are now at summer camp. Yet while our children are playing sports, Hamas is teaching children in Gaza how to assemble assault rifles. But for Palestinian children, summertime is not the only time that they are taught to commit jihad.”
2022-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9096Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Whether it is Iran’s terror proxy Hizbullah to our north, Hamas to our south or Palestinian incitement and terrorism from Judea and Samaria, what they share is the relentless drive to violently murder Israelis. Israeli children are the targets of Palestinian terror. They are struck with rocks and firebombs while on car rides or on hikes. They are maimed by rockets while running to nearby shelters. They are hit by machine gun fire while walking down the street. Israeli children are not just legitimate targets of Palestinian terror; they are primary targets. But it goes deeper than that. Israel uses missile-defence systems to protect our children, yet those who seek our destruction use their children to protect their missiles.”
2022-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9096Resumption1 (2022) · source
“I thank you, Mr. President, for convening today’s important annual meeting. Of course, I thank the Special Representative Gamba de Potgieter for her briefing, as well as the other briefers for their remarks. Keeping civilians safe, starting first and foremost with our children, in both peacetime and war, is a matter of utmost importance. The protection of life — even more so, the protection of a child’s life — is a fundamental aspect of Israel’s ethos. Child-protection and prevention policies are one of the most integral parts of our soldiers’ training, and this training is translated into practice on the battlefield, at times when Israel is forced to defend its citizens, including children, against those who seek our destruction. One of the central challenges faced by Israel is combating terror.”
2022-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9096Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Strategic communications contribute to that close cooperation by increasing transparency and de-escalating tensions; they cannot merely remain a catchphrase. They require a proactive approach. Spreading accurate information must go hand in hand with countering disinformation. And when it comes to UNIFIL, the only obstacle to achieving strong strategic communications is Hizbullah’s continued presence and activity. Israel calls on the Council and the international community to redouble their efforts in combating the terror threat from Hizbullah and other terrorist groups that undermine international peace and security. In that regard, we highlight the importance of today’s open debate and the special role of strategic communications in achieving that objective.”
2022-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9090Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Furthermore, blatantly diverging from the UNIFIL mandate, Hizbullah promotes the false narrative that UNIFIL patrols must always be accompanied by the Lebanese Armed Forces — all in order to distort and obstruct the Force’s mandate. Hizbullah’s actions constitute blatant violations of resolutions 1701 (2006) and 1559 (2004). It is no secret that Hizbullah is the cause of Lebanon’s political, economic and security crisis. The least that can be done is to give UNIFIL the backing it needs to fulfil its mandate, and to demand accountability from Lebanon as well. Israel calls on the international community and the Security Council to strongly and unequivocally condemn Hizbullah’s unjustified and illegal actions in Lebanon. Israel supports the crucial role of peacekeeping and maintains close cooperation with its relevant peacekeeping missions.”
2022-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9090Resumption1 (2022) · source
“When that weapon of lies is implemented, it is no wonder that UNIFIL is subject to increased attacks and is unable to effectively fulfil its mandate. In fact, over the past 16 years following the adoption of resolution 1701 (2006), UNIFIL has been unable to prevent a significant expansion of Hizbullah’s presence, or the 10-fold — I repeat, 10-fold — multiplication of its rocket arsenal, from 10,000 to 150,000 — that is more than 10-fold, in fact. Because of Hizbullah, UNIFIL’s hands are tied behind its back. Following the explosion in the port of Beirut, and despite its own role in that atrocity, Hizbullah baselessly blamed UNIFIL’s naval forces for the destruction, in an attempt to damage the Force’s reputation.”
2022-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9090Resumption1 (2022) · source
“The current reality on the ground, which is well documented in multiple United Nations reports, reflects a dire situation in which UNIFIL’s freedom of movement is excessively restricted. Its mandate is not being fully implemented, and the safety and security of its peacekeepers are threatened daily. But Hizbullah’s actions against UNIFIL go far beyond the restriction of movement and blatant attacks. Hizbullah has undermined UNIFIL’s ability to utilize strategic communications by launching a war of disinformation against the Force’s objectives and mandate. By propagating false accusations and questioning UNIFIL’s impartiality, Hizbullah tarnishes the Force’s reputation and turns the local population against the very body that has been mandated to keep it safe.”
2022-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9090Resumption1 (2022) · source
“As we know, strategic communications are one of the most critical aspects of peacekeeping missions in the implementation of their mandates, especially during times of crisis. Strategic communications are important for the protection of civilians, the de-escalation of conflict and the safety and security of the peacekeepers themselves. They enhance trust among the peacekeeping force, the relevant States and the local community. However, in order for communications to be truly effective, they must address misinformation and disinformation and publicly point out the root causes of the issues that disrupt missions’ mandates. When it comes to UNIFIL, one such root cause is Hizbullah’s continued presence and malign activity in that peacekeeping Force’s very area of operations.”
2022-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9090Resumption1 (2022) · source