YouSaid · the spoken record

Gillerman

lines on the record: 555
first: 2003-02-20
most recent: 2008-07-22
sittings or episodes: 44
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

“Was it galvanized to act after the horrific suicide bombings which killed 22 and injured 135 on a crowded bus in downtown Jerusalem, filled with orthodox Jewish families and children and babies returning from prayers at the Western Wall? Was it galvanized to act this past Tuesday when two suicide bombings, at a cafe in Jerusalem and a bus stop in Central Israel, killed a total of 15 and injured more than 70 Israelis, just hours apart? The Council may have already heard that these latest attacks were perpetrated by terrorists recently released by Israel as part of a goodwill gesture towards the Palestinian leadership. They are further evidence that every gesture made by Israel and every risk taken for the sake of peace has been answered with criminal action and inaction on the part of the Palestinian leadership under Mr. Arafat's control.”
2003-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4824 (2003) · source
“The decision of the Israeli cabinet last Thursday merely states the obvious, namely, that Mr. Arafat is an obstacle to peace. This realization was a driving force in the call for reform in the context of the road map, and it is even more relevant today as the prospects for restarting the peace process risk being doomed to failure. In other instances, members of the international community have recognized that certain leaders are so destructive to the rights of their own people and to the security and stability of their region, that their legitimacy must be questioned. Mr. Arafat is no exception. How many more children have to die? How many more concerted peace efforts need to be scuttled before the world is willing to denounce Mr. Arafat's role in a clear voice? And yet, when is the Security Council galvanized into action?”
2003-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4824 (2003) · source
“Abbas from the beginning of his tenure to the very end, until Mr. Abbas was compelled to resign and admit publicly that Mr. Arafat had not given him the authority to fulfil the obligations that the Palestinians had taken upon themselves. He has continued to encourage acts of terrorism and violence, and kept renegade terrorist groups like the Tanzim under his direct control, so that at any given moment he could scuttle efforts to renew dialogue by directing the murder of innocent civilians. He has worked to prevent efforts made to introduce transparency and accountability in Palestinian Authority's finances, so that money can continue to be funnelled into his private accounts. He has signed peace agreements with one hand, and signed checks to terrorists and suicide bombers with the other.”
2003-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4824 (2003) · source
“Arafat has played a wholly destructive role at every step of the way. He has actively sought to prevent the Palestinian Prime Minister from fulfilling the Palestinian obligations under the road map. He has sabotaged attempts to establish and new and different leadership in the Palestinian Authority, which stood at the basis of President Bush's vision. He has refused to allow the consolidation of security forces under the control of an empowered minister for internal security, so that finally, responsible Palestinians can act to completely dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, as they are morally and legally obligated to do. After voicing his active objection to the appointment of Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, Mr. Arafat pressured members of the Palestinian legislative council to narrow Mr. Abbas' control. He has acted to undermine Mr.”
2003-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4824 (2003) · source
“Arafat as a legitimate leader committed to the welfare of his people and peaceful relations with his neighbours. The ruin that Mr. Arafat has left behind in Jordan, Lebanon, and the West Bank testify to the fact that he has brought nothing but despair and devastation to his own peoples and to other peoples in the region. He is his own people's devil of death and their greatest tragedy. One need not rely on Israeli declarations to come to this conclusion. Courageous members of Palestinian society and responsible Palestinian and world leaders have themselves admitted that Mr. Arafat's cruel, authoritarian and corrupt rule is designed to perpetuate his own power - not to benefit his people. Since efforts have been underway to restart the peace process through the road map, Mr.”
2003-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4824 (2003) · source
“He is amongst a select group of terrorist entrepreneurs who have brought airplane hijackings, massacres of Olympic athletes, the killing of children sleeping in the shelter of their own beds, and suicide terrorism, to a region that yearns for peace and stability. And he is at the helm of those who have been supporting mega-terror attacks, in the style of the bombing of the Twin Towers, to bring the region to the brink of catastrophe. Today such immoral tactics, stamped with Mr. Arafat's label of origin, are callously and indiscriminately exported beyond our region. Global, indiscriminate terrorism is made by Arafat, and was invented by Arafat. Knowing all this, for how long will there be states among us who are willing to continue the Charade of touting Mr.”
2003-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4824 (2003) · source
“By allowing only one voice while nurturing a myriad of competing security and terrorist organizations, he has succeeded in perpetuating his own corrupt rule at the expense of the welfare of Palestinian civilians. Events of recent days have proven again that Mr. Arafat is determined to prevent any process of genuine reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. I dare say, there is hardly a diplomat in this room who would not admit privately that Mr. Arafat represents a significant obstacle to the peace process. He has shunned every outstretched hand, while placating the international community with pathetic rhetoric that has been belied almost daily by his actions. The result has been paid in the blood of Israelis and Palestinians.”
2003-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4824 (2003) · source
“The brazen refusal of the Palestinian leadership to fulfil its obligations to dismantle terrorist organizations, and join the global campaign against terrorism has exacted a heavy toll on Palestinian society. By allowing terrorists to set-up shop in the heart of Palestinian civilian areas, in grave violation of international humanitarian law, Mr. Arafat has seriously endangered the lives of innocent Palestinian civilians. By stifling dissent, preventing the emergence of democratic institutions and violating the human rights of Palestinians, including the Palestinian Christian community, he has set back the development of a vibrant and responsible Palestinian society.”
2003-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4824 (2003) · source
“Since September 2000, 869 Israeli citizens have been killed, and nearly 6,000 have been wounded, in homicide bombings and terrorist attacks that deliberately targeted the innocent. There is hardly a single Israeli citizen today who has not been affected, directly or indirectly, by Palestinian terrorism. The equivalent number of casualties in a country with a population of that of the United Kingdom would be 84,609 citizens. That figure may give us all some pause in comprehending the devastating impact that the Palestinian leadership's refusal to confront the terrorists in its midst has had on the people of the region. Tragically, Mr. Arafat's rule has brought considerable pain and havoc to Palestinian society as well.”
2003-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4824 (2003) · source
“His continuing rejection of Israel's right to exist, his denial of the ancient ties of the Jewish people to its homeland and his support of terrorists and their tactics have brought untold suffering to the region and denied the promise of peace and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians alike. He has sought to turn a political and resolvable conflict into a seemingly intractable religious and cross-cultural struggle. Among the litany of deliberately missed opportunities, the Palestinian leadership, under Mr. Arafat's control, rejected at Camp David the opportunity for the establishment of a Palestinian State side by side with Israel, in favour of the path of terrorism that he, as one of its masterminds, has never really abandoned.”
2003-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4824 (2003) · source
“Arafat entered Palestinian Authority territory to implement his obligations under signed agreements. Unfortunately, as we have all known for some time, Mr. Arafat lied. Israel, like other members of the international community, has come to that conclusion reluctantly and painfully. More than any other State, we invested a great deal in Mr. Arafat's word and were willing, against our better judgement, to heed calls from other States to forgo or forgive Mr. Arafat's failures, even at the earliest stages of the peace process. As much as we had all hoped for the opposite result, it is abundantly clear that the person with the standing to deliver a fair and genuine peace on the Palestinian side has done the most to bury its chances. We cannot ignore the facts.”
2003-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4824 (2003) · source
“I should like at the outset to congratulate you, Sir, on you assumption of the presidency of the Council for the month of September. Let me also wish you well in assuming the representation of your great country. Two days ago, on 13 September, we commemorated the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Principles on the White House lawn. That was a time of hope for the people of the region and of the world that the leadership on both sides was committed to a peaceful and negotiated resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At that time, and despite well-founded reservations, Israel was willing to believe that Yasser Arafat had abandoned the path of terrorism and embarked on the road to true reconciliation and mutual recognition. It was on the basis of that commitment that Mr.”
2003-09-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4824 (2003) · source
“Terrorism not only destroys those who practice it, but ultimately ravages the innocents in society. Poverty does not breed terror; it is terror that breeds poverty and instability. But with the eradication of this threat, we can open the darkest corners of the world to the hope of a better future. Freed from the shackles of terrorism and dictatorial rule, any society can prosper and live in peace with its neighbours. It is our hope that, when the international community makes a determined commitment to end violence and hateful incitement and to fight terrorism wherever it breeds, we will be able to realize that dream.”
2003-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4792 (2003) · source
“Implementing initiatives to halt the illicit transfer and proliferation of these weapons and setting standards for their import and export will provide safeguards to ensure that no weapon of any magnitude can be supplied to clients who in turn may transfer them to terrorists. On several occasions, Israel has expressed its growing concern that such transactions could generate an enormous humanitarian problem and could have an unspeakable impact upon all levels of society. For Israel, it is self-evident that the international fight against terrorism must begin at home: it can succeed only if every individual State makes a sincere commitment to prevent terrorists from obtaining weapons of mass destruction, MANPADs and other arms. That is vital to international security and vital to our future.”
2003-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4792 (2003) · source
“Subsequent warnings of planned attacks involving shoulder-launched surface- to-air missiles capable of destroying civilian aircraft at low altitudes underscore the necessity of States to take urgent action to curb the proliferation of those weapons and the access of terrorist groups to them. As the CTC reviews its work during the past three months and consolidates its agenda for the near future, Israel strongly suggests redoubling efforts to combat the threat of MANPADs - both strengthening countermeasures and reducing the danger of proliferation. Our international security is similarly hinged on the threat of weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of terrorists. That horrific nightmare is perhaps more imaginable today than it has ever been.”
2003-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4792 (2003) · source
“If we only go after the terrorists and their supporters and do not address the structures and foundations of evil, then we will never achieve true peace and coexistence. The challenge of combating terrorism is especially great because terrorists are cunning in their ability to develop innovative new techniques and to exploit technologies to achieve their aims. One such new threat should be of alarming concern to anyone who flies in a commercial airliner. The dire threat posed by man-portable air defence systems - also known as MANPADs - also requires intensive cooperation and coordination of the international counter-terrorism community. On 13 December 2002, Security Council resolution 1450 (2002) condemned, in the strongest terms, the terrorist bomb attack on Arkia Israeli Airlines in Kenya.”
2003-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4792 (2003) · source
“If the education of our future generations is left in irresponsible hands, we may sow the seeds of destruction as we wage war against terrorism in other realms. If incitement is not eliminated, it will be impossible to move away from terror and violence to the path of dialogue and the building of a better future. Disentangled from that web of hate, the terrorists themselves must be stopped and brought to justice. In the Talmud, Rav Muna said, "Where justice is done, truth is done and peace is made. Every place there is justice, there is peace." With the strong arm of the international community, the terrorists must be disarmed. And, with the unwavering strength of moral clarity, the terrorists and their supporters must be named and shamed. We will see no end to terror unless we go after the terrorists.”
2003-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4792 (2003) · source
“It is untenable that certain countries should continue to enjoy the fruits of international legitimacy while they actively pursue policies designed to undermine peace and stability. As we have stated before, we also believe that a greater effort should be made by the counter-terrorism community in combating the education infrastructure that breeds incitement to hatred and violence. We must ensure that information in the media and in educational, religious and political institutions is used to promote progress and tolerance, knowledge and understanding, and not as a tool to subvert them. No baby is born wanting to be a suicide bomber. Terrorism is not instantaneous or accidental; it is nurtured over time.”
2003-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4792 (2003) · source
“President, Israel welcomes your efforts as Chairman to transition the CTC into an operative mode in order to better combat this threat, and we are prepared to expand our existing bilateral and multilateral activities to strengthen both political will and practical capabilities on the ground to that end. Terrorism subsists in a webbed infrastructure of evil, and it is time that we untangled that encroaching web. The international community must step up its efforts to prevent terrorist attacks with an eye towards immediate stability and peace-building in the long term. In the short term, we must act to close formal and informal funding channels, put a stop to money- laundering and drugs, and prevent access to illegal weapons, as well as delegitimizing those regimes that provide safe havens for terrorists.”
2003-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4792 (2003) · source
“A promise to temporarily halt such brutal attacks is not a concession to be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations. Terrorism is always illegitimate and we cannot lend legitimacy to these repugnant tactics or give these organizations an opportunity to regroup under the protective cover of hollow words. Ceasefires are not and can never be a substitute for dismantling the terrorist infrastructure in accordance with international obligations. But time is not abundant as we face this imminent threat. The prominent Jewish-American comedian Milton Berle once said, "A committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours." We must not become such a committee. We must serve as a springboard for action. As we debate, innocent lives are at stake. Mr.”
2003-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4792 (2003) · source
“States have not only the right, but also the duty to protect their citizens against the threat of terror. We have no greater responsibility. Our renewed vigour in the wake of 11 September and strategic changes in the international landscape have created an opportunity to pursue peace, democratization and the complete elimination of terrorism. That opportunity must not be missed. In the Middle East, a part of the world where terrorism has had devastating effects, there is a real chance for marked improvements in the international security situation, but we must be rigorous and we must be uncompromising in our war to eliminate the terror weapon. There can be no genuine ceasefire among organizations committed to the murder of innocents in the pursuit of a fundamentalist agenda.”
2003-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4792 (2003) · source
“Anything less than total cooperation by all States in international efforts to counter terror is unacceptable. Zero tolerance for terror is the only moral option. The weakest link in our fight against terrorism are those regimes which are able but unwilling to take the necessary actions to put an end to the terrorist activity on their own soil - the regimes that turn a blind eye to the continuation of arms trafficking, financing and recruitment to further their own agenda. Regimes cannot publicly endorse peace while privately condoning terror. We must hold States accountable for criminal acts committed by terrorists operating from their own territory. Similarly, just as States cannot tolerate the practice of terror within their own borders, States cannot be expected to turn a blind eye when their citizens are attacked.”
2003-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4792 (2003) · source
“On the streets of New York and Washington, DC, on 11 September 2001, and on the streets of Mombassa, Kenya; Karachi, Pakistan; Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, we have witnessed how the winds of hatred and incitement can fan the flames of terrorism, igniting violence and inflicting scars of grief on the families of the victims. No part of the world is immune from the scourge of this global threat - this plague, cultivated by the support, inaction and complicity of regimes. We need an international partnership - a common resolve and a common purpose in the face of a threat that renders all of us vulnerable. Every nation that seeks peace faces a common enemy today in global terror. We must make it known: When you deliberately attack civilians, you are at war with the entire international community.”
2003-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4792 (2003) · source
“In light of our unique experience, Israel stands ready and willing to continue to share its knowledge and expertise and to collaborate in joint efforts aimed at coordinating and strengthening our collective response. New security challenges have thrust counter- terrorism to the top of the international agenda and we are now at a critical stage in our actions to enhance international cooperation to prevent and eradicate acts of terrorism. The fundamental need to combat this menacing issue, as terrorists continue to pursue their goal of creating world instability, has indeed become a task that unites us all.”
2003-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4792 (2003) · source
“Allow me at the outset to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for the month of July and to express our appreciation for the leadership of the Council by your predecessor. Israel would also like to pay tribute to you for your stewardship of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) since your assumption of the chairmanship this past April. The CTC, under your leadership, continues to assume a vanguard role in the global campaign against terrorism and in assisting and monitoring State implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001). Israel knows, maybe better than any other country, that there can be no peace with terror, and it is our very commitment to peace that binds us to the war against terrorism.”
2003-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4792 (2003) · source
“By fighting terrorism wherever it breeds, by a determined commitment to peace and to the end of violence and hateful incitement, we can look forward to peace and a better future for us all.”
2003-04-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4734 (2003) · source
“Despite the daily threat of terrorism that plagues our region and the existence of regimes that adopt terrorism as a means to advance their political agenda, we remain resolved to overcome the devastating impact of suicide bomb attacks, which endanger both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. Even in these dark times, we continue to believe that the day will come when we and our children will enjoy the fruits of peace. That dream leaves me hopeful. I hope that the upcoming changes in the Palestinian leadership will finally provide us with a real partner for a secure peace. Israel hopes that those changes will lead to concerted action to dismantle terrorist infrastructure, delegitimize terrorist groups and eliminate incitement.”
2003-04-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4734 (2003) · source
“In the wake of this global threat, we cannot confuse paperwork with progress. Clearly, enhancing the legislative and administrative tools available to States for fighting terrorism, and capacity-building in general, are crucial to our efforts. But the real test will always be the implementation of commitments on the ground. The filing of lengthy State reports cannot be allowed to serve as a cover for those States determined to persist in supporting and glorifying terrorism. Part of the CTC's mandate under resolution 1373 (2001) should be to test Member States' compliance not just on paper but in practice.”
2003-04-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4734 (2003) · source
“Furthermore, we would encourage the establishment of an international assistance programme to help countries combat the danger of MANPADS falling into terrorist hands. As a nation that has endured a terrible human loss to the perils of terrorism since its establishment, we support the noble efforts of the CTC and believe that intensive international cooperation is a critical weapon in the counter-terrorist arsenal. Israel stands ready and willing to continue to share its knowledge and expertise, learned from bitter experience, and to collaborate in joint efforts aimed at coordinating and strengthening our collective response. In doing so, we hope that the CTC will continue to take an increasingly proactive role in implementing a policy of zero tolerance for terrorism.”
2003-04-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4734 (2003) · source
“Terrorists know no limits, and none of us are immune to their threat. Professionals in the aviation security field are already working to combat the MANPADS threat and deserve the full backing of States. We believe that this support should include investing in defensive onboard technological systems, as well as tightening security control over airport perimeters. Israel believes it is critical that efforts to strengthen aviation security be complemented by stronger controls over MANPADS themselves. To ensure the success of efforts to prevent terrorist access to MANPADS, selling States should bear the responsibility of verifying end-user identity. In addition, purchasing States must shoulder primary responsibility for those systems' security, storage, transfer, maintenance and monitoring.”
2003-04-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4734 (2003) · source
“This potentially catastrophic attack, along with recent warnings of similar planned attacks in other cities, underscores the necessity for States to take urgent action to curb the proliferation of these weapons and the access of terrorist groups to them. We welcome the adoption of resolution 1450 (2002) condemning the attacks in Kenya and we urge the CTC to work towards the adoption of a universal standard to defend against these weapons. Man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS) present the international counter-terrorism community with one of its deepest crises ever, requiring worldwide cooperation and coordination. The danger posed by MANPADS is particularly great because of their unique qualities: not only are they small, cheap and easy to operate, but they enjoy freedom of location, time, target and scale of operation.”
2003-04-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4734 (2003) · source
“Government-sanctioned incitement that nourishes and sustains the terrorist agenda violates the most basic human rights obligations of States. Our efforts to combat terrorism and to implement resolution 1373 (2001) must focus not only on the practical support provided to its perpetrators, but on the intolerant ideology that nurtures the phenomenon itself. Another emerging threat is posed by shoulder- launched surface-to-air missiles capable of destroying civilian aircraft at low altitudes. This threat was made clear just a few months ago in Mombasa, Kenya, when terrorists narrowly missed bringing down an Israeli civilian airplane.”
2003-04-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4734 (2003) · source
“In accordance with resolution 1373 (2001), the members of the international community must take active and aggressive measures to destroy the financial and organizational infrastructure of terrorism and to address the venomous incitement that is pervasive in the media and in the educational, religious and political institutions of certain States. The germ of terror is nourished by the inculcation of fundamentalist, intolerant and rejectionist ideologies. The glorification of murder as martyrdom is a gravely flawed moral sanction for acts of mass murder. No child, no baby, is born into this world wanting to be a suicide bomber. In our region, we are faced with countless crude and unmistakable examples of how incitement kills. Children's textbooks should not serve as manuals for hate.”
2003-04-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4734 (2003) · source
“Rather, we must strike at its core: at regimes that nourish the germ of terror through their support, inaction and complicity; at regimes with the ability to transfer biological, chemical and nuclear weapons to terrorists who have no compunctions regarding their use; and at regimes like those in Iran and Syria, a member of this body, that actively support terrorism to further their agenda, poking a finger into the eye of the CTC while raising another in support of its efforts. I encourage the CTC to exhibit the courage to name and shame those States that continue to support terrorism and compel every State to undertake a sincere and irrevocable commitment to eradicating terrorism from its own soil. I am encouraged that the call to name and shame has today been reinforced. I hope it will become the mantra of the CTC.”
2003-04-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4734 (2003) · source
“Repeated resolutions and declarations of the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Secretary-General uphold the principle that any deliberate targeting of civilians for political ends is wrong, unjustifiable and immoral, regardless of cause or circumstance. As the world was horrifically reminded on 11 September, if the fires of terrorism rage anywhere, they pose a threat to peace and security everywhere. Terrorism is epidemic, and any attempt to douse one flame, one flare-up of this pervasive threat, while expressing sympathy or understanding for another will only undermine our efforts.”
2003-04-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4734 (2003) · source
“Seventeen were killed and 53 wounded, many of them civilians, by the powerful bomb, laden with metal shrapnel in order to maximize the extent of human injuries. In addition to these and other atrocious attacks, innumerable incidents of terror are thwarted on a daily basis by Israeli counter-terrorism efforts. Terrorism kills indiscriminately. Terrorism knows no border, nationality, race, age or religion. Terrorism poses a threat to all free peoples, and therefore there must be no distinction between good and bad terrorism, between the military and social wings of terrorist organizations. It is immoral to abuse the noble lexicon of freedom to justify the mass murder of innocents and to excuse these abhorrent acts for the advancement of a political agenda.”
2003-04-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4734 (2003) · source
“It is with a heavy and mournful heart that I recount these recent immoralities. Just last Sunday, a depraved suicide attack was perpetrated in the peaceful coastal city of Netanya against innocent civilians. Ramadan Shallah, Secretary-General of the terrorist organization Islamic Jihad, which operates freely from Damascus, Syria, aided by a member of this Council, proudly claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement issued from his Damascus office, Shallah vowed to carry out more attacks. On 5 March, in an attack described by United Nations Special Coordinator Terje Roed-Larsen just recently as an act of mass murder and an outrageous waste of life, a suicide bomb ripped apart a public bus in the northern Israeli city of Haifa. The bus was filled with young children and students en route to Haifa University.”
2003-04-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4734 (2003) · source
“We wish Ambassador Greenstock's successor, the Ambassador of Spain, Inocencio Arias, every success in this crucial global effort and assure him of Israel's full cooperation. To many countries around this table, terrorism is fortunately still a virtual or theoretical matter, but Israel speaks from bitter personal experience. We are the victims of a very real and bloody daily ritual; the victims of the most brutal, evil, cynical terror directed at our children and at our very future. At my last talk before the Security Council on 20 February, I spoke of this future. I expressed the hope that my grandson's nursery school would no longer require the protection of armed guards against vicious and deliberate attacks. I expressed the hope that terrorism would cease. Unfortunately, the terrorism in Israel has continued.”
2003-04-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4734 (2003) · source
“Allow me at the outset to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Council for the month of April and to express our appreciation for the impressive stewardship of the Council by your predecessor. Israel and I personally would like to pay tribute to the outgoing Chairman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), Sir Jeremy Greenstock of Great Britain, for his skilful and inspiring leadership. In the difficult months after the horrific attacks of 11 September 2001, the Counter-Terrorism Committee, under the leadership of Ambassador Greenstock, embarked on an important initiative to assist and monitor State implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001). His country's leadership should be duly applauded for the vanguard role it has assumed in the global campaign against terrorism.”
2003-04-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4734 (2003) · source
“Even with the threat of terrorism a constant and pervasive presence, we continue to believe that the day will come when children like my grandchild Ron will no longer need armed guards to protect them at school. It is precisely the belief that a peaceful future must ultimately arrive that gives us the strength to endure. The day will yet arrive when discussions like these will seem anachronistic, a relic of a past that has been supplanted by a peaceful present and a limitless future. It is my belief that with proper leadership and sufficient resolve that day may not be far off.”
2003-02-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4710 (2003) · source
“Those seeking to murder innocent civilians, precisely because they are innocent, and to give up their own lives in the process, are not easily deterred or dissuaded. We are locked in a battle of endurance, one that requires sustained political will to see it through to its conclusion. The world is now engaged in a harsh battle against the forces of terrorism. We face a difficult road ahead, but great struggles have always yielded great rewards. The defeat of terrorism will be the defeat of those who wish to turn history backwards, to stop the march of human progress. Defeating terrorism will throw open the door to a bold new future and to an era of peace and prosperity, not only in the Middle East but also around the world. Even in these dark days, the people of Israel have never lost their hope and their desire for peace.”
2003-02-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4710 (2003) · source
“Terrorists must hear not just from this Council, but also from their own people, from their own societies and from their own spiritual and political leaders that the indiscriminate murder of innocents is always wrong and unjustifiable. We must confront the poisonous well of incitement from which future terrorists are nourished and sustained. Resolutions adopted by the Council in the future should clearly refer to the role of incitement in glorifying and promoting terrorism. We further hope that the CTC will place the fight against incitement at the forefront of its efforts. Finally, the fight against terrorism is not for the faint of heart. We cannot afford to tire or grow complacent.”
2003-02-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4710 (2003) · source
“The CTC must have the courage to name and shame those States that continue to support terrorism even as the world unites to confront it. Yes, the time has come to name them and shame them. We also must acknowledge the role of incitement in encouraging and legitimizing acts of terrorism. No child, anywhere, is born wanting to be a suicide terrorist, and in our region we are faced with constant reminders of how these children and these suicide bombers are created. The mass media, educational institutions and religious and political figures of the Palestinian Authority inculcate and glorify hatred and offer the moral sanction of both man and God for acts of mass murder.”
2003-02-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4710 (2003) · source
“The international community must not allow Syria to abuse its position on the Council, as it has done repeatedly, to divert attention from its failure to comply with resolution 1373 (2001). Of what use is the campaign against terrorism if others see that States that manifestly fail to live up to their obligations escape condemnation and are even elevated to positions of prominence at the United Nations? As the body charged with monitoring the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001), the CTC can make a vital contribution to our efforts, provided that it is focused and substantive and is prepared, in addition to its other activities, to identify and exert pressure on those States that are failing to fulfil their responsibilities.”
2003-02-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4710 (2003) · source
“In this connection, we note the irony of the remarks made on Friday in this Council by the Foreign Minister of Syria, the representative of a State that is among the world's foremost sponsors of terrorism. The Syrian delegation rarely foregoes an opportunity to launch one of its ritual diatribes against Israel, regardless of the issue on the Council's agenda. I need hardly point out the appalling contradiction between Syria's membership on this Council and its continued, extensive and unapologetic support for no fewer than 10 separate terrorist organizations. In flagrant violation of resolution 1373 (2001) and basic norms of international law, the Government of Syria continues to provide financial and logistical support and safe harbour to known terrorist groups that operate freely and openly in Syrian-controlled territory.”
2003-02-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4710 (2003) · source
“If the events of 11 September have taught us anything, it is that even one State continuing to support and provide safe harbour to terrorists constitutes a threat of unimaginable proportions. It is therefore essential that all States make ironclad commitments that are manifest in real practical measures, including intense cooperation with the international community and the Counter-Terrorism Committee. The problem in this area may be less with those States that lack the capacity to fight terrorism than with those rogue regimes that lack the will to do so, or worse, actively use and support terrorism to further their subversive agenda. Of highest concern are those rogue regimes with biological, chemical and nuclear weapons that can be transferred to terrorists who have no compunctions regarding their use.”
2003-02-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4710 (2003) · source
“Terrorism should harm the political ambitions of those who engage in it, not invite appeasement and concessions from those too frightened to confront it. Political advances won through terrorism are the surest guarantee of more terrorism. I therefore call on the Security Council to implement a policy of zero tolerance for terrorism. The time has come to stop talking and to start acting. Terrorism is evil and evil cannot be appeased, it cannot be assuaged; it must be fought and defeated. The fight against terrorism must begin at home. Our efforts will be successful only if every single State undertakes a sincere and irrevocable commitment to eradicating terrorism from its soil. In the past 18 months, Israel has updated and improved its already expansive body of domestic legislation, counter- terrorist measures and cooperative partnerships.”
2003-02-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4710 (2003) · source
“Terrorism is not the product of poverty or despair, as certain representatives, cynically motivated by their own narrow political interests, would like us to believe. To draw on an example from close to home, Palestinian prosperity and political aspirations have only ever been advanced through negotiations and the rejection of terrorism and violence. The resort to terrorism is what has brought despair. Let me make this very, very clear: It is not poverty that breeds terror; it is terror that breeds poverty. If the battle against terror is to succeed, groups that use it cannot be allowed to reap political gains and be honoured with central roles on the world stage. Those who kill themselves in order to kill others are murderers, not martyrs, and we cannot permit their crimes to be sanitized with such terms as "martyrdom" and "resistance".”
2003-02-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4710 (2003) · source
“This position was made explicit once again last month when the Security Council, meeting at the level of Ministers for Foreign Affairs, affirmed in resolution 1456 (2003) that "any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, whenever and by whomsoever committed and are to be unequivocally condemned". (Resolution 1456 (2003), annex) Israel believes that such a declaration and a matching commitment to action are essential to our fight against terrorism. Concessions in the face of terrorism anywhere are an invitation to terror everywhere. We can never allow the apologists for terrorism to invoke the mantra of root causes to justify murder while laying the moral foundation for future attacks.”
2003-02-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4710 (2003) · source
“We believe that more comprehensive information should be made available to the international community to ensure that every Member State has the ability to make a contribution. We must battle terrorism on all fronts. This means more than using the full range of economic, military, legal and diplomatic tools at our disposal. It also means making no distinctions between so-called bad terrorism and good terrorism. Terror is terror is terror. Despite the seeming universality of this fight, there remain those who persist in drawing distinctions between varieties of violence deliberately targeted against civilians. The international community must stand firmly by the principle that the use of violence against civilians for political means is completely and utterly unacceptable, regardless of cause or motive.”
2003-02-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4710 (2003) · source