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

“Today, two and a half weeks after the last Israeli soldier left southern Lebanon, the situation along the northern border has begun to stabilize. The Lebanese army is deployed throughout its territory. Today, there is one unequivocal address in Lebanon, and it is the Government of Lebanon. Success, however, cannot be prematurely declared. Success will be determined only to the extent to which resolution 1701 (2006) is fully implemented. In that regard, there is reason to be concerned about the smuggling of arms across the border between Lebanon and Syria. Hizbollah's rearming not only violates the essence and strength of resolution 1701 (2006); it also places the entire region in immediate peril. There can be no ambiguity in policy here. The embargo must be enforced, and its violators must be held accountable.”
2006-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5552 (2006) · source
“Regrettably, different voices are still sometimes heard in this building - including those heard just a few minutes ago - which too often fail to reflect the dramatically changing world we live in. One of our major tasks is to narrow the gap between what is heard and done in the "real world" and what is still too often heard and done on First Avenue. Roughly two months ago, the clarion call of resolution 1701 (2006) went forth from this Chamber. Resolution 1701 (2006) sent a clear and unambiguous message that the international community will not tolerate a State within State, be it Hizbollah or any other terrorist organization. The strength of that conviction and that resolution is a test for this Council.”
2006-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5552 (2006) · source
“In Israel, every day, we are tortured by unimaginable anxiety and shattered hopes, painfully awaiting the safe return of our boys, the Israeli soldiers- Gilad Shalit, Udi Goldwasser and Eldad Regev - who were callously abducted earlier this summer by Hamas and Hizbollah. This Council, in its unanimous adoption of resolution 1701 (2006), took upon itself the responsibility to secure their unconditional release. I ask Council members now, as I did then, to do their utmost to alleviate this humanitarian crisis and bring them home. Israel welcomes the steps taken by its Arab neighbours and other moderate Arab leaders in the region seeking to follow through on their commitments to peace. Those positive voices from the Arab and Muslim world show a genuine desire to embark on a path of historic reconciliation and mutual advancement.”
2006-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5552 (2006) · source
“At the outset, I would like to thank you, Sir, for your continued and able stewardship of the Council this month. In particular, I would like to commend you on your steadfast leadership in response to the restated global challenges which were revealed last week. I would also like to thank Mr. Alvaro de Soto for his informative briefing on the Middle East. Positive currents are flowing in the Middle East. Moderate voices are beginning to surface courageously where they have been suppressed or ignored in the past. But before I delve into some of those aspects, an outstanding and highly pressing concern must first be addressed.”
2006-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5552 (2006) · source
“But it is not too late, if we have the courage to see that there is more that binds us together than tears us apart. It is not too late to turn hope into reality. It is not too late to march on that road to peace, but only if we have the strength to defend its agreed principles and the courage to confront its enemies.”
2006-09-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5530 (2006) · source
“There is much those in the region can do to support that process, but it is not about more initiatives or United Nations meetings. It is, first and foremost, about commitment to prepare the people of the region for the price of peace, to accept the true meaning of the two-State solution and to teach all the children of the Middle East the values of tolerance and the blessings of coexistence. Sometimes tragedy is not just the pain we suffer but also the opportunity we miss. The contours of the agreement we have to reach are clear, and have been for decades. The tragedy is that the lack of genuine commitment to true coexistence means that the people of the region are still waiting, when we could have enjoyed the benefits of peace long ago.”
2006-09-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5530 (2006) · source
“Our goal must be to rekindle the road map process without reigniting the conflict. That requires that we act with urgency, but not with recklessness. It requires that we not confuse paper with progress or form with substance. And, most of all, it requires genuine consultation, negotiation and agreement between the parties themselves. There is no other way. Any progress begins with a genuine dialogue among those committed to peace. It begins with the release of Israeli hostages and an end to all terrorist attacks. It begins with a renewal of our commitment to the two-State solution and an acceptance of the basic principle that each people's rights are to be realized in their own homeland, not in the homeland of others.”
2006-09-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5530 (2006) · source
“I believe they know, as we do, that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the consequence, and not the cause, of the ideology of intolerance and hatred that plagues our region and has taken control of the Palestinian Authority in the form of Hamas. That is not a reality that can just be ignored. It cannot be swept away by vague formulations and half measures. The road map and the three international conditions are designed precisely to confront the enemies of peace and ensure that the future Palestinian State envisaged by the two-State solution is not a terror State that perpetuates the conflict, but a peaceful State that ends it. Discarding the building blocks of peace will not speed up the process, it will simply ensure that the edifice of peace will crumble and fall.”
2006-09-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5530 (2006) · source
“Stagnation is not in our interest, and it is not our policy. We want to realize the two-State vision as envisaged in the road map. It is for that reason that we embarked on the painful process of disengagement last year, in order to create opportunity for progress. But sadly - tragically - what we received in return was terror. It is for that reason that we are committed to the process of dialogue with all Palestinians who believe in mutual compromise and historic reconciliation. If we have not yet turned that vision of peace into reality it is not for lack of meetings in the Council. It is not for lack of agreements or resolutions or international conferences. I want to believe that all those gathered at this table know the true obstacles to progress.”
2006-09-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5530 (2006) · source
“We all know that there is a common vision for peace that binds together Israelis, moderate Palestinians, the moderates in our region and the international community. It is embodied in the road map endorsed by the international community, and it was reaffirmed only yesterday by the Quartet, of which the United Nations itself is part. At its heart is the vision of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. Yesterday Foreign Minister Livni spoke before the General Assembly and reaffirmed Israel's belief in that vision and the principles of peace that stem from it. Israel is committed to being a partner for peace. Believe me, nobody wants peace more than we do. The people of Israel have shown that time and again. We know that the dangers to peace will not be overcome by military means alone.”
2006-09-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5530 (2006) · source
“As you know, just a few days ago, Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni met with Chairman Abbas in what was a very good meeting in which we agreed to re-energize the dialogue between us and create a permanent channel to pursue ways to advance the process together. We agreed also that progress must be based on the road map and the principles for peace that have been agreed between the parties. We believe that we reached this understanding because, knowing the many difficulties we currently face, both sides recognize that we do not need another forum for acting out our differences and that the only forum for resolving them is the bilateral negotiating table.”
2006-09-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5530 (2006) · source
“I wish to thank you personally, Madam President, for the goodwill, initiative, energy, creativity and consideration you have shown over the last few weeks and especially over the last few days towards the convening of this meeting. Israel knows that this meeting is convened by people who want peace and who genuinely desire to see peace in our region. However, as some members know, including you, Madam President, Israel was unsure, practically until the last minute, whether to attend this meeting. Our experience has shown that this forum is not always helpful in advancing peace, but rather, that it may generate acrimony. I have been instructed nevertheless by my Minister to update you on developments from our perspective.”
2006-09-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5530 (2006) · source
“Resolution 1701 (2006) can be our success story. It can be the story we tell to our children and grandchildren when we recount this region's complex history. It can be the story we take pride in as the defining moment when we rose to the occasion and did not let the terrorists seize power over us. Resolution 1701 (2006) is that story. But it remains the duty of the international community and of the Security Council to ensure that it comes true.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“Will we succeed in implementing these resolutions? Will we succeed in implementing them quickly? Will we work together as partners to enforce an embargo and put an end to the poisonous Syrian and Iranian influence in the region? These are the questions with which we are being tested. Resolution 1701 (2006) is, indeed, a test: a test for Lebanon, a test for the Security Council, a test for the international community. If we do not pass this test, we will have lost our chance - perhaps our last chance - to free Lebanon from the forces of terror and bring about a new reality. We can pass this test, but it cannot be done by any one of us alone. We must partner together and become a unified force and a unified voice on terrorism, on extremism and on the forces that threaten the way we live. We must grasp this opportunity.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“It begins with the immediate and unconditional release of Gilad Shalit. It begins with a halt to the Qassam rockets and terror attacks. It begins with an end to all forms of terror and with the uprooting of terrorists who wilfully endanger the region. Israel has been blanketed from north to south by these forces of extremism, by Hamas, Hizbollah, Syria and Iran - the quartet of terror - whose evil knows no bounds. This quartet of terror must be defeated. It is a threat not just to Israel, but to the entire world and to civilization as we know it. The implementation of resolution 1701 (2006) is a first step towards defeating that threat. The outcome of the next few weeks and the months ahead is ours collectively to decide. The Security Council, representing the international community, possesses that power. Where will we go from here?”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“While our attention has largely been focused on the north, on Lebanon, Israel has also been attacked from the south - by Hamas, operating in Gaza. Regrettably, the forces of extremism have taken hold there as well, and Gaza today is a haven for terrorists and their unsanctioned activities. Indeed, if unchecked, it may be a preview to the next Lebanon. Hamas has also abducted an Israeli soldier. It has been two months since Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by terrorists who crossed from Gaza into Israel. Along with his abduction, terrorism has continued, including the launching of Qassam rockets at southern Israeli communities. These rocket attacks impose an intolerable situation upon Israel and place its citizens in constant danger. But there is a way to a new Palestinian reality as well.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“Other Hizbollah terrorists in Israeli custody have disclosed that Iranian Revolutionary Guards visited their fortified positions along the Israeli border. If Lebanon asks the Security Council for help, the Council must be willing and able to step forward and give Lebanon a hand. The task of creating a new reality in Lebanon is too important to be the sole work of one State. And, as history has shown us, neglecting to implement the resolutions adopted by the Council comes at all too high a price. The Middle East is a region caught between rifts of extremism, where radicals engage in fierce battles that have no rules of play. Israel finds itself lodged between those currents, trying to navigate a peaceful solution to the turmoil and allow civilization to grow and prosper as it should.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“In order to prevent that, mechanisms are needed to supervise the Syrian-Lebanese border and to monitor the Lebanese seaports and airports. UNIFIL needs to be there, but a policy that addresses how States can enforce the embargo also needs to be articulated. In the absence of enforcement powers, Hizbollah, Iran and Syria will laughingly continue to ignore the embargo, as they are at this very moment. An embargo does not mean merely preventing arms from crossing the border; it also means putting an end to Syria and Iran's manipulation of Lebanon and its people. During the recent fighting, Israel captured a 22-year-old Hizbollah terrorist by the name of Hussein Ali Suleiman, who admitted to having undergone extensive training in Iran, along with many other Hizbollah terrorists.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“Since the adoption of resolution 1701 (2006), we have witnessed encouraging meetings between Lebanese commanders and the Israel Defense Forces. But we have also seen Hizbollah terrorists disappearing into the shadows, with no definitive action taken to prevent their re-emergence. That brings me to the third concern. The rearming of Hizbollah is a blatant Violation of the ceasefire. The embargo is the cardinal instrument of resolution 1701 (2006). There is no doubt that Syria and Iran wish to rearm Hizbollah and prevent the emergence of a new Lebanon. Giving them the opportunity to rearm Hizbollah will have catastrophic ramifications for the region and the world. If we cannot enforce an embargo, we send a message to the terrorists and their State backers that we will permit them to continue their ways of terror.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“UNIFIL must have not just the manpower but also the willpower to help the Lebanese Government reach this new reality. At the moment, UNIFIL's strength is uncertain. A weak UNIFIL does not fulfil the interests of Lebanon or the region, and it writes Hizbollah a blank cheque to continue to do as it pleases. UNIFIL's manpower should reach 15,000 troops, so that its presence can be felt in the areas deployed. It must be a robust force, comprising quality, professional and well-trained troops. UNIFIL must also be geographically distributed. At the 15 ,000-troop mark, it should be able to spread itself across southern Lebanon, in parallel with the Lebanese army. Beginning south of the Litani River, UNIFIL must be seen and felt. The Lebanese army's deployment in the south is a welcome contribution.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“The first is the crucial issue of the abducted soldiers - Udi Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. We are facing here a grave humanitarian issue. Each day that passes without their release is crucial. Israel views the immediate and unconditional release of those soldiers as the primary backdrop to the creation of a new reality on the ground. Each one of you, by raising your hand, has pledged to work for their release. We urge you to fulfil that responsibility. The second point is the strength and composition of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). A clear and unequivocal mandate needs to be outlined for UNIFIL - one that its donor countries can achieve. With a clear and effective mandate, countries contributing to the robust UNIFIL force can commit wholeheartedly and without hesitation.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“Resolution 1701 (2006) is an opportunity - perhaps the last opportunity - to rectify the mistakes of the past and usher in a new reality. Resolution 1701 (2006) is our best chance for reversing the corrosive decay of Lebanon and all that came with it - Hizbollah, a state within a State, and its masters, Syria and Iran, whose President denies the Holocaust while preparing the next one and openly calls for the destruction of Israel and for wiping it off the map, while acquiring the capabilities to do so. We trust in resolution 1701 (2006) to create a new Lebanon free of such terrorizing occupiers. But there are obstacles to implementing the resolution, and those issues raise serious concerns. We must join forces in order to overcome them. Allow me, Mr. President, to highlight some important points from resolution 1701 (2006).”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“All the while, Israel found itself in an intolerable situation. Just over its northern border with Lebanon a state within a State continued to grow, unchecked by the Lebanese Government. And so Hizbollah grew monstrously, spreading its claws throughout Lebanon and amassing large caches of weapons, thanks to the backing of neighbouring Syria and Iran, its evil sponsors. On 12 July 2006, Hizbollah blatantly violated the Blue Line and crossed into Israel. In the process, it killed eight Israeli soldiers and abducted two others. Israel, like any other State, has the right and duty to defend its citizens from Hizbollah's attacks - and it did so. Over the past month, the peoples of Israel and Lebanon have had to pay a heavy price.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“Six years ago, Israel withdrew all its presence from southern Lebanon, fulfilling its obligations to the international community as outlined in resolution 425 (1978). Six years ago was the time for action, when everything we have discussed today and in the past month could have been avoided. There were other opportunities along the way. Resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006) also outlined the plan for a new reality in Lebanon, which was clear in its call for Lebanon to exercise its control over all its territory and govern just as would be expected of any other responsible State. The unconditional implementation of those resolutions could have prevented the events of the past month. But the willingness to implement the resolutions was wanting. As a result, Lebanon found itself hijacked by evil and occupied by terror.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“However, as a lot has been said in the Council about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, I would like to inform the Council that we, too, are very conscious of the humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip. I received word only this morning that 3,772 truckloads of food, medical equipment and other supplies have already entered Gaza in the past two months; 664 empty trucks have left Gaza with the intent of returning full with new supplies. All this has been done in close cooperation with the United Nations and with the international community's representatives dealing with these humanitarian issues. I would like to thank Under-Secretary-General Ibrahim Gambari for his briefing. The reason we are here today, however, goes back many years - far beyond this report.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“I have listened very carefully to my Palestinian colleague. Strangely, some key words were ominously missing from his statement. There was no mention of Hamas, terror, Qassam rockets or the abduction of Corporal Gilad Shalit. I truly believe that, when discussing the question of Palestine, the members of the Council deserve better. While we are greatly concerned about the situation in Palestine, we feel it would be wrong to divert attention from what the Council has so intensely been engaged in over the past month, namely, the situation in Lebanon and the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006). This is our foremost responsibility and we must commit all our efforts to making it happen.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“A few hours ago the sun set on Beirut, and in a few hours' time it will rise over Haifa. This night that bridges those two bleeding cities is the tale of two cities, two peoples and two religions. It will end the Moslem holy day and herald the Jewish sabbath, the holy day of rest and peace. May the sun rise over a new day for both our peoples, a day of peace, tolerance and prosperity for our children and generations to come - a sabbath of peace. Shabbat shalom.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“I turn once again to my Lebanese colleague and, through him, to the Lebanese people. There is no quarrel between our peoples. We have no greater wish than to live next to a peaceful and prosperous State of Lebanon, exercising its independence and sovereign responsibilities like any other State. The choice that faces the people of Lebanon is clear. It is a choice between those who develop agriculture and make deserts bloom and those who turn towns into bases of terror and barren land. It is a choice between those who work to advance medicine and bring health to body and limb and those who manufacture only weapons of destruction to tear limb from body. It is a choice between those who export innovation and technology and those whose only export is terror.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“These last few weeks have given us a chilling glimpse of what our region could be like if Iran were to succeed in achieving its goal of adding weapons of mass destruction to its lethal arsenal. But in two important resolutions adopted by the Council today and last month, Iran has been sent a clear message: it cannot develop weapons to threaten the region on its own territory, and it cannot fight proxy wars on the territory of others. President Ahmadinejad of Iran, from whom Hizbollah draws its genocidal ideology, has stated his dogma clearly: "There is nothing more beautiful, holier or more eternal than the death of a martyr". Today more than ever, a united and determined response is required from those who believe that there is nothing more beautiful, holier or more eternal than a child able to grow up living in security and peace.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“Unless the tools set out in this resolution are used with resolve and decisiveness, we will be back at this table - if not in a week, then in a month or a year - facing an even greater tragedy. For then, the terrorists, supplied, no doubt, with even more lethal weapons by Iran, will be even further emboldened by yet another demonstration of our lack of commitment and will. Today's resolution brings to an end weeks of intensive negotiations. But it is not the end of the task; indeed, it is only the beginning. We need to seize this moment and open a new chapter for the region, a chapter in which moderation is not seen as weakness, and a hand stretched out in peace is not perceived as one raised in surrender. The stakes could not be higher for Lebanon and Israel, or for the region as a whole.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“It provides for a radically different international force with a mandate and the capability to use all necessary means in order to create a new situation in Lebanon in which the borders will be secure, in which Hizbollah will not be rearmed and south Lebanon will be free of armed militias and weapons. It sets out arrangements to ensure that, finally, Lebanese armed forces will deploy throughout Lebanese territory, including along the Blue Line. And it calls for the unconditional release of our boys, Udi Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. I hope that the Security Council will do all it can to make this happen, and I urge the Council to do so. But a resolution alone will not do anything; it will do nothing.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“However, Israel is ready to respond to the calls of the Council and to give another chance to the Government of Lebanon and the international community to create a new reality on the ground. The responsibility which this resolution places on the international community cannot be overstated. The tragedy of the past month could, and would, have been avoided if the previous resolutions of the Security Council had been heeded and their provisions fully implemented in all their parts. The resolution adopted today is an opportunity to correct the mistakes of the past and to create a genuine new reality in our region. It establishes a binding arms embargo requiring all States to prevent the supply of arms and weapons to militias and terrorists in Lebanon.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“Southern Lebanon has been substantially cleared of the infrastructure of terrorism, and the terrorists and their sponsors have learned that a 06-4649] campaign of brutal terrorism will meet with the forceful response it deserves. But after six years of inaction which has enabled Hizbollah to serve foreign interests and to dig itself deeply into Lebanese soil, there is much yet to be done. Israel, like any State, has the right and the duty to defend its citizens from Hizbollah's unprovoked attacks, to bring its captive soldiers home and to continue its efforts to complete the task of rooting out the terrorists and removing the threat they present to the Israeli and Lebanese peoples.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“The clear path forward required the disarming and disbanding of Hizbollah and other militias, and the exercise by Lebanon, like any sovereign State, of control and authority over all its territory. But the will to implement this way has been lacking, and over the past month the peoples of Israel and Lebanon have paid a heavy price for that inaction. In the face of the failure to ensure that the obligations set out in those resolutions were implemented, Israel has had no choice but to do what Lebanon has failed to do. As a result, Hizbollah's lethal capabilities have been dealt a major blow: bases have been dismantled and stockpiles of Iranian missiles have been destroyed.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“The tragedy we have seen in our region over the past weeks, it tells us, is but a preview of the coming attraction, produced by Iran, directed by Syria, acted by terrorist groups, soon to be seen in a theatre near you. Whether we will succeed in defeating this threat depends, in large part, on the resolve we demonstrate today. It is often said, "Where there's a will, there's a way". But recent years have demonstrated that where there is a way, there is not always a will. The way to avoid the crisis between Israel and Lebanon has been clear: implementation of the unconditional obligations set out in resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), which set out issues for resolution between Lebanon and Syria.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“Hostage-taking, suicide-bombings and hijackings know no boundaries, as many States represented at this table, among them Argentina, Britain, Greece, Japan, Qatar, Russia and the United States, know only too well. Not only are the countries of the West their targets, but also the moderate regimes in our region, which offer hope of progress and prosperity and the basic freedoms to which the terrorists are so fundamentally opposed. The stakes could not be higher. Yesterday's foiled plot is a wake-up call that the campaign of terror, motivated by fanatical intent and backed by lethal weapons of destruction, is not limited to any region, but threatens the whole world.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“But the threat, and the genocidal ideology that inspired it, remains. It is that same genocidal ideology, it is that same fanatical terrorism, that Israel has been confronting in Lebanon for the past month and that the Security Council is asked to address today. For the past month, Israel has been confronting this vile phenomenon as it expresses itself in our region. But the threat we have been facing is not limited to our region; it has set its sights on the world at large. The terrorists in our region have a gruesome record of diabolical invention in perpetrating their atrocities, but these heinous innovations have been quick to cross borders and continents.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“At the outset, I would like to express my appreciation to the Foreign Ministers who have honoured us with their presence here today. I would also like to express my gratitude to all the members of the Security Council for the long hours and hard work they have invested in this endeavour. I would like especially to commend Ambassadors John Bolton and Jean-Marc de La Sabliere for their determination and commitment. Today, but for the grace of God and the alertness of the British security authorities, we could have been sitting here in the aftermath of a terrorist atrocity greater even than 9/11. The world would have mourned, but in the streets of Tehran, Damascus and parts of Lebanon, there would have been rejoicing, just as there was after 9/11. Mercifully, the plan was foiled.”
2006-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5511 (2006) · source
“It is actually the Ambassador of Lebanon, who is sitting behind Mr. Mitri, who said on United States television that in Lebanon you cannot distinguish between the Lebanese and Hizbollah. In his words, Hizbollah is everywhere in Lebanon. Hizbollah has infiltrated every fibre of Lebanon and, in his words, become part of Lebanese society. To address this painful problem, including the pain of Tyre, without mentioning Hizbollah borders on - I will not use the word that I wanted to use.”
2006-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5508 (2006) · source
“I would like to reply to Mr. Mitri's, I believe, genuinely expressed pain about Tyre. We share that pain; we share that pain very much. We grieve for the destruction of Tyre. But I listened very, very carefully to the statement made by the Lebanese representative, and there is one word which was curiously missing from that statement. That word is "Hizbollah". We did not hear that word once, as if Tyre were just a quiet peaceful town and not a hub of terrorism from which rockets and missiles have been fired at Haifa and other Israeli cities - as if there were no Hizbollah, as if this all came out of nowhere. I think that there should be at least some mention of the true root cause of this horrible conflict, which is the fact 8 that Hizbollah has taken Lebanon, including Tyre, hostage.”
2006-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5508 (2006) · source
“For the people of Lebanon, this is a critical moment of decision - whether to cast their lot with those who will work to promote peace and prosperity or with those committed to undermining any chance of such progress. The choice, quite simply, is between those who build and those who destroy. For the sake of our peoples, for the sake of our children, I beg them to choose the builders. The flags of our two States, which show the cedars of Lebanon and the Star of David, remind us that the common history of our peoples is one of building together. The biblical Book of Kings recounts that King Hiram of Tyre, in Lebanon, sent cedar trees and expert craftsmen to King Solomon, son of David, to join him in building the holy temple in the city of peace, Jerusalem. Our people have a long and glorious history of building together.”
2006-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5508 (2006) · source
“They have been fuelled only by the cynical and genocidal intent of extremist regimes that wish to destroy any possible prospect that we might turn their culture of hate into a culture of hope. We must change their culture of hate into a culture of hope - a culture in which Lebanese and Israeli children can go to school rather than cower in bomb shelters. We must do so today in order to bequeath to them the tomorrow they deserve. I believe that this culture of hope can and will prevail. Children are not born wanting to be shahids or murderers of the innocent. Ultimately, the innate human desire to create a better life for ourselves and those around us will prove stronger than the hatreds that have manipulated and fuelled this conflict.”
2006-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5508 (2006) · source
“We ask only that the international community stand by those forces of peace; that it understand that by fighting against terrorism, we fight for peace; and that it have the courage, the wisdom and the conviction to ensure that the end of this conflict creates a new pattern of behaviour - a reality in which the moderates prevail and the extremists meet with the justice and isolation they so clearly deserve. I turn once again to my Lebanese colleague and, through him, to the Lebanese people. There is no dispute between us. The horrendous violence and suffering of these past few weeks have been fuelled not by any interest or agenda of either of our States.”
2006-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5508 (2006) · source
“But if the Council adopts a path of action and takes the measures necessary to ensure that its own resolutions are implemented, terrorists and their masters in our region and throughout the world will know that they have come face to face with the will and resolve of a united international community. And, as a result, the forces of peace and moderation in the Middle East will have won a crucial battle for the future of our tortured region.”
2006-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5508 (2006) · source
“I am sure that my Arab colleagues who have spoken today, and who I believe are sincere in their desire for peace and stability for the region, do not want a resolution to create a vacuum that Hizbollah will fill. I am sure that they do not want a return to the status quo ante, in which the terrorists and their sponsors can hold a region and the prospects for peace hostage. And I am sure they do not want a resolution that demonstrates impotence rather than action. The terrorists are watching. If the Security Council adopts the path of half-measures, concessions and mere declarations, they will be emboldened, and we will find ourselves back at this table a week, a month or a year from now, facing a tragedy of similar, or even greater, proportions.”
2006-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5508 (2006) · source
“Israel is ready to cease hostilities and to withdraw its forces if these effective measures come in its place, so that the terrorist threat on its citizens is finally brought to an end. We want a ceasefire, but a ceasefire that sows the seeds of future peace, not of future conflict. The test of any resolution or proposal must be whether it will effectively bring about those practical changes on the ground. Let us not forget that a resolution is not an end, but a means to achieving our end: a new and sustainable situation in which the peoples of Lebanon and Israel are freed from the threat of terror and have the chance to live a normal life in peace and prosperity.”
2006-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5508 (2006) · source
“It also requires enforceable and effective measures that will prevent the continued supply and rearmament of weapons and ammunition from the merchants of terror in Damascus and Tehran, which continue on a daily basis, even as we speak. And it requires the Government of Lebanon to show the will and the courage to retake control of its destiny, to confront the terrorists that have wreaked havoc on its society and to meet the basic obligations placed by international law and by the Council on Lebanon to end the use of its territory as a base to threaten the territory of others. These are fundamental and unconditional obligations expected of any Government, and they are not dependent on its assent. These are practical measures needed to lead us out of this crisis.”
2006-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5508 (2006) · source
“Hizbollah bases have been dismantled, missile launchers and stockpiles of weapons have been removed, and the area of south Lebanon has been substantially cleared of the infrastructure of terrorism. As a result, for the first time in six years, there is a possibility that Lebanon and the international community can begin anew and repair the omissions that led to the current crisis. 5 But this requires determined and forceful action. It requires a strong, robust and effective international force which will ensure the dismantling and disarming of all terrorist groups and the implementation of resolution 1559 (2004) in all its parts.”
2006-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5508 (2006) · source
“Just as Hizbollah chooses to hide behind others and fight from within their homes, so do Iran and Syria demonstrate cowardice and disdain, fighting their wars through proxies, on Lebanese soil. Perhaps more than anything else it is this disdain for the lives of those they claim to be fighting for, this chain of cowardice, which unites Iran and Syria, Hizbollah and Hamas: the quartet of terror. These past four weeks of violence have taken a painful toll on the Lebanese and Israeli peoples. But they have also created a new opportunity. After six years of inaction that allowed Hizbollah, with the backing of Syria and Iran, to develop a lethal capacity to destabilize the region, a significant part of that capability has been destroyed.”
2006-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5508 (2006) · source
“I believe that one courageous Lebanese youngster was speaking for many when he wrote in his Internet blog, "It is not only Israeli soldiers that Hizbollah has taken hostage. It is us, the people of Lebanon". I believe it has never been clearer that, for all its talk of bravery, Hizbollah has demonstrated the lowest form of cowardice, cowering behind the weakest members of society. Indeed, in many cases, Hizbollah's lethal missiles are fired on timers, so that the terrorists can flee the launching site while leaving helpless families behind to shield the military target. And this the terrorists have learned well from their sponsors: from Iran and Syria.”
2006-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5508 (2006) · source