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

“Had they been successful, there would likely have been fatalities in the multiple hundreds. I wonder whether the reaction to Israel's defensive operation would have been the same had, by a cruel twist of fate, the Ashdod attack achieved its objective. After the Ashdod attack, the Council was silent, in the same way that it has been silent after the hundreds of other terrorist attacks that Yassin orchestrated and proudly claimed as his own. Yet the sponsors of this draft resolution would have had the Council break that silence to defend the very man responsible for those attacks. There is simply no way to justify this double standard.”
2004-03-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4934 (2004) · source
“In fact, it has been recognized as such in most parts of the world, with the exception of this Chamber. The Security Council, which has endorsed the road map and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and with pursuing the global war on terrorism, would have committed an unforgivable act of hypocrisy had it come to the defence of a man whose life's work and legacy was the eradication of peace, a man who was nothing less than a mass murderer and the godfather of terrorism. We are indeed grateful to those members of the Council that recognized this fact and voted accordingly. Two weeks ago, Ahmed Yassin proudly - gloatingly - took responsibility for a double suicide bombing at the Ashdod port, which killed 10 innocent people. The bombers were in fact planning a mega- attack targeting chemical storage tanks at the port.”
2004-03-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4934 (2004) · source
“Ignoring the leaders of terror will not make terror go away and sends a dangerous message worldwide. I would also like to ask those Council members which were recently victims of horrendous terror the following question: If you knew, before the bloody massacre of your citizens, who was going to carry out that horrendous act, would you have sat still and let it happen? Sheikh Yassin stood at the head of an organization that was committed to destroying Israel and to destroying the road map and every other peace initiative through the cold-blooded murder of innocent civilians. He was the head of an organization that has been recognized and declared as a terrorist organization by most of the world's freedom-loving countries, including the whole of the European Union.”
2004-03-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4934 (2004) · source
“At the outset, I would like to thank those countries that bravely and with great integrity did not vote for this draft resolution. We are gratified that this draft resolution was not adopted. This draft resolution should never even have been considered. A draft resolution mentioning Sheikh Yassin without mentioning Hamas is shameless and hypocritical. Describing Sheikh Yassin as an innocent bystander leaving prayers, without identifying him as the arch-terrorist that he was, makes a mockery of this Council. I was especially dismayed by those Council members who described Sheikh Yassin as the spiritual leader of the Islamic movement Hamas. This is sad and alarming, especially coming from countries which have themselves suffered from terrorism and continue to do so.”
2004-03-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4934 (2004) · source
“It can show that it is ready to establish a democratic society that will respect the rights of its people and the rights of its neighbours, and not another terrorist dictatorship in the heart of the Middle East. Israel is ready, as it always has been, to be a partner to such a leadership. The Security Council has a choice, too. It does not have to continue to send a message that puts the response to terrorism on trial, instead of terrorism itself. It does not have to pander to initiatives that defend the terrorist rather than the victim. In the legacy of resolutions such as 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 1373 (2001), the Council can also send another message - one of hope and of peace, one that does not pretend that this is a conflict in which one side has a monopoly on rights and on victimhood, one that rejects terror without compromise.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“We will persevere in the hope that a partner for peace will emerge, so that we can arrive at a political solution based upon the implementation of the road map. In the meantime, Prime Minister Sharon has announced plans for bold measures of disengagement that hold the potential for re-energizing the process. The Palestinian leadership has a choice. It can continue to get into bed with terrorists and tyrants. It can continue its morally depraved strategy of murder and terror and, in so doing, continue to bring suffering and despair to the Israeli and Palestinian peoples alike. But it can also choose a different path. It can prove to the world that it is ready to assume responsibilities, not just assume privileges.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“Sheikh Yassin was one of the greatest obstacles to the cessation of hostilities and the renewal of negotiations - a roadblock on the road map to peace. Since he founded Hamas from the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood organization in 1987, the organization has opposed peace talks with Israel and attempted to thwart every single peace initiative. So the question should not be, "Why now?" The question really should be, "Why not before?" There cannot be peace and terror. There cannot be peace and Hamas. The road map explicitly requires the elimination of Hamas and other terrorist organizations; it calls for an end to funding and support for their efforts; it recognizes that peace is impossible while those messengers of death are allowed to flourish. Israel remains committed to peace.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“It is the basic obligation of the Government of Israel - like that of any other Government - to protect the lives of its citizens from the threat of terrorism. Unlike the terrorists we confront, we make every effort, under excruciatingly difficult conditions, to minimize harm to civilians. We recognize that we have responsibilities. But we will not negotiate by day and bury our dead by night. By removing Sheikh Yassin from the international stage, we send a very strong message to the terrorists: "When you kill our civilians, you are not immune." Yesterday's operation constitutes an important stride forward in our march against fundamentalist terrorism in our region, enabling a return to the peace process.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“By any reasonable standard of international law, Israel has a legitimate right, in fact a duty, to defend itself against those illegal combatants and their commanders, who are committed to murdering as many of its civilians as possible. The Palestinian leadership has proved beyond any doubt that it has no intention of taking a single measure to fight terrorism, as it is legally and morally obliged to do. This mass murderer, Sheikh Yassin, lived and operated for years not just in freedom, but under the protective authority and in the safe haven of the Palestinian Authority, in violation of the most basic international norms. What would you have us do? Stand idly by as Yassin and the Palestinian leadership co-sign the death warrants of more innocent civilians?”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“Will it now give that attention to the person who bears direct responsibility for their murder? In comparative terms, the number of innocents deliberately murdered by Palestinian terrorists as of March 2004 is equivalent to 22,499 Russian citizens; 43,136 citizens of the United States, or 58,936 citizens of the European Union. Can there be any doubt as to what your countries would do, or in some cases are already doing or have already done, in the face of terrorism of this scale and magnitude? I ask those who have joined us today for this debate if they could sit quietly and wait for the next homicide bomber to appear on their doorstep?”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“Just one day before the twin homicide attacks at Cafe Hillel in Jerusalem and the bus stop near Tzrifin on 8 September 2003, which claimed 17 lives, Sheikh Yassin called on Hamas to attack Israeli civilians without restraint, saying, "We will not limit the military command, battalions or factions." Indeed, he knew no limit. Sheikh Yassin's murderous reach extended not only to the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem but to our global streets. He was an arch-terrorist with international aims and international ties. He called for suicide attacks against American and British forces in Iraq and praised Osama bin Laden, wishing that Allah grant him the possibility of continuing his fight against the United States. This is the man whom the Council is asked to defend. His victims were denied the attention of the Council.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“Sheikh Yassin personally instigated and specifically authorized homicide attacks, encouraged individual men and women to become suicide bombers, ordered the firing of Qassam missile attacks against Israeli communities, coordinated joint activities with other terrorist organizations and collected funds for terrorist activity, campaigning throughout the Arab world to raise millions of dollars to improve Hamas terrorist capabilities. Through his words he spawned an ideology of hatred, incitement and murder, glorified as martyrdom. In numerous public appearances, Sheikh Yassin called repeatedly for the intensification of the armed struggle against Israelis and Jews everywhere - and I quote, "everywhere".”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“The 19 August 2003 suicide bombing of a number 2 bus in Jerusalem, in which 23 people were murdered and over 130 wounded. The 9 September 2003 suicide bombing of a hitchhiking post near the Israel Defence Forces base at Tzrifin, in which 9 soldiers were murdered and 10 wounded. The 9 September 2003 suicide bombing of a Jerusalem cafe in which 7 people were murdered and 70 wounded. The 29 January 2004 suicide bombing of a number 19 bus in Jerusalem, in which 11 people were murdered and 44 wounded. And just last week, on 14 March 2004, at the Ashdod port, 10 people were murdered and 16 wounded. This is the legacy of which Sheikh Yassin was proud. His hands were steeped in the blood of the innocent.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“The 18 June 2002 suicide bombing of the number 32A commuter bus in Jerusalem, in which 19 people were murdered and 74 wounded; the bus, which was completely destroyed, was carrying many students on their way to school. The 4 August 2002 suicide bombing of the number 361 bus at Meron junction in which nine people were murdered and 50 wounded. The 21 November 2002 suicide bombing of a number 20 bus in Jerusalem, in which 11 people were murdered and 50 wounded. The 5 March 2003 suicide bombing of a number 37 bus in Haifa, in which 17 people were murdered and 53 wounded. The 18 May 2003 suicide bombing of a number 6 bus in Jerusalem, in which 7 people were murdered and 20 wounded. The 11 June 2003 suicide bombing of a number 14A bus in Jerusalem, in which 11 people were murdered and over 100 wounded.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“The 9 August 2001 suicide bombing of a Jerusalem restaurant in which 15 people were murdered and 130 wounded. The 1 December 2001 double suicide bombing on the Ben Yehuda Street pedestrian mall in Jerusalem, in which 11 people were murdered and 188 wounded. The 2 December 2001 suicide bombing of a number 16 bus in Haifa, in which 15 people were murdered and 40 wounded. The 9 March 2002 suicide bombing of a Jerusalem cafe in which 11 people were murdered and 54 wounded. The 27 March 2002 suicide bombing in the dining room of the Park Hotel in the coastal city of Netanya on the first night of Passover - on seder night - in which 30 people were murdered and 140 wounded.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“I will mention only a few of them to give members an idea of the evil this man represented and the horror the organization he headed has inflicted, while he proudly claimed responsibility. Yes, time and time again, while Israeli mothers were in excruciating pain, burying their babies, and widows mourned their husbands, Sheikh Yassin's gloating face appeared on every television screen, exalting the murderers as martyrs. What follows is just a short list of his bloody and gruesome record. The 1 June 2001 suicide bombing of the Dolphinarium discotheque in Tel Aviv, in which 21 teenagers were murdered and 120 wounded when a Hamas terrorist blew himself up while standing in a large group of teenagers waiting to enter the club and dance the night away.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“In my hand, I hold in front of the entire Security Council 187 pages documenting the horrific scope and extent of Hamas terrorism that has wreaked unspeakable anguish on the lives of the citizens of Israel. These are not just pieces of paper. They are filled with the names of real people - babies, children, women, men - with dreams and aspirations, whose lives were cut short and extinguished by Sheikh Yassin and the followers of his murderous ideology. I could be here until tomorrow reading the biographies of ll- month-old babies, of pregnant mothers and of others who were murdered viciously by this person. Among 425 attacks perpetrated by Hamas since September 2000, the organization has perpetrated no less than 52 separate suicide attacks in which 288 Israelis have been murdered and 1,646 wounded.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“Although the Security Council has never met to discuss the attacks for which Sheikh Yassin was responsible, the list is gruesome and shocking. To characterize him as a spiritual leader is tantamount to characterizing Osama bin Laden as a Mother Teresa. Underneath his supposed clerical garb, Sheikh Yassin was a true pioneer in the ruthless murder of innocents. Under his direct leadership, inspiration and instruction, Hamas - an organization recognized around the world for its brutal terrorism - perpetrated over 425 attacks that killed 377 Israelis and wounded 2,076 in less than three and a half years of violence. He stood at the head of a command and control structure dedicated to the destruction of Israel. If Sheikh Yassin was not an arch- terrorist, there is no such thing.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“Not to condemn the terrorism, not to honour the memory of the hundreds murdered by it, but to come to the defence of one of its prime perpetrators, a godfather of terrorism. This is not a message of which the Council can be proud. Frankly, it is an outrage. It is the ultimate hypocrisy. As long as we pretend that the response to terrorism is more serious than the terrorism itself, we only invite more of it. If we want to give the peace process a chance, the kind of terror that Sheikh Ahmed Yassin directed and perpetrated, and which he swore to continue relentlessly, cannot be appeased or assuaged. It must be defeated. It must be defeated not just for our sake, but for the sake of the whole free world.”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“At the outset, let me congratulate you, Sir, on your able conduct of the Security Council's work. In three and a half years of Palestinian terrorist attacks that have murdered hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians and wounded thousands more, this Council has not met even once to express condemnation of a single attack. Not one resolution, not one presidential statement has been adopted by this Council to specifically denounce the deliberate massacre of our innocent civilians - not even two months ago, when 11 Israeli citizens were murdered in a horrific homicide bomb attack on a bus in central Jerusalem on 29 January. In the wake of our anguish, our efforts to elicit some response from the Council were not met even with a presidential statement. And yet today, following a sad and familiar pattern, the Council convenes. Why?”
2004-03-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4929 (2004) · source
“Agenda items that deserve increased attention include, among others, blocking the financing of terrorism, suicide terrorism, Man-Portable Air Defence Systems, terrorism using weapons of mass destruction, and the nurturing of a culture of violence and hatred. We look forward to working with the Committee in its new phase of implementation, and we wish members of the Committee much success in achieving their noble aspirations.”
2004-03-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4921Resumption1 (2004) · source
“In that context, we would like to draw attention to comments included in the report of the Chairman of the CTC with regard to the continuing challenge of combating terrorism financing: "Certain non-profit associations have been used by terrorists, either to disseminate terrorist propaganda or by collecting funds that are diverted for the benefit of terrorist groups." (S/2004/70, p. 6) We would hope that those wise words will be taken on board and acted upon by Member States. However, in our view, efforts cannot stop here. There is a continuing need to update the international counter-terrorism agenda in order to deal with emerging threats in an attempt to keep pace with an increasingly sophisticated terrorist world.”
2004-03-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4921Resumption1 (2004) · source
“We agree with the current direction of the Committee's work, which seeks to move from formulating guidelines to practical implementation with a view to attaining tangible results on the ground. Two years after the horrifying terrorist attacks of 9 September 2001, the international community is still formulating its counter-terrorism agenda. The existing agenda - gleaned from the landmark Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) - already rests on critical counter-terrorism pillars, inter alia, enhancing capacity-building and pooling resources, implementing national legislation, increasing information exchange, reinforcing land and sea security, and combating terrorist financing. It is crucial that these elements also be implemented on the ground.”
2004-03-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4921Resumption1 (2004) · source
“The requirement of a consensus vote could impede crucial actions taken by the Committee. It is in this spirit that Israel has been and continues to be supportive of ongoing efforts to strengthen international counter-terrorism cooperation in general and the work of the CTC in particular. In the past year alone, we have witnessed increasing interest on the part of Member States to work more closely with us against terrorism and we have responded by readily sharing our painfully gained experience in that difficult sphere. We are equally willing to increase our role in the work of the CTC, both at the administrative level as well as in the field. No country can be left out if international counter-terrorism efforts are to truly succeed.”
2004-03-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4921Resumption1 (2004) · source
“In many cases, it is not a question of capability, but a question of willingness. I would like to share with Council members what I see as a troubling contradiction in the letter and spirit of resolution 1373 (2001) and the ability of the CTC to take the necessary actions to implement its objectives. Whereas resolution 1373 (2001) was adopted unanimously under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, it seems that implementation depends upon the consensus support of the members of the CTC. I believe that this stipulation may present a serious obstacle to the current direction of the CTC's work and our potential to effect real, tangible results in the area of counter-terrorism. In order to better serve the cause of resolution 1373 (2001), decisions should be taken by majority - relative or absolute - and not by consensus.”
2004-03-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4921Resumption1 (2004) · source
“In that respect, our tone must be strong and unmistakable. Today, it is clear that the success of the global counter-terrorism campaign will depend both on sustaining international political will and on enhancing the capacity of all States to fight terrorism, including assisting those well-intentioned States that want to fight terror but lack the necessary tools and experience to meet the challenge. It has never been more clear that the international community must pool its resources. In the absence of close coordination, unwavering political will and enhanced capacity-building among States, terrorists will succeed in taking advantage of every weakness, vulnerability and disagreement. We must also re-examine our capacity to deal with a second category of States - those that possess the means to fight terrorism but lack the will to do so.”
2004-03-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4921Resumption1 (2004) · source
“Israel would like to express its condemnation of recent terror events in Russia, Iraq, Pakistan and other areas of the world. Those despicable acts, unfortunately, demonstrate once again the long road still ahead in the fight against terrorism. We send our condolences to the bereaved families and our wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured. The war on terrorism is far from won. Steadfast political will constitutes a potent instrument of power, ensuring a united front of international counter-terrorism cooperation based on two essential components: the adoption of a zero- tolerance attitude towards terrorism in all its forms and the elimination of safe havens and support infrastructure for terrorists provided by any Government. The States that continue to harbour terrorists and abet their activity must be named and shamed.”
2004-03-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4921Resumption1 (2004) · source
“The terrorists target the most defenceless in our society, such as Lior Azulai, other young boys and girls, women and the elderly alike. Homicide bombings have orphaned our children and widowed our husbands and wives. They have denied us life, peace and hope. What Israel faces today in its most potent and sustained form has shown itself to be nothing less than the first world war of the twenty-first century. This new and horrendous phenomenon is now revealing itself to the rest of the world. Recent global attacks have demonstrated that extremist elements continue to be willing and able to strike at any target, in any hemisphere, without concern or regard for human life. In New York, Washington, DC, Mombassa, Bali, New Delhi, Casablanca, Jerusalem - no part of the world is immune from the scourge of this global threat.”
2004-03-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4921Resumption1 (2004) · source
“It was the same terror cell responsible for the grave homicide attack that killed 11 passengers on a bus in Jerusalem less than one month earlier, on 29 January. Since we last met in October 2003 to convene an open debate in the Security Council on the threat of terrorist acts, Israel has witnessed the murder of 66 Israelis and the injury of 224 in a continuous onslaught of terrorist attacks. These figures, by the way, do not include three United States citizens and a European tourist who were killed during that period. But these numbers are just the tip of this horrendous phenomenon. In this same period alone, 217 terror attacks - including numerous homicide bombings - have been thwarted by the Israeli security forces. They would have cost the lives of hundreds of innocent people, if not more.”
2004-03-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4921Resumption1 (2004) · source
“"Lior excelled at keeping control of the ball and loved dribbling it in front of everyone else," his coach has said. Lior Azulai, age 18, a 12th-grader at the Gymnasia School in the Rehavia neighbourhood of central Jerusalem, was killed on the morning of 22 February in a homicide attack on the bus that took him and dozens of his classmates to school every morning - but not on that morning. Eight Israelis were killed and over 60 wounded when a Palestinian terrorist from Bethlehem detonated a bomb hidden in his backpack, mangling the crowded bus and scattering body parts and wreckage throughout the area of the blast, creating a scene of despicable horror. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade of Yasser Arafat's own Fatah movement claimed responsibility for the attack.”
2004-03-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4921Resumption1 (2004) · source
“Allow me at the outset to pay tribute to the Spanish Ambassador, Mr. Arias, for his stewardship as Chairman of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC). The CTC, under his leadership, continues to assume a vanguard role in the global campaign against terrorism by assisting and monitoring State implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001). Israel would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm its support for the work of the CTC and to assure it of our full cooperation. In our fight against terror, we should not forget the faces of the victims. Lior was a happy boy and one of the most popular students in his class. His friends described him as the class clown, a boy who was always making everyone else laugh. He was a forward on the school soccer team and had dreams of a career in the sport.”
2004-03-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4921Resumption1 (2004) · source
“Instead of looking to Israel, to the Council, to the General Assembly, to the international community, to the Quartet for someone to blame, is it not time that the Palestinian side looked in the mirror, however unpleasant that image may be?”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4842 (2003) · source
“Perhaps for once the Palestinian Observer should stop looking for someone else to blame, for once stop this charade in the United Nations, where high-minded rhetoric is matched with resolutions designed to malign and distort, when all the while the Palestinian side refuses to do the one thing it is required to do - fight terrorism. The Palestinian Observer has already indicated that he will now pursue the ritual emergency special session of the General Assembly, in violation of each and every condition for such a procedure. That way, we can all spend more time listening and considering how everyone but the Palestinian side is responsible for the present predicament. Is it not time that we stopped these games?”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4842 (2003) · source
“The Palestinian Observer is also indignant that the nakedly one-sided, biased resolution that failed to draw attention to the Palestinian terrorism that is at the heart of the problem and that has been the very cause of Israeli defensive measures could not garner the support of the Council, which was acting in full consistency with its own rules of procedure and with the United Nations Charter. And he is indignant, despite the fact that he continues to consider it unacceptable for a resolution to condemn the murder of innocent civilians by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and call for their dismantlement, as required by the road map.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4842 (2003) · source
“The Security Council has yet again proved today that it is not a rubber stamp for incessant and hypocritical Palestinian and Syrian whims. The Palestinian Observer has spent a lot of time blaming others today. He has blamed Israel; he has blamed the Council, and he has blamed a permanent member of the Council that has done more to support the cause of peace than any other State. The Palestinian Observer is indignant that the Council would not swallow whole his distorted portrayal of this conflict.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4842 (2003) · source
“It is our duty to protect them, and it is the duty and obligation of the international community and the Security Council to see that we do.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“We would urge delegations, before deciding how to respond to this issue, to think about this, and also to think of the lives that can be saved by this security fence, and the lives that could have been saved had it been constructed earlier, and to consider whether their energy, and the energy of the Security Council should be expended debating security measures adopted in self-defence, or addressing the terrorism that made such measures necessary. The families that were wiped out last week in Haifa by the suicide bomber who infiltrated through an opening in the yet incomplete fence could be with us today if there had been a fence. Unfortunately, we cannot bring them back. But we can and must save other families who could face a similar fate.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“Not a single inch was so-called occupied between 1948 and 1967. It has to do with the rejection of the right of the Jewish people to self-determination and their ancient homeland, side by side with their Palestinian and Arab neighbours. When the Palestinian side and our Arab cousins are willing to rectify this and accept some measure of responsibility, the path to peaceful settlement will be laid out before us. Unfortunately, the terror Israel is facing is global. It is not limited to one region or one conflict. The dilemmas Israel faces today are dilemmas other States, sadly, may well face tomorrow.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“Let us not forget that we would not be here today had the Palestinians agreed at least to negotiate in good faith the two-State solution offered at Camp David, rather than embark, on the orders of the Palestinian representative's sponsor, on a path of terrorism and destruction. The fence is a direct outcome of that terrible, horrible Palestinian decision. Familiar talk of occupation as the source of all evil rings hollow when an opportunity to end the present situation was so clearly rejected by the Palestinian side. The message sent by that rejection, by the fact that no Palestinian State was established during the 19 years of Jordanian and Egyptian occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and by the daily murder of innocent Israelis, is that this has nothing to do with so-called occupation.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“We are all tired, both figuratively and literally, so I will limit myself to a few brief comments. It has been a long debate, and like previous debates of its kind, those seeking to censure Israel have been long on propaganda and short both on fact and on self-reflection. I will not bother to respond to each of the accusations made. The tendency of the Palestinian observer for exaggeration and misrepresentation is well known. But I will say that it is difficult to see how these kinds of events help the peace process forward or encourage understanding between the parties.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“Before concluding, I would like to ask representatives and colleagues to pause for a moment before deciding how to respond to this issue, and think of the lives that can be saved by the security fence, and the lives that could have been saved had it been constructed earlier. I would like them to think of the Almog family - Zeev Almog, aged 71; his wife, Ruth, aged 70; their son, Moshe, aged 43; and their grandsons, Tomer and Asaf, aged nine and 11 - a whole family, three generations, wiped out, all murdered, together with 15 other innocent victims, at the Maxime restaurant in Haifa last week. I put it to them: "Imagine if they were your children, and ask yourself what would you expect your Government to do to protect them? Would you not do anything - literally anything - to save them?"”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“The security fence, like other Israeli defensive measures, is a product of that strategy. And it is the abandonment of that strategy that would obviate the need for such defence measures, including the security fence itself, and pave the way for peaceful negotiations based on mutual recognition and mutual compromise. If we confuse cause and effect, if we apply justice selectively, and if we pander to more one-sided initiatives that assert sweeping rights but ignore well- founded responsibilities, we will only encourage a strategy of terrorism and push the day of peace further into the future.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“It is just not enough for condemnations and expressions of sympathy to be issued in capitals or in United Nations speeches on the day an attack takes place, without the sustained action and public support needed to demonstrate that the international community will not tolerate the deliberate murder of innocent civilians. Those in the Palestinian leadership that have turned Palestinian victimhood from a condition that could be resolved by peaceful settlement into a political strategy of immortalization in the pursuit of personal power have a great deal to answer for. We do the peace process no service by reinforcing a sense of entitlement without affirming a sense of responsibility. The road map can never succeed if we absolve the Palestinian side of its obligations to end its morally bankrupt and profoundly destructive terrorist strategy.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“But no State can allow its citizens to be murdered in the hundreds by terrorists, with the support and tolerance of the current Palestinian leadership, which has virtually ceased to even masquerade as a peace partner. The fence is to protect against terrorism, improve the overall humanitarian situation on both sides and contribute to an atmosphere in which peace negotiations can proceed for the benefit of both peoples. This conflict, and this debate, is not just about Palestinian rights. It is about Israeli rights as well. Dead, injured and terrorized Israelis are also a humanitarian problem, and until our neighbours and the international community are willing to seriously accept that fact and deal with it, we will have difficulty advancing towards a peaceful solution.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“If the Council decides to call us to account, then surely some of our neighbours should be the focus of equal attention. If the Council were to devote only a fraction of the time and resources it has spent considering Israel's record to a fair examination of the destabilizing and dangerous conduct of the rogue regimes in our neighbourhood, does anyone doubt the conclusions that would be drawn? If the United Nations voice is to be taken seriously, this selective treatment must end. Israel yearns for peace, and has proved that it is willing to make the most painful compromises to that end. We will continue to pursue every opportunity for a peaceful settlement, with a view to realizing President Bush's vision and the relevant Council resolutions.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“Some who speak of international law seem to have forgotten that there is in place a significant body of established laws that provide support for the confrontation against terrorism. They also seem to have forgotten that in fighting terrorists we fight an enemy that has no respect for life or for law. Yes, we must respect the rule of law. But we cannot do so by applying misconceived or blinkered interpretations that no enlightened nation would apply to itself if faced with such sustained attack and that effectively strengthen the hands of those devoted to trampling the law as they trample innocent lives. Israel has no problem being - indeed, it is proud to be - held to the highest standards. But at least let us be permitted to value the lives of our civilians in the way that any other democratic country would.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“Much has been said of the need to conduct the war against terrorism in accordance with international law. We agree, but international law is not a suicide pact. International law recognizes that the measure of the legitimacy of a State's actions is whether such action is proportionate to the threat. This means assessing the threat according to those attacks planned and prevented, not just those that have succeeded. In Israel's case, this has meant considering not just the hundreds of civilians killed in terrorist attacks, but those many hundreds of attacks successfully thwarted, including mega-terror attacks planned against skyscrapers, gas depots, fuel tankers and bridges. International humanitarian law specifically allows for territory to be requisitioned for security purposes.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“It is this that is required by Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), which call for the parties to start negotiations, inter alia, on secure and recognized boundaries, and agreements reached between the parties specifically refer to the need for there to be direct negotiations to resolve this issue. When the familiar rhetoric and misrepresentations of the Palestinian observer are peeled away, the simple truth is revealed. The fence is a response to Palestinian terror, designed not to establish a border, but to create a terror-free environment in which a border can be agreed through negotiations. Many Palestinians who oppose the fence simply want to continue killing Israelis. The Israelis who built the fence simply want to live.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“Moreover, it would ignore the aim of the fence, which is to frustrate acts of terrorism directed against Israeli population centres. It is the terrorists who, by their murderous attacks, have dictated the route, which seeks to protect as many civilians as possible while seeking to minimize humanitarian and environmental hardship. Of equal importance, the so-called Green Line has never represented an international boundary. The 1949 armistice agreements specifically refer to that fact. There was never a recognized and legitimate sovereign in the West Bank. The legal status of these areas remains that of disputed territory to be resolved through negotiations.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“In both cases, Israel has proven that security fences are security fences. This fence is intended to counter terrorism of the most brutal kind, not to dictate a border that is and remains the subject of permanent- status negotiations. It is our hope that, by our building this fence, its very function will become irrelevant and that one day it will be dismantled. It has been suggested that, in order to avoid the impression of having a political motive, Israel should have constructed the fence along the so-called Green Line. On the practical level, a fence along the Line would create far greater humanitarian problems, arbitrarily dividing certain villages and separating others from access to water and other basic services on a large scale.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source