YouSaid · the spoken record

Mansour

lines on the record: 2,038
first: 2006-03-30
most recent: 2023-12-22
sittings or episodes: 126
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

“The Israeli Government is a Government of settlers, for settlers and by settlers. Israeli officials would proudly recognize it as such. Why can the rest of the world not acknowledge it and act accordingly? Some may think that the Palestinian tragedy is not grave enough to deserve such attention, and they illustrate their argument by examining each single event in isolation from the others. My advice to them is to look at the bigger picture. This is about the denial of the rights of an entire nation and the mass displacement and replacement of a people, coupled with a policy of confinement for Palestinians and expansion for Jewish Israeli settlers. Is such a policy not grave enough to warrant international attention? We believe that it is grave enough to merit long-overdue international action.”
2018-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8316 (2018) · source
“Fourteen years ago, the International Court of Justice considered that the construction of the wall and its associated regime create a fait accompli on the ground that could well become permanent, in which case, and notwithstanding the formal characterization of the wall by Israel, it would be tantamount to de facto annexation. Is there any doubt left that that is what Israel is pursuing - annexation at the expense of our State and of peace? In the words of a United States peace envoy, Frank Lowenstein, instead of transferring power to the Palestinian side, Israel has transferred it to Israeli settlers. That is the very definition of colonialism. Many countries represented here have experienced it. Their solidarity with the Palestinian people stems from their own history and struggle.”
2018-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8316 (2018) · source
“That calls to memory the notion of "separate but equal", which was the basis of racial segregation in the United States of America, instituted in 1898 in the infamous case, Plessy v. Ferguson. That was an infamous, dark chapter in the history ofhumankind, and as we witness it again, it will be "separate and unequal". In that regard, I must say that the representative of the State of Israel has another title added to his name: the representative of Jim Crow Israel and its laws. Israel's ultimate goal is not to achieve peace or a two-State solution.”
2018-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8316 (2018) · source
“It is not even a hidden plan; it is articulated every day by Israeli leaders and openly conducted in defiance of international law and United Nations resolutions. Israel, the occupying Power, has been enacting one law after another to consolidate that regime instead of dismantling it. We have just celebrated the centenary of the birth of the universal symbol of freedom, South African anti-apartheid leader and former President of that country, Nelson Mandela. We honoured his legacy and struggle against oppression and injustice, and pledged that the struggle for freedom, equality, dignity and justice continues. That is the time Israel chose to adopt its Jewish nation-State law, which has transformed a situation of de facto apartheid into a situation of apartheid de jure - that is, by law.”
2018-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8316 (2018) · source
“We look forward to the Secretary-General's report and his recommendations on ways and means to provide international protection for the Palestinian people, including through an international protection mechanism, pursuant to General Assembly resolution ES-10/20. We expect this report to be released on 13 August 2018. Israel's occupation of our land is not the temporary control exerted over a territory as a result of a conflict; it is an effort orchestrated over decades to seize Palestinian land in violation of two cardinal principles of the Charter of the United Nations: the right of a people - in this case, the Palestinian people - to self- determination, and the inadmissibility ofthe acquisition of land by force.”
2018-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8316 (2018) · source
“This year, school opened early in Khan Al-Ahmar to prevent the looming threat of demolition of yet another community of refugees that faces the prospect of being forcibly displaced yet again. One generation after another, our people, despite their resilience and steadfastness, are confronted with the same fate, and we have repeatedly appealed to the international community to address this critical matter. Regrettably, in the absence of concrete international action, the occupying Power remains undeterred, persisting unabated with its crimes in full view of the world, without any fear of consequences. Those violations are further additional evidence, if any was needed, of the imperative of providing international protection to the Palestinian civilian population.”
2018-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8316 (2018) · source
“In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, our people have had to endure the cruelty and violence of the Israeli occupation, including its persistent policy of forced displacement and transfer and demolition of homes and destruction of livelihood, as Israel's illegal settlement campaign persists unabated. Most recently, Israel has advanced its plans to forcibly transfer the Bedouin communities of Abu Nuwar and Khan Al-Ahmar. The known purpose of such plans is to facilitate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the area, in grave breach of international law and numerous United Nations resolutions, including resolution 2334 (2016). When hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced into exile in 1948, the first thing they built beside their tents was schools, to preserve hope and to arm future generations with knowledge.”
2018-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8316 (2018) · source
“Their coping capacities have been severely depleted, as have the hopes and dreams of an entire generation of young people, who have been peacefully protesting the unbearable conditions they have been facing. However, Israel persists with its wilful killing of Palestinian civilians and its disregard of human life. It is therefore imperative that the international community act urgently to prevent further assaults against Palestinian civilians and cause Israel to lift its more-than-a-decade-long blockade. It is also imperative to mobilize international efforts to ensure sufficient and sustainable funding for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, given its vital role in Gaza and beyond.”
2018-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8316 (2018) · source
“For seven decades, the Palestinian people have borne witness to decisions made under the pretext of security and religious edicts denigrating their rights and national aspirations and dismissing international law and global consensus. They continue to endure colonization, forced displacement, arbitrary detention, unlawful killing and injury on a daily basis, regardless of what they do or do not do. In the occupied besieged Gaza Strip, the Palestinian people continue to endure an ever- worsening humanitarian crisis and a rapid decline in the socioeconomic situation as a devastating effect of Israel's ongoing occupation, illegal and inhumane blockade and repeated military aggressions. That dire humanitarian situation has put explosive pressure on the infrastructure in the Gaza Strip and caused loss of livelihood for the entire population.”
2018-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8316 (2018) · source
“The United States Declaration of Independence states: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen states that all men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Those truths and rights are universal and inalienable and must be recognized for every nation in the world, with no exception. But during this same month, Israel, the occupying Power, chose to continue its oppression of the Palestinian people - children, youth, women and men - further entrenching its illegal and belligerent military occupation and committing more crimes and human rights violations.”
2018-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8316 (2018) · source
“On behalf of the State of Palestine, I wish to congratulate the Russian Federation on its successful presidency of the Security Council in the month of June and express appreciation to Sweden for its able leadership of the Council's important agenda for this month. We also thank Special Coordinator and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Nikolay Mladenov, for his briefing and efforts. This month, the United States of America and the French Republic proudly celebrated the anniversaries of their independence.”
2018-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8316 (2018) · source
“As the painful situation in Palestine demonstrates, only by ending impunity for violations and crimes against children can we preserve their lives, their rights and the future they embody.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“We also call on the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict to publicly denounce the crimes committed against Palestinian children. We believe that an expression of this kind would have been important during Israel's violent repression of peaceful protests in the Gaza Strip, in which 19 Palestinian children have been killed to date. We do, however, fully recognize the critical role that the United Nations plays in Palestine, and we would like to express our appreciation for it, particularly to UNRWA, which is going through one of the most severe crises in its history. We want to appeal once again for urgent support to the Agency so that it can continue fulfilling its vital mandate, including for the provision of education, which all agree is central to ensuring children's protection, well-being and development.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“The failure to include them seriously affects the list's credibility and makes it vulnerable to criticisms that it is politicized. The Secretary-General's report should have made specific reference to Israel's prolonged military and colonial occupation and its ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip as the foundation for its widespread and systematic violations of the Charter of the United Nations, international humanitarian law and human rights, including rules aimed at protecting children. The absence of such explicit references fails to reflect the reality on the ground and undermines the efforts to address the root causes of the conflict and the ongoing mass violations of the rights of the Palestinian people.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“The Israeli occupying forces' intentional targeting of peaceful protesters in the Gaza Strip, including children, and the forced transfer of civilians in Abu Nuwar and Khan Al-Ahmar, which affects Palestinian children most of all, are only the most recent examples in that regard. We hope that the upcoming report of the Secretary-General pursuant to General Assembly resolution ES-10/20, on the protection of the Palestinian civilian population, will include practical recommendations to assure protection for our people, including children. Palestine emphasizes that all these well-documented Israeli crimes plead clearly for including Israel and its settlers on the list of parties committing grave violations affecting children in situations of armed conflict.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“Deliberate attacks on schools and closures of educational institutions, as well as denials of humanitarian access, must cease. The children of Palestine have been enduring all of these ills for decades with a striking lack of protection, despite the laws intended to protect all children and our repeated calls for the protection of the Palestinian civilian population. At a time when everyone stresses the importance of psychosocial support to children suffering from the consequences of armed conflicts, Palestinian children are about to be deprived of such support, owing to the defunding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“We underline the importance of international criminal law for holding the perpetrators of crimes accountable, providing justice to victims and preventing any recurrence of crimes. Having acceded to the core conventions relating to human rights and international humanitarian law, and to the International Criminal Court, the State of Palestine has also acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict. We have also endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration and support the joint statement made today in that regard. We call for the universal acceptance and implementation of all the relevant legal instruments. Children must be protected from killing and maiming, recruitment, arrest, detention and ill treatment.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“More than 70 years later, it is therefore difficult to explain the gap that has persisted between States' clear legal obligations and their failure to ensure accountability, which continues to render civilians, including children, extremely vulnerable in situations of armed conflict around the world. Prevention, protection and accountability are indispensable for saving future generations from the scourge of war. The State of Palestine stresses the importance of ensuring respect for international humanitarian law, as well as for human rights and refugee law, as they are central to the protection of children and all civilians in armed conflict, including those suffering under foreign occupation.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“I would like to express our appreciation to the Swedish presidency for convening this important debate, in line with Sweden's principled defence of international law and the protection it provides, especially for those who are most vulnerable, including refugees and migrants and the children among them. I thank the Secretary- General for his report (S/2018/465), and am grateful to the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict and the Executive Director of UNICEF for their valuable briefings and the representative of civil society from Colombia for her powerful speech. The State of Palestine also welcomes the Council's unanimous adoption today of resolution 2427 (2018). The protection of civilians has been seen as a top priority since the Second World War.”
2018-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8305 (2018) · source
“To all those who accuse the tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians peacefully protesting against the occupation of being terrorists 4 and those accusers got nothing but their own vote in the Security Council on their failed draft resolution - we say that the entire Palestinian people, in their millions, are against occupation and the terrorism practiced by the State of Israel, whose latest victim, on this very day, was Razan Ashraf Al-Najjar, a martyr at 21 years of age. She was a paramedic carrying out her humanitarian duties when she was shot in the back by the Israeli enemy. The bullet pierced her heart and ended her life.”
2018-06-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8274 (2018) · source
“There is no force in this world, however great, that is greater than the determination of our Palestinian people, which has lasted for more than seven decades. There can be nothing more deep-rooted than our history and civilization, which is all about steadfastness and challenge. We will continue to resolutely defend our just cause so that we can live in peace and security in our own independent State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
2018-06-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8274 (2018) · source
“We will spare no effort in calling for respect for our inalienable rights and to achieve our legitimate national aspirations. The result of the voting today will only make us more committed and persistent in working in the Security Council with the sisterly State of Kuwait and all friendly countries, and with the support of our brothers and sisters in the Group of Arab States; the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries; all of our friends and free, peace-loving States in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America; the General Assembly and every other international forum to end the Israeli occupation of our territory in order to achieve the freedom, dignity and independence of our people.”
2018-06-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8274 (2018) · source
“In spite of today's outcome and the paralysis gripping the Security Council, we will not stop calling for Council action and the implementation of all of its relevant resolutions, including resolution 2334 (2016), because it is its duty and obligation to act and to address such gross violations and threats to international peace and security and to ultimately contribute to bringing an end to this injustice and ensuring a just, lasting and peaceful solution to this conflict. Allow me now to end my statement with a message to our people in Arabic. (Spoke in Arabic) We will continue, on behalf of our steadfast people in the occupied Palestinian territory and the great people of Palestine, to make every effort to raise their voice - the voice of reason and justice - and to end their painful plight.”
2018-06-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8274 (2018) · source
“We will continue our calls and efforts to secure protection for the Palestinian people to ensure their safety and well-being. We will continue to seek accountability and to pursue justice for the victims through all available legal means, including through the International Criminal Court. We await the dispatch of the commission of inquiry established by the Human Rights Council and the findings following a thorough, independent and transparent investigation, as requested by the Secretary-General himself. We will not relent in pressing for answers, including why Palestinian children, women and men were killed and injured so wantonly and wilfully by the Israeli occupying forces under the direct command of Israel's highest political and military leaders and who is to be held responsible.”
2018-06-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8274 (2018) · source
“The draft, which was negotiated for more than two weeks realistically, addresses all of the factors of the current crisis, including violence on both sides. If anything, the draft does not go far enough in addressing the nightmare the Palestinian people are living under this criminal Israeli occupation. What we are facing can be described in just a few words declared this week by the Israeli Minister Yuval Steinitz, who said: "I do not exclude the possibility of conquering Gaza and eliminating it once and for all". This is the reality of the constant aggression, threats and existential crisis the Palestinian people are enduring under Israeli occupation, which the current United States Administration refuses to see, refuses to understand, or, in any way properly address.”
2018-06-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8274 (2018) · source
“Moreover, we strongly reject the cynical attempts to delay, undermine and thwart action on this initiative in a manner that denigrates the Council's work and the serious efforts to address these critical matters in accordance with international law and relevant resolutions. We also firmly reject the renewed attempt today to classify our situation as one of terrorism. It is not. We reject that classification. It is about the denial of an entire people's human rights and their oppression and dehumanization every single day and for decades. This is a political, territorial rights and justice issue and we cannot accept the lecturing accusations that the draft presented by Kuwait was in any way biased.”
2018-06-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8274 (2018) · source
“While we had sincerely hoped and exerted all efforts to ensure that the Security Council would uphold its duties pursuant to the Charter of the United Nations and act responsibly to address the protection crisis being endured by the Palestinian people, we have never underestimated the obstacles in that regard. We deeply regret the Council's continued paralysis on our issue due to the recurrent negative and biased position of one permanent member of the Security Council. We deplore the use of the veto to continue shielding Israel from censure and accountability for its crimes against our people and to wrongly prevent the Council from upholding its Charter duties in the maintenance of international peace and security, including by actions aimed at saving civilian lives.”
2018-06-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8274 (2018) · source
“Their votes today refute the premise that the Palestinian people are the exception to the rules and principles of international law, reaffirming instead that they are entitled to the rights and legal protections to which all peoples are entitled - reinforcing the universality of the law and its application to this conflict. They have rejected the might-over-right strategy, sending a clear message that no one is exempt from the law - not even Israel, regardless of the exceptionalism it has for too long enjoyed. Of course, the final outcome of today's vote is extremely disappointing but, unfortunately, not surprising.”
2018-06-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8274 (2018) · source
“Fifthly, maximum restraint is required on the part of all parties, as are immediate steps to stabilize the situation and reverse the negative trends on the ground. Sixthly, it is time to seriously consider measures to guarantee the safety, protection and well-being of the Palestinian people, including through the establishment of an international protection mechanism. The Palestinian leadership, including President Mahmoud Abbas, has long called for such measures, and we are grateful that despite all of the pressures, this issue has been given due consideration by the Security Council and enjoys the majority support of the Council's members.”
2018-06-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8274 (2018) · source
“Secondly, Israel's killing and injuring ofPalestinian civilians will not be tolerated and cannot be excused. The occupying Power must fully abide by its obligations under international law. Thirdly, the Palestinian people are entitled to protection in accordance with international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, and the Security Council's obligations and commitments to protecting civilians in armed conflict. Fourthly, immediate steps must be taken to end Israel's closure and restrictions on Gaza, and ensure the sustained opening of the crossing points for the normal movement and access of persons and goods. This entirely illegal, inhumane and suffocating Israeli blockade must end.”
2018-06-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8274 (2018) · source
“We would like to convey our deep appreciation to Kuwait, Bolivia, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, France, Kazakhstan, Peru, Sweden and the Russian Federation for standing firmly on principle, responding to the urgency of the situation and standing unequivocally on the side of international law with regard to Palestine, including on the protection of civilians. Indeed, today's vote sends important messages that must be recognized, including the following. First, there is a severe protection crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory, including in East Jerusalem and particularly in the Gaza Strip, due to Israel's illegal policies and practices, such as its use of force against Palestinian civilians conducting peaceful protests and its blockade of Gaza, among other oppressive and punitive measures against our people.”
2018-06-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8274 (2018) · source
“We would like to express our deep appreciation to our brother country of Kuwait for submitting draft resolution S/2018/516, which the Security Council just voted on, and for the Kuwaiti delegation's tireless efforts to ensure the Council's serious consideration of our repeated calls for international protection for the Palestinian people. We commend the Kuwaiti delegation for the comprehensive and transparent process it and other Council members undertook to advance the issue. We regret, however, the extremely evil intent aimed at undermining that process and the Council's credibility and authority. We are grateful to all the countries that voted in favour of the draft resolution, despite the veto cast today by the United States, which regrettably prevented its adoption, and despite the ensuing tensions and confusion.”
2018-06-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8274 (2018) · source
“We congratulate the Russian Federation on its presidency of the Security Council and would like to sincerely thank you, Mr. President, for your ready response to the request to convene today's meeting. We would also like to recognize Poland for its skilled leadership of the Security Council last month, including the meetings held to address the Palestinian question and the important debates on international law and the protection of civilians, which are so relevant to the grave crisis we are facing right now. We will never forget the Permanent Representative of Poland's humane gesture when she asked Security Council members to stand for a minute of silence in honour of the Palestinian innocents killed by Israeli forces (see S/PV.8256). We appreciate that and will never forget it.”
2018-06-01 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8274 (2018) · source
“We appeal to Council members to favourably consider the draft resolution now being negotiated, with the aim of addressing the protection needs of our occupied and besieged people. While we continue our endeavours in that regard, alongside all of our efforts to realize justice and fulfil the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including to self-determination and freedom, we call on the Security Council to act, in line with its legal obligations, resolutions and commitments, to address the crisis and reinforce our faith in international law, including for the protection of the most vulnerable among us.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“Attempts to justify illegal actions in occupied Palestine, including East Jerusalem, under the pretext of security are totally unacceptable. Equally, we firmly reject attempts to frame that issue as one of terrorism. The lines should never be blurred between actions that can be taken by States to ensure security, as per the Charter and international law, on the one hand, and actions that are in violation of the law and fundamental human rights and constitute war crimes, on the other. Faced with that reality, we will persist with our efforts to secure protection for the Palestinian people to ensure their safety and well-being, in accordance with international law, including humanitarian law and human rights law.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“We have no problem whatsoever with the application of international law to our situation, as long as it is applied evenly, fairly, consistently and judiciously at all times, not selectively and not as a means to exempt Israel from the law and absolve it of its crimes, while it manipulates the law to suit its distorted narrative and unlawful claims. At the same time, we remain insistent that all people seek, and are entitled to, security. Israel cannot claim exclusivity to the right to security; the Palestinian people also have a right to security. We cannot be excluded from that. Only the Israelis currently have security and we have no right whatsoever to it. Security should be for all, including the Palestinians.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“The latest cycle of violence has been fuelled and incited by a series of Israeli acts of aggression and rhetoric, particularly from 30 March onwards, including the massacre on 14 May and the killing of three other Palestinians by Israeli forces on 28 May, just prior to yesterday's escalation. We reiterate what has been repeatedly affirmed by the Palestinian leadership, including President Mahmoud Abbas: we do not condone and we reject and condemn all violence against civilians. International law must be respected by all and under all circumstances. I challenge those who have memories from 24 hours ago to repeat that same commitment of condemning the killing of all civilians from all sides for whatever reasons to also include the Palestinian civilians.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“Their suffering endures in a multitude of agonizing ways, as they continue to be denied even the most basic life needs - a constant reminder of the occupation's cruelty and criminality. Do not minimize their suffering: it is deep, traumatic and unbearable. It is the incubator in which anger and bitterness fester and hopes diminish, especially among the youth, for a more peaceful and just future in the glaring absence of accountability and genuine remedies for their plight, including in the immediate term for an end to Israel's punitive and inhumane blockade. That is the backdrop and context for recent developments. The events of the past days did not occur in a vacuum.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“They were pleading for their voices to be heard, their human rights to be respected and an end to the miserable isolation and desolation imposed on them by more than a decade of the Israeli blockade and wars and a dire humanitarian crisis that is worsening by the day. Yet Israel chose to silence them, as usual deciding to respond with a heavy hand by using lethal and indiscriminate force against thousands of peaceful civilian protesters and setting off another cycle of Violence. Our people have remained bravely steadfast and resilient in the face of all of that. But the suffocating Israeli blockade has depleted their coping capacities and intensified their despair.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“Perhaps they have forgotten that Israeli soldiers perched at Gaza's borders deliberately shot at peaceful protesters from hundreds of meters away, in a craven and punitive show of force that obviously intended to cause bodily harm and death and sow fear and terror among the population. But we have not forgotten, and neither have the families who are today mourning, and will forever mourn, the 118 Palestinians killed, among them 15 children, since the Great March of Return protests began on 30 March. Nor has it been forgotten by the thousands who have been injured by the Israeli occupying forces. They number at least 13,000 civilians, including children, women, medics and journalists, among them thousands still in need of surgery and medical treatment, and hundreds who have been disabled for life.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“It is hard to understand the attempts for a reaction from the Council to yesterday's events, as if those events are somehow unrelated to those that preceded, including when three previous attempts, led again by our brothers from Kuwait, for an appropriate Council reaction to the killing, injuring and maiming of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli occupying forces were summarily blocked by one Council member. Perhaps some have already forgotten the slaughter of unarmed Palestinian civilians, including innocent children, that was committed on 14 May - the same date as the provocative and unlawful transfer of the United States Embassy to Jerusalem.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“Accusations of a double standard when it comes to the question of Palestine, regrettably, are not new in this Chamber, and they will only be reinforced by the hypocrisy on display today, namely, bringing us here to address the recent Israeli air strikes and rocket attacks from Gaza when the grave events that preceded, and may follow, remain unaddressed as the Council continues to be paralysed, and therefore prevented from carrying out its esponsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“We have been brought to this Chamber today precisely because of the constant mistake of detaching developments from the root causes and the reality of the existence of the Israeli occupation, dispossession and colonization of the Palestinian people and their land by the most forceful and repressive means, in grave breach of international law. That detachment is most often coupled with erroneous attempts, including malicious propaganda by Israel, to characterize the situation as being one of terrorism, while completely twisting the facts and undermining efforts, including by concerned States and the United Nations, to address the many serious issues before us.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“It has been repeatedly stated in these halls that the Palestine question remains a litmus test for the efficacy of international law and the international system's authority, and that the failure to justly resolve it remains a stain on the international conscience. It is time to right that historic wrong. The harsh lessons of the past should have been learned by now. Proper redress that is just, comprehensive and lasting can be found only on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions and the long-standing international consensus; it cannot be detached from them in a politicized and biased manner.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“The draft resolution that has been presented to Council members by our brothers in Kuwait, as the Arab representative on the Council, represents a modest, first step in that regard, and we urge everyone to support it. It is inexcusable for the international community to continue standing idly by, expressing only regret yet failing to act, even as the rights, safety, well-being and dignity of our people continue to be so grossly and systematically violated by what amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity. As many Council members have said, it is time to address the root causes and underlying issues of this situation, not just the symptoms or a few selective events.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“It is past high time to use those tools and to implement those laws when it comes to Palestine. The exceptionalism and impunity too long accorded to Israel must stop. It is time to stop making excuses for why the time is not right or why it is not possible or convenient to act, while continually absolving Israel of its crimes and facilitating its evasion of accountability, when so many human lives are at stake, and indeed the existence of an entire nation is at stake. It is time for the Security Council to act to ensure international protection for the Palestinian people for as long as this illegal, abhorrent Israeli occupation continues and their rights continue to be violated, including the rights of our refugees.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“It is our hope that such strong messages will reinforce the efforts under way to ensure a ceasefire for the sake of saving civilian lives and sparing our people further suffering and yet another month of Ramadan filled with anguish and despair. We hope that the ceasefire holds, and we commend the serious efforts of Egypt in that regard, in addition to its efforts on Palestinian reconciliation. We appeal for conscience and reason to prevail. We cannot act as though further escalation and deterioration of the situation are inevitable; they are not. We must act to avert the worst-case scenarios, for the risks are immense. The international community and, at the forefront, the Security Council, long ago created the tools and laws both to prevent and resolve conflict, as well as to ensure the protection of civilians.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“We call on the Council to protect the defenceless, to stand firmly on the side of international law, with a steady moral compass, and not to fall prey to the cynical narrative that is constantly dragging us to the brink of war and thwarting all efforts to find ajust solution to this horrific injustice. We totally reject that narrative driven by Israel, the occupying Power, which remains unrelenting in its attempts to obscure and distort the realities we face, repeatedly casting itself as the victim when it is in fact the occupier, aggressor and oppressor and has appointed itself judge, jury and executioner of the Palestinian people - international law and human rights be damned, and no less the authority and credibility of the Security Council.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“Faced with the potential of yet another act of savage Israeli aggression against the occupied, besieged and blockaded Gaza Strip, we must make the same appeal we made two weeks ago (see S/PV.8256) and at all prior junctures: we urge the Council to act now to de-escalate this dangerous situation, to avert a descent into more violence and chaos and to prevent the occupying Power from further terrorizing the Palestinian civilian population and endangering innocent civilian lives. Once again, we plead with the Council to act to save civilian lives and to respond to such threats to international peace and security.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source
“We come again to this Chamber two weeks following the 14 May massacre by Israel, the occupying Power, against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and following a barrage of Israeli military strikes against Gaza in the past 24 hours that have heightened tensions and are a cause for alarm, creating even greater urgency to reign in Israel's warmongering and defuse the current crisis.”
2018-05-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8272 (2018) · source