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

“Considering the realities of the situation and the dangers of inaction, so starkly highlighted at the recent Arria Formula meeting, we must ask what could possibly justify the continued paralysis ofthe Security Council in the face of such systematic, aggressive Israeli violations and blatant defiance of the will of the international community. And what could excuse Israel's further appeasement, when its actions are threatening peace and security - the exact purview ofthe Council - and destroying the two-State solution based on the 1967 borders that have been internationally conceived and endorsed for decades? In addition to defying the law, the premise and arguments presented by Israel defy logic, reason and decency and must be rejected.”
2016-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7792 (2016) · source
“Even more appalling is that Israel, which bullies and boasts that peace will not come by resolutions, is the very same Israel that was actually created by a United Nations resolution - General Assembly resolution 181 (II) of 1947, to be precise. That begs the question: How can a State be created on the basis ofa resolution while peace cannot? We believe that peace - the central purpose of the Organization - is more than worthy of international legislation and action, and Israel's constant attempts to diminish and divert the United Nations work, in that regard, should be denounced and halted, not rewarded.”
2016-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7792 (2016) · source
“There can be no question about the clear legal dimensions of the issue, its standing as a peace and security issue, and the international community's duty to act, including, at the forefront, the Security Council according to its Charter mandate. It is therefore quite astounding to hear Israeli claims that any attempts to redress this illegal situation are one-sided Palestinian or Arab attempts and Israeli arguments that the settlements are not an issue. And it is equally disturbing to hear claims that the Security Council has no duty or role on this issue and witness Israel bully States, including permanent members of the Council, warning them not to adopt any resolutions on the matter - in essence demanding of them to ignore and, worse yet, breach their own legal obligations.”
2016-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7792 (2016) · source
“The international consensus is also clear, as evident in the determination made individually and collectively by States, including in Security Council resolutions, that settlement activities are illegal and constitute a major obstacle to peace. It is also evident in the global calls on Israel to cease all settlement activities and end its nearly half-century occupation. Both are imperative for realizing ajust, lasting and comprehensive Palestinian- Israeli peace and an Arab-Israeli peace, in general, and we recall here the Arab Peace Initiative, the importance and centrality of which we underscore.”
2016-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7792 (2016) · source
“Moreover, article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court deems as war crimes, "[t]he transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory". The 2004 advisory opinion ofthe International Court of Justice was equally clear about these prohibitions, affirming the illegality of Israel's settlements, wall and all related measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. Such measures also constitute violations of the Charter of the United Nations.”
2016-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7792 (2016) · source
“We must therefore, for the record, reaffirm article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which strictly prohibits the colonization, construction of settlements, transfer of settlers, forced displacement and transfer of the Palestinian civilian population and all other measures carried out by Israel intended to facilitate and support such actions, including its construction of the wall directly contravening this prohibition. Under Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of12 August 1949, relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, known as Protocol 1, these actions constitute grave breaches, which all high-contracting parties are obligated to suppress.”
2016-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7792 (2016) · source
“That is not a matter of Palestinian opinion, narrative or perspective. It is simply the law. Yet, as we approach the 50-year mark of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian people and land, the laws governing it have been turned upside down, twisted and exploited by Israel, which has used every pretext - even the most implausible and disrespectful ones - to justify its occupation and all of the human rights violations and war crimes flowing from it and sustaining it for five decades.”
2016-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7792 (2016) · source
“As affirmed in every statement, the illegality of settlement activities and the threats posed to the two-State solution and peace prospects are matters of international law and involve all States concerned with a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and peace and security in the Middle East. It is about the law, established by the Member States, and respect for that law. Otherwise, its denigration renders it meaningless and ineffective. That law - namely, the Fourth Geneva Convention, applicable to all States as customary law - was created in the aftermath of the horrors of the Second World War specifically to avert the colonization, oppression and persecution of peoples by foreign Powers occupying their lands. The same law clearly stipulates that occupation is to be a temporary situation, not indefinite or perpetual.”
2016-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7792 (2016) · source
“I reiterate our deep appreciation to the five Security Council members that co-chaired last week's Arria Formula meeting on Israeli settlement activities, allowing the Council to hear expert presentations on the stark reality and dangers of the ongoing illegal colonization of Palestine on the ground and their effect on the prospects for peace. We thank Malaysia, Egypt, Angola, Senegal and Venezuela for that timely and important initiative. Reflecting on that meeting and the firm positions reaffirmed by all Council members, along with many recent Government statements made in response to Israeli settlement announcements, it is clear that the settlement issue is not, as cynically claimed by some, a "one-sided" Palestinian issue.”
2016-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7792 (2016) · source
“At the outset, I extend Palestine's congratulations to the Russian Federation on its ascension to the presidency of the Security Council and our appreciation for convening of this important debate today. I thank Mr. Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General, for his briefing and ongoing efforts including to draw the Council's attention to the critical issues before us. I would also like to thank Mr. Stephen O'Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, for his briefing.”
2016-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7792 (2016) · source
“I write to you today as a grieving father because you, the international community, who are allowing Israel to sustain its brutal occupation into its fiftieth year, can help make sure that Mahmoud is among the last of the lives taken. I ask that you demand accountability from both the Israeli Government and your own and stand with the calls for freedom, justice and peace".”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“Instead, we have witnessed the ongoing and intensifying brutalization of Palestinian bodies to the point where our lives are treated as entirely expendable. "We Palestinians want a life ofpeace, freedom, justice and equality. We want the basic human dignity of not having our lives arbitrarily ended. We want to be able to know that, if our children leave the house to do the things children do, like going to school, playing soccer and going swimming, their lives are not at risk. "So many Palestinian parents have lost their children to Israeli bullets fired in order to preserve an unjust system of military occupation, denying an entire nation of people their human rights. Mahmoud is but the most recent innocent victim.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“Although this cold- blooded murder was caught on video and created controversy in Israel, many rallied to support the murderous soldier, including Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman, who was shortly thereafter named Defence Minister and is now responsible for overseeing the military occupation. "An extremist climate prevails in today's Israel and never before has the value of Palestinian life been so cheap. Our bodies, our minds, our passions, our very lives and by extension, our deaths, are all considered lesser, and nothing makes this clearer to us than our repeated slaying at the hands of the Israeli military and the subsequent refusal to bring us justice. It is important to recall that as the occupying Power, Israel is obligated under international law to ensure the well-being of the civilian population - we the Palestinians.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“"For Palestinians, this sort oftragedy is nothing new. I have lived under decades of Israeli military occupation, and my children were born into this brutal reality and have known no other life. As a parent, I have struggled each and every day with how much freedom to allow my children and how to carve out some semblance of a normal life for them under wildly abnormal circumstances My wife and I took the former path and hoped for the best, but now, the worst pain imaginable has arrived on our doorstep "Timeandagain,Palestiniancivilians-children, women and men - have been killed by Israeli fire in situations where lethal force is utterly unjustified. Recently, the world watched as an Israeli soldier executed a Palestinian by shooting him in the head as he lay wounded on the ground and totally surrounded.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“"Mahmoud was a gentle child who focused on his studies. He had two great ambitions: to become a doctor and help others and to play for his favourite soccer club, Real Madrid. He cleverly planned to attend medical school in Spain so that he could pursue both of these dreams at once. Now he is gone, and the sudden void left in our lives can never be filled. It is still impossible to comprehend. We are left only to ask why. "The Israeli forces claim they were responding to stone throwers. Israel considers it reasonable to respond to children throwing stones with machine-gun fire, which is itself an inhumane, extreme policy. But Mahmoud and the other boys were not throwing stones. They were sitting in a car, driving home, wrapped in towels and swimsuits and posing no threat to anyone when they were ambushed by occupying forces.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“These are his words: "Last Friday, my wife Amal and I lived our greatest nightmare when we buried our precious son Mahmoud. He was 15 years old. "A few days earlier, he was enjoying an evening of relative normalcy, an occurrence all too rare in the life of a Palestinian child. It was the holy month of Ramadan, and after spending time celebrating with our family, Mahmoud, along with his friends and cousins, ventured out to a local Village pool. After swimming for several hours, the group piled into the car to return home, smiling and fatigued, relishing some relief from the pervasive and cruel conditions of Israeli military occupation. And then suddenly, Israeli soldiers riddled the car that Mahmoud was riding in with bullets, hitting several of the children. Four of them are still recovering from their wounds. Mahmoud was killed.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“In that context, I wish to conclude my statement by conveying to Council members the depths ofthe despair, hopelessness and human devastation that the Israeli occupation and the ongoing Israeli aggression have inflicted on our people for decades. They are among the dimensions that we believe the Quartet report did not properly, sensitively or respectfully address. But I hope that today those matters will be heard and felt and responsibly acted upon as I read to you excerpts from a letter to the international community from a Palestinian, Rafat Badran, the father of a young Palestinian boy, Mahmoud Badran, who was brutally murdered by the Israeli occupying forces on 21 June. By the way, when the Secretary-General was in Ramala he met the father, his wife and his family.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“As for the situation in the Gaza Strip, where Israel's inhumane and illegal blockade continues to be imposed and the man-made humanitarian catastrophe continues to deepen, the report neglects to address the underlying issues and the flagrant Violations that are being perpetrated by the occupying Power as it collectively punishes the entire Palestinian civilian population there. In that regard, despite the regrettable political divide and the ongoing efforts to achieve Palestinian reconciliation and unity as a matter of national urgency, the failure to bridge that divide cannot be used as an excuse to continue imprisoning nearly 2 million people and forcing them to live in the ruins of war and mass deprivation.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“Actually, in an immediate response to the Quartet's report, the Israeli Government provocatively approved the construction of another 800 housing units and illegal settlements in and around occupied East Jerusalem. That is further proof that the failure to hold Israel accountable for its violations and to take hold measures for peace, as opposed to recommending piecemeal confidence-building measures, is a mistaken and futile approach that will only be met with further Israeli contempt and arrogance.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“In that regard, we note the report's finding that at least 70 per cent of so-called Area C, which actually comprises 60 per cent of the West Bank, has been expropriated for exclusive Israeli use. Nearly all of the 30 per cent that remains, much of it private Palestinian property is, as noted in the report, "effectively off-limits for Palestinian development because it requires permits from the Israeli military authorities that are almost never granted". That fact alone is telling ofthe Israelis' true intentions in occupied Palestine, where the Israeli settler population now exceeds half a million and the construction of settlements and related infrastructure continues every single day.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“Those intentions are reconfirmed by the statements of some Israeli Ministers, including the Prime Minister himself, that "there should never be a Palestinian State", as opposed to the deceptive statements that we hear in this Chamber from the representative of the occupying Power. It is an understatement to say that, through this illegal network of colonies and infrastructure Israel, is entrenching its occupation daily, hammering one nail after another into the coffin of the two-State solution. While the report rightly concludes that all of this is eroding the viability of the two-State solution, it fails to affirm that Israel stands in grave Violation of international law, including humanitarian and criminal law, in its implementation of its settlement schemes and constant attempts to de facto annex the Palestinian land.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“We note the Quartet's recognition of the destructive nature of Israel's settlement construction and expansion in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and that its designation of occupied Palestinian land for exclusive Israeli use, whether for military or settler purposes, its confiscation of Palestinian property and demolition of Palestinian homes, and denial of Palestinian development are part and parcel of this illegal settlement campaign. Moreover, the persistence of such illegal policies and practices certainly raise serious questions about Israel's long-term intentions, as noted by the report.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“The Palestinian people are suffering immensely from such inflammatory and racist rhetoric and incitement, which continue to fuel terror and hate crimes against innocent Palestinian civilians. Yet, rather than go into further detail in the context of this debate about the extent and impact of such Israeli extremism, we would refer to the many recent statements made in this regard by several Israeli leaders themselves, who are directly addressing this dangerous phenomenon and illness as we speak.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“In this regard, as the report actually does in one instance, we would point to the reflections and statements of senior Israeli officials - both military and political - referring to such actions as terror and cautioning about the extreme dangers posed by such individuals and groups to the Palestinian civilian population under Israel's occupation and to Israeli society itself. Not the least ofthis is the incitement to violence, the Vicious hatred and racist extremism routinely fomented by Israeli settlers and Jewish extremists against the Palestinian people and often declared as well by numerous Israeli officials and religious leaders who are on the Israeli Government's payroll and continue their malicious incitement against the Palestinian people and their leadership.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“Equally offensive is the implication that security is only a need and a right for Israel, while this right for the Palestinian people, along with their need and right to protection as occupied people, is ignored. The inability of the Quartet report to refer to the incessant violence, destruction, intimidation and barbarism of some extremist Israeli settlers as terrorism, including the burning to death of a young family as they slept in their home, while repeatedly and liberally characterizing Palestinian actions as such, is telling of the narrative adopted.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“Moreover, the report represents yet another attempt to manage the conflict, rather than reaffirm the principles and parameters of a final and just solution and define the means for reaching that objective within a set timeframe and with the necessary international support and guarantees. The report's characterization of nearly every Israeli action as simply a response to Palestinian actions, rather than as part of systematic, deliberate and decades-long policies and practices, is unacceptable and offensive. This is the case whether in reference to the use of administrative detention against Palestinians, punitive home demolitions, the severe closures, the provocations and incursions at Al-Haram Al-Sharif, or the killing of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli occupying forces in military raids or demonstrations.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“The Palestinian leadership has clearly expressed its deep disappointment and dismay regarding the report and the manner in which it deals with critical and sensitive issues, or fails to do so. This includes the report's glaring failure to deal appropriately with the ongoing criminal actions, illegal measures and constant provocations being perpetrated by Israel, the occupying Power, against our people and land. It also includes the repeated inappropriate attempts to draw a symmetry between the occupying Power and the occupied people and to equate individual acts ofviolence with the official, deliberate policies and actions of the occupying Power, which are the source of this conflict and all of its ills.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“The patience exhibited not just by Palestine but also by other regional and international partners was clearly based on a belief that this time the Quartet would rise to the responsibilities it has assumed and make bold recommendations to address the main challenges, including the final status issues, aimed at finally and definitively ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, that began in June 1967 and achieving the two-State solution of an independent, sovereign, contiguous and viable State of Palestine, living side by side with Israel in peace and security within recognized borders based on the pre-1967 borders, and a just solution for the Palestine refugees based on General Assembly resolution 194 (III). Regrettably, this was not the case.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“After nearly 50 years of occupation; after more than 20 years of negotiations; and after nearly 70 years of the question of Palestine remaining unresolved on the United Nations agenda and constituting an open, painful bleeding wound in the international body and a threat to international peace and security, we expected and were promised more from the Quartet.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“Unfortunately, the report did not meet expectations, failing to rise to the urgent needs of this critical juncture and regrettably failing to acknowledge the gravity of the nearly half-century of Israeli foreign occupation of our land and its existence as the primary source of the instability, Violence and violations we are witnessing; its impact on every single aspect of Palestinian life, scarring and depriving one generation after another for decades, forcing them to live in a perpetual state of oppression and misery in which they are being denied every human right; and its total incompatibility with any peace effort predicated on international law and justice and the two-State solution, as per the long-standing global consensus.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“In this regard, while underscoring its limitations and the need for further bold steps commensurate with professed intentions and commitments and the real urgency of the matter, we recognize the joint communique issued by the participants in the Middle East peace initiative meeting held on 3 June in Paris. We reaffirm our continued cooperation in this regard and appeal for ongoing coordination and efforts to advance that initiative and the prospects for peace. The most recent international initiative is that undertaken by the Middle East Quartet, which on 1 July released a long-awaited report.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“For over 14 years, the Arab Peace Initiative has offered a bold path forward, and yet Israel, the occupying Power, remains intransigent, belittling that most significant initiative, failing to reciprocate time and time again, and obstructing the revival of a political horizon on its basis. Israel has also stood in rejection of the important multilateral effort for peace undertaken in the context of the French initiative to establish an international support group for Palestinian-Israeli peace and set the foundations for an international peace conference aimed at bringing the parties together to finally resolve the conflict.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“Regrettably, however, for various reasons, none of those initiatives have come to fruition and the political will to act responsibly and boldly - in line with international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions, in the interest ofjustice and human rights and for the sake of peace and security - remains perilously absent. The Arab States continue to extend their hand in peace, supporting the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including to self-determination and independence, while also striving to open up a new era of peace, stability and security in our region.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“The Security Council is meeting against the backdrop of an extremely volatile and tense situation on the ground in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and ongoing deadlock in the efforts to create a viable political horizon to resolve once and for all this deadly, destructive and tragic conflict. It is also meeting against the backdrop of ongoing regional and international initiatives aimed at salvaging the two-State solution and the prospects for peace and charting a way forward for their realization.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“At the outset, I congratulate the delegation of Japan on its skilled leadership as President of the Security Council and I express my appreciation for the convening of this important open debate. I also thank His Excellency Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon for being with us today and for his valuable briefing to the Council. It was delightful recently to see him Visit the State of Palestine and to receive the highest order decoration by President Abbas in Ramallah. It was a special moment and I was delighted to witness that special moment.”
2016-07-12 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7736 (2016) · source
“There must be no exception or selectivity in the application of that principle as we seek to confront extremist ideologies and groups and bring a halt to their terror. Lastly, we must reaffirm that terrorism should not be equated with the legitimate struggle ofpeoples under colonial domination or foreign occupation for self- determination and national liberation. In accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions, the struggle of peoples under colonial domination and foreign occupation for self-determination and national liberation, including the decades-long struggle of the Palestinian people for freedom and justice, does not constitute terrorism and any such characterization or analogy must be rejected.”
2016-05-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7690 (2016) · source
“The State ofPalestine adheres to the comprehensive position of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation regarding terrorism, as affirmed in numerous ministerial and summit declarations. Terrorist acts constitute one of the most flagrant violations of international law. Such actions undermine human rights, including the rights to life and security, and the fundamental freedoms of peoples and endanger the territorial integrity and stability of States, as well as national, regional and international security and the economic and social stability and development of States. Violent, criminal actions intended to provoke a state of terror among persons for any purpose, wherever and by whomever undertaken, are unjustifiable in any circumstance.”
2016-05-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7690 (2016) · source
“Such a dialogue and cooperative efforts must reaffirm international law as the necessary guiding framework for international relations, rather than power and might. It must reaffirm commitments on that basis and respect for the law and human rights in addressing major grievances, including ending the destructive conflicts of our times and reasserting the true tenets of the respective faiths, including tolerance, peace and respect for humankind, so as to counter the distractions, distortions and misinterpretations that are being used by extremists to advance their ideologies and recruit so many, especially disaffected youth, to their ranks.”
2016-05-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7690 (2016) · source
“We are certain that respect for international law and a zero-tolerance policy for impunity would have averted the deepening of many of the grievances exploited by extremists to advance their ideologies and not allowed space for their fostering and growth. That includes, of course, the open wound and long- standing injustice of the question of Palestine, which continues to be cynically used by extremists to justify their abhorrent ideologies and behaviour. Moreover, it is imperative to undertake efforts to foster an honest, open intercivilization and interreligious dialogue that involves and reaches not only leaders and Governments, but also the average civilian, including young people and women.”
2016-05-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7690 (2016) · source
“Such terror groups and their false and dangerous ideologies must be countered by responsible efforts and cooperative actions based firmly in international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law. While the Security Council must remain at the forefront of that effort, eliminating the scourge obviously requires the mobilization of all capacities in the relevant realms of the international system, be they political, legal or financial. In that regard, our collective efforts must make a prioritity of genuinely redressing of the root causes of the problems in our world - whether political, security or socioeconomic -which are being exploited by extremists to recruit cadres to their ranks to serve their sinister objectives.”
2016-05-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7690 (2016) · source
“Countering the narratives and ideologies of the terrorism that is plaguing our world and causing so much suffering and trauma for civilians and destruction in so many countries requires urgent, collective and comprehensive action. Extremist takfiri ideology, whereby religion is abused, distorted and maliciously interpreted to achieve the political objectives of terrorist groups such as Da'esh, Al-Qaida, Boko Haram and others must be completely rejected. Those who espouse and promote extremist religious terror ideologies, whether they are Muslim, Jewish or Christian extremists, must not be permitted to continue unopposed in spreading their violent views and actions that are terrorizing millions of innocent civilians and destabilizing peace and security in the Middle East and around the world.”
2016-05-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7690 (2016) · source
“At the outset. I wish to warmly congratulate the brotherly country of the Arab Republic of Egypt on its assumption of the presidency of the Security Council this month. I wish its delegation all success in upholding its solemn responsibilities, and I remain confident of its skilled leadership. We express our appreciation to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt, His Excellency Mr. Sameh Hassan Shokry Selim, for his presence at this important meeting to address the grave issue of terrorism and its threat to international peace and security. I also take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation of Egypt's constant attention to and efforts on behalf of the issues concerning our Middle East region, including in particular the question of Palestine.”
2016-05-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7690 (2016) · source
“On a recent visit to the Aida refugee camp in the West Bank, an Australian Premier, Michael Baird, met with a group of young Palestinian children and asked one of the boys what he dreamed of becoming when he was older. The boy's response was, "It's hard to have dreams when you know they can't come true." When children feel they cannot even dream, we must acknowledge the depths of despair and hopelessness and human devastation that this occupation and conflict have wrought. We must also acknowledge the depths of our failure. We can no longer ignore or postpone the urgency to act. Reviving their hope, rectifying this historic injustice, making peace a reality and saving the future generations of both Palestinian and Israeli children depend upon it.”
2016-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7673 (2016) · source
“The time is long overdue for ending the suffering of the Palestinian people under this illegal foreign occupation and ensuring the realization of their inalienable human rights, including to self- determination and freedom in their independent State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a just solution to the Palestine plight, the most protracted refugee crisis in the world. If reason, responsibility and legal obligations fail to move the Council, perhaps reflecting on the immense human suffering caused by this inhumane occupation might create compassion and invoke moral responsibility to act. There are too many compelling human stories to tell, but I wish to conclude with one today.”
2016-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7673 (2016) · source
“Faced with that reality, in addition to Israel's relentless onslaught against the Palestinian civilian population and colonization in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, how can it be expected that our people, especially our youth, maintain any belief in international law and the international community's promises to uphold it? How can they maintain any hope that this injustice will end? And, in the absence of hope and belief, how is it possible to stave off despair and push back against the tide of radicalism and extremism plaguing our world?”
2016-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7673 (2016) · source
“It is surreal to witness the collective hand-wringing of the international community at the deplorable humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, as if it were caused by an uncontrollable natural disaster rather than the man-made disaster that it really is, wantonly inflicted by the Israeli war machine and the illegal Israeli blockade - by air, land and sea - that has isolated, impoverished, traumatized and dehumanized the entire Palestinian civilian population of Gaza. Despite the deeply regrettable political divide in Palestine and the prolonged efforts to achieve reconciliation and unity as a matter of national urgency, the failure to bridge that divide cannot be used as an excuse to continue imprisoning 1.8 million people and forcing them to live in the ruins of war and in mass deprivation.”
2016-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7673 (2016) · source
“Its solution has long been known and firmly rooted in United Nations resolutions, the Madrid principles and the Arab Peace Initiative. The international community must move beyond slogans and professing its commitment to human rights, justice and the two-State solution in theory, and actually mobilize the political will to resolve the conflict. The alleviation of the humanitarian crisis in Palestine can never replace a just solution as the ultimate objective.”
2016-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7673 (2016) · source
“We note that the French initiative in particular emphasizes the urgency of the matter - a matter that cannot be shelved or placed on a backburner until all other crises in the Middle East are resolved and one that, if left unattended, will only foster greater Israeli impunity and create a more fertile ground for radicalization on both sides - and also significantly emphasizes the need for a collective process, with the serious engagement and support of international and regional partners, including a role for the Security Council, to help the parties resolve all final status issues and finally bring an end to the occupation and the conflict as whole. It is time to stop managing the conflict. This conflict is not intractable.”
2016-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7673 (2016) · source
“Consultations are under way with Egypt, as the Arab representative in the Security Council, along with our other partners in the Arab Ministerial Committee, for a decision on when to formally proceed. We welcome the support of all concerned parties in regard to that effort and the calls for the Council to uphold its duties towards the question of Palestine before the situation further unravels, more innocent lives are lost and the two-State solution is relegated to the archives of history. In that regard, we also commend the efforts being undertaken by the Quartet, as well as by the Government of France.”
2016-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7673 (2016) · source
“We have therefore begun our efforts and continue our appeals for the Council to act through the adoption of a clear and firm draft resolution to address the immediate issues before us, including, inter alia, the illegality of the Israeli settlement campaign and its destructive impact on the two-State solution; the increasing extremism and violence of Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians and the need for their protection; and the urgency of international and regional efforts, particularly within the context of the Arab Peace Initiative, to create a credible political horizon and support the parties to de-escalate the volatile situation, rebuild trust and uphold their legal obligations and commitments towards resolving all final status issues and achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.”
2016-04-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7673 (2016) · source