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

“At the very time when the occupying Power pretends to the world that it has ended its occupation of Gaza, it has tightened its grip on the border areas of Gaza, its territorial waters and airspace, with the result that Gaza has become a huge prison, completely encircled by Israeli forces. So where is that option that Israel was talking about? The situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the Gaza Strip, has deteriorated very seriously. It is very tragic at all levels: economic, social, political and humanitarian.”
2006-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5552 (2006) · source
“The first was to care for their own people, raise their standard of living, improve their quality of life, and concentrate on the welfare and well-being of their own people. The second was to turn Gaza into a terror base and a launching pad for deadly rockets into Israel. Tragically, the Palestinian leadership chose the latter" (S/PV.5488, p. 7). In fact, before even launching the attack against Gaza, before carrying out its unilateral disengagement from Gaza, Israel contributed to the worsening economic, social and humanitarian crisis there by isolating Gaza from the rest of the world and from the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories.”
2006-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5552 (2006) · source
“That is what we referred to in the letters addressed to you, Mr. President, to the President of the General Assembly, and to the Secretary-General. In those letters, we drew attention to the seriousness of the plans by Israel, the occupying Power. Indeed, Israel occupied the border zone between Gaza and Egypt and penetrated the Rafah region south of Gaza by several kilometres, as part of a military campaign by the occupying Power under Operation Rainman, which has led to more than 29 martyrs, including women and children. In August 2005, Israel adopted a unilateral measure, without coordinating with the Palestinian Authority, when it withdrew its occupying forces from Gaza. We then witnessed an Israeli official declaring in the Council that "the Palestinians had two choices.”
2006-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5552 (2006) · source
“Mr. Mansour (Palestine) (spoke in Arabic): Mr. President, at the outset, I would like to congratulate you and your friendly country for having assumed the presidency of the Security Council for this month. We have cordial and solid relations with your country. We are convinced that you will successfully conduct the work of the Council, thanks to your skill and efficiency. I must also thank your predecessor, Mr. Adamantios Vassilakis, for having guided the work of the Council last month with skill, wisdom and effectiveness. I would also like to thank Mr. Alvaro de Soto for his full and detailed report on the question. As we meet, the Gaza Strip is victim of a ferocious campaign and brutal aggression by the Israeli forces, which confirm the Israeli bid to expand the war in Gaza.”
2006-10-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5552 (2006) · source
“We therefore reaffirm once again our strong hope that very soon the Council will meet at a high level to undertake serious and concrete actions towards the long-desired achievement of a peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict as a whole and, thus, the achievement of peace, security, coexistence and prosperity for all the peoples of the Middle East region.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“Thus the decision by the Arab countries, at this very critical juncture in the Middle East, to return to the Security Council seeking redress is based on the consensus Arab position that the issue of the Arab- Israeli conflict, including the question of Palestine, should revert to the Security Council and that the Council should exercise its responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security and assist the parties to reach ajust and comprehensive solution. In this regard, we reaffirm our commitment to the two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on the relevant Security Council resolutions and the terms of reference of the peace process, including the principle of land for peace, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Quartet road map.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“Overall, the prevailing situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, as a result of Israel's illegal practices and measures, has compounded not only the suffering and misery of the Palestinian people but also their frustration, desperation and anger, intensifying appeals by the Palestinian people and by the Arab world as a whole that real and immediate action to be taken to address this ongoing injustice, which has continued for far too long.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“In that regard, it is important to note that the elements of the recently vetoed draft resolution concerning the situation in Gaza continue to be relevant, for there has been no cessation of hostilities, no withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces to their original positions outside Gaza, no release of detained elected officials, and no repair of the vital infrastructure destroyed by the occupying Power - all necessary elements for paving the way for a resumption of negotiations.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“Indeed, it is a situation that continues to deteriorate as a result of the occupying Power's unlawful policies and practices, as we are witnessing in its daily raids and deadly attacks in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly in Gaza; the continued arrest and detention of Palestinians, including numerous elected officials of the Palestinian Authority; the continued closures and the imposition of severe restrictions on freedom of movement; and the continued destruction of property.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“There is no doubt that this new tactic of psychological warfare has caused panic and fear to spread among the Palestinian civilian population, which already suffers from severe psychological trauma as a result of Israel's brutal occupation. To highlight just one tragic incident, a 3-day-old infant girl, Shahd Al-Eid, fell from her mother's arms as the latter was fleeing, seeking refuge from a "pre- warned" Israeli missile attack. The infant was later pronounced dead as a result of internal bleeding and bruises.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“In one single day during that period, the Israeli occupying forces killed more than 20 Palestinians, including two infants, a 4-year- old baby girl and a 9-year-old girl, and injured more than 80 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. On another front, more than 3,400 Palestinians are now internally displaced and have sought shelter in United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) installations, as a result of the ongoing Israeli military aggression in the Gaza Strip. This is due mainly to the fact that hundreds of families living in neighbourhoods in Gaza were forced to flee their homes in terror after receiving threatening telephone calls from the Israeli occupying forces telling them they had only a short time to abandon their homes.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“All of this, in addition to the financial crisis imposed on the Palestinian Authority in recent months following the January 2006 elections, has caused a dramatic decline in economic and social conditions and has resulted in a grave humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory that continues to this day. Since I addressed the Council on 21 July, Palestine has sent eight letters to the President of the Security Council detailing some of the grave breaches committed by the aforementioned occupying Power. Those letters also listed the names of the Palestinians killed since the last time we met here in the Council. The numbers are shocking. More than 105 people have been killed, including 22 children, and over 600 have been injured, many critically.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“That military campaign has involved, inter alia, the occupying Power's deliberate use of excessive force, resulting in the killing or injury of hundreds of Palestinian civilians, including women and children; the terrorizing of the population; the continuation of extrajudicial killings; the vast and wanton destruction of Vital infrastructure, properties and institutions of the Palestinian Authority; the detention and imprisonment of hundreds of Palestinian civilians - now totalling more than 9,000 prisoners in Israeli jails; and the collective punishment of the entire population.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“The wall, along with the settlements and Israel's hundreds of checkpoints and roadblocks, is destroying the contiguity and territorial integrity of the Palestinian territory, isolating occupied East Jerusalem from the rest of the territory, devastating the Palestinian economy, destroying the very fabric of Palestinian society and taking us further away from the possibility of actually achieving the two-State solution. In addition, the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation continues to suffer declining economic and social conditions as a result of Israel's ongoing military campaign of aggression, as glaringly witnessed in recent months, with its lethal and violent assaults against the besieged population in the Gaza Strip.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“In addition, Israel has now nearly completed the construction of a wall it has been building on confiscated land in the occupied Palestinian territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, that is severing the territory into several isolated and walled enclaves and cantons, destroying numerous communities in their entirety, destroying the livelihood of thousands of Palestinians and displacing thousands more, and further entrenching Israel's illegal settlements.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“Israel, the occupying Power, has continued - even during the most productive years of the peace process - its fervent, unlawful campaign of settler colonialism in the occupied Palestinian territory, including in particular in East Jerusalem, confiscating more and more Palestinian land, building and expanding more settlements, and more than doubling the number of its settlers in the territory.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“Most regrettably, this peace process, on its various tracks, has not brought an end to Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territory or of the Syrian Golan or of parts of southern Lebanon. Our part of the world continues to suffer Violence, loss and despair as a result of this continuing military occupation and a never-ending series of violations of international law, including military aggression and attacks. For Palestine, instead of the dramatic improvement anticipated in the situation on the ground and in the lives of the Palestinian people, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, has steadily and gravely deteriorated during those years in all aspects - political, security, economic, social, and humanitarian.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“The decision to return to the Security Council - despite the Council's repeated inability to take the necessary actions to address the situation in the Middle East, particularly in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and its failure to uphold its numerous resolutions in this regard - has been taken on the basis of a belief in the responsibilities and the rightful role of the Council in international relations with regard to peace and security and the upholding of international law. Moreover, it is clear that the peace process in which we have been engaged for 15 years now, beginning with the Madrid Conference in 1991, has not fulfilled its stated goals, as it has been repeatedly hampered by delays, stalemates, gross violations, cycles of violence and major crises.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“At this time, the Arab countries, Via the League of Arab States, are in the midst of carrying out the necessary consultations and groundwork aimed at bolstering the potential for the success of this intended exercise, and we are hopeful that there will be wide support on the part of the international community in this important endeavour.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“Members will recall that during the ministerial meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Lebanon (S/PV.5511), the Foreign Minister of Qatar officially announced that the Arab countries would request a high-level meeting of the Security Council in September to discuss the situation in the Middle East, including the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, with a View to moving in a practical way towards the implementation of the Council's relevant resolutions designed to resolve this conflict through the achievement of a final, just and comprehensive peace settlement.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“In this regard, I wish to highlight the fact that the Arab Foreign Ministers, in their last three meetings, in Cairo, Beirut and Cairo, respectively, determined, in the light of the recent negative developments and the grave deterioration in the region, to work seriously towards bringing the issue of the situation in the Middle East, including the question of Palestine, back to the Security Council.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“The situation of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, should be no exception. Indeed, there is no doubt that the Arab- Israeli conflict, the core of which has been the question of Palestine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has been the source of almost every threat to peace and security in the Middle East for decades now; the loss and suffering continue to mount to this day. We thus reiterate our firm belief that the Council will ultimately play its rightful role and uphold its resolutions vis-a- vis the question of Palestine, leading towards the ultimate resolution of this prolonged and tragic conflict and of the Arab-Israeli conflict as a whole.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“In this regard, I would be remiss if I did not express the continuing hopes and appeals of the Palestinian people and their leadership that one day soon the Council will also act in a concerted and concrete manner to uphold its responsibilities towards the question of Palestine by taking the measures necessary to bring an end to the grievous violations and breaches of international law, including international humanitarian law, that continue to be committed by Israel, the occupying Power, in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. The Council has the requisite authority to act, and it is its fundamental duty to act appropriately to address those crises and issues that pose a threat to international peace and security and to exert every effort in that regard for the protection of civilians in armed conflict.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“Today, with a fragile ceasefire in place and with United Nations Member States assembling a force under the supervision of the Security Council for the purpose of bringing security and stability to southern Lebanon, we are witnessing the Council - despite a month's delay - carrying out its Charter responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security by taking these immediate, necessary and concrete measures. I would also like to thank Under-Secretary- General Ibrahim Gambari for his briefing.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“At the outset, Sir, allow me to congratulate you on the assumption by the brotherly country of Ghana of the presidency of the Security Council this month. We are certain that, under your able leadership, the Council will spare no effort in addressing the many critical issues that are before it at this time. I would also like to take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation to the delegation and the Permanent Representative of France for their wise and capable leadership of the Council last month, during which the Council repeatedly convened and held consultations to address the dangerous crisis prevailing in the Middle East, particularly with regard to the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the situation in Lebanon.”
2006-08-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5515 (2006) · source
“The Security Council Group should also play a leading role in that regard. Serious and urgent efforts must be undertaken to put an end to the dire situation facing Palestinian children. They, like all children of the world, deserve to live in a world in which they can grow, play and learn in freedom, peace and security.”
2006-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5494Resumption1 (2006) · source
“We add to that, once again, the need to avoid selectivity, be it with regard to enforcing compliance or in dealing with the matter as a whole. In conclusion, we believe that the establishment of the reporting and monitoring mechanism, as well as the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, as outlined in resolution 1612 (2005), is a good start in providing the foundation for addressing the issue before us. We invite Ms. Coomaraswamy to visit the occupied Palestinian territory, as we have requested in the past of former Special Representative Olara Otunnu, to examine the absence of protection for Palestinian children under Israeli occupation and to make concrete suggestions on ways to ensure the protection they so desperately need, as is accorded to them under international law.”
2006-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5494Resumption1 (2006) · source
“Accordingly, it is imperative that measures ultimately be taken to hold the perpetrators of such crimes accountable and to bring them to justice, for without such measures the culture of impunity that we are now witnessing will only grow, with even more disastrous consequences. I would like to acknowledge that the concept paper regarding this debate suggested that we remain focused on the subject matter and make suggestions. In our opinion, the issue is clear and can be summarized in one word: compliance. That includes compliance with relevant instruments of international humanitarian law and human rights law and compliance with the Security Council's own resolutions. That will ultimately provide the most comprehensive protection for children in armed conflict.”
2006-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5494Resumption1 (2006) · source
“Indeed, such horrifying actions are a blatant violation of the right to life - the fundamental right of any human being and a right which States parties must expressly recognize under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. But it is not just the right to life that Israel deliberately denies Palestinian children. The policies and practices of the occupying Power violate a countless number of the rights set out in the Convention and other binding international legal instruments, including the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949.”
2006-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5494Resumption1 (2006) · source
“At the time of the incident, in October 2004, transcripts of the occupying Power's radio communication exchange revealed that occupying forces in the watchtower had quickly identified Iman Al-Hems - who was dressed in a school uniform issued by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East - as "a girl of about 10 [who was] scared to death". As Iman was running away from the army post, she was shot in the leg and fell to the ground. At that point, the occupying force commander moved in and, standing over the helpless Iman, shot her twice in the head, walked away, turned back and fired a stream of bullets into her body, "confirming the kill", as he termed it.”
2006-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5494Resumption1 (2006) · source
“That has fostered a culture of impunity among the occupying forces and heightened their perception that they are immune from the law and will not be held accountable for their illegal actions. It is scarcely surprising, then, that Israeli occupying forces act with an air of moral immunity, often shooting excessively, unnecessarily and indiscriminately. One stark example of the occupying Power's indifference to the right of Palestinian children to life is an Israeli military court's decision of 15 November 2005 to clear an Israeli occupying force commander of a range of charges, including illegally using his weapon after he fired a stream of bullets into the body of an already-injured 13-year old Palestinian schoolgirl in Rafah.”
2006-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5494Resumption1 (2006) · source
“In that connection, we continue to call on the international community, especially the Security Council, to fulfil its obligations and to take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of the Palestinian civilian population, including in particular children, in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and not to leave them any longer at the mercy of the brute force and illegal policies and practices of the occupying Power. Another important issue that must be brought to the attention of the Council is the fact that the deaths of Palestinian children at the hands of Israeli occupying forces are usually given only a cursory investigation, if any. Indictments of members of the Israeli occupying forces for the killing or injury of civilians are rare, and convictions are almost unheard of.”
2006-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5494Resumption1 (2006) · source
“The death toll among the Palestinian people - devoid of protection by the international community - has, just in the past few weeks, surpassed 100 people, at least 16 of them children. Even more tragic is the fact that, since September 2000, the number of Palestinian civilians killed by the Israeli occupying forces now totals more than 4,000 Palestinians, including over 800 children. These staggering figures do not include the thousands of innocent and defenceless children seriously injured by the Israeli occupying forces. Sadly, the lives of Palestinian children under Israeli occupation are under constant threat, for there is no refuge or safe haven, when even their homes, classrooms, playgrounds and hospitals are not safe from the excessive and indiscriminate assaults carried out by the occupying Power.”
2006-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5494Resumption1 (2006) · source
“I regret to state that it is very difficult for the Security Council to assert credibility, or claim success, in dealing with the issue of the protection of children in armed conflict when it has repeatedly failed to effectively respond to the protection needs of Palestinian children and other children in our region. Here I refer to the increased need for urgent action in that area during the past several years, and most recently, over the past several weeks, during the latest Israeli aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip and its captive civilian population, including children, many of whom have been killed, injured, maimed, left homeless, left motherless and fatherless, terrorized and traumatized by the occupying forces.”
2006-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5494Resumption1 (2006) · source
“We also welcome the presence and participation of the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). For more than 39 years, Israel, the occupying Power, has been committing serious violations and grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention in its policies and practices against the Palestinian people, including Palestinian children. It continues to flagrantly and systematically violate their human rights, in violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Israeli occupation has permeated every level of their lives, affecting even their most basic rights and gravely impairing and endangering their lives and their very future.”
2006-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5494Resumption1 (2006) · source
“We congratulate her and wish her success in her task of furthering the cause of protecting children affected by armed conflicts. We are hopeful that her efforts will greatly contribute to ensuring that the plight of children exposed to violations and abuses during armed conflicts will be more vigorously addressed by the international community. In this connection, we would like to thank her for her recent statement, issued on 20 July 2006, calling for the protection of children in the Middle East. We would also like to thank Ms. Ann Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF, for her attendance and for her participation in this debate. We thank them both for their thought-provoking statements and hope that their ideas and proposals are given careful consideration.”
2006-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5494Resumption1 (2006) · source
“Palestine welcomes this open Security Council ministerial debate on children and armed conflict, and we extend our deep appreciation to the French presidency for having convened such a timely debate. We firmly share the belief that the protection of children in armed conflict is a matter of immense importance. The interest shown by the Council is both appropriate and necessary, and we hope that it will continue to give it priority attention until sufficient and serious protection of children in armed conflict is granted in all cases, without selectivity or inaction based on political considerations. Before continuing, Palestine would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.”
2006-07-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5494Resumption1 (2006) · source
“We express our solidarity with the Lebanese people and call for a comprehensive end of hostilities and an end to the deliberate targeting of the lives of the Lebanese people, their property and infrastructure. The Security Council must take action to bring an immediate halt to Israel's military aggression against Lebanon, establish a comprehensive ceasefire and lift the Israeli blockade imposed on Lebanon. Diplomacy is the only way to resolve this escalating crisis.”
2006-07-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5493 (2006) · source
“In this connection, we would like to extend our appreciation to the Secretary-General for dispatching an urgent mission to the region and for the report he submitted to the Council at yesterday's meeting. The Palestinian leadership will continue to work with the Secretary-General on the issues he raised in the report related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Before concluding, I would like to express our deepest concern and to extend our condolences to our sisters and brothers in Lebanon, who are suffering immensely from the Israeli aggression, which has resulted in the death of hundreds of Lebanese civilians and has caused the widespread destruction of Lebanon's vital infrastructure and institutions.”
2006-07-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5493 (2006) · source
“Moreover, the Security Council must call on Israel to immediately release all democratically elected Palestinian officials detained since 28 June 2006. If the Council does not act, we will not soon see an end to the vicious circle of violence that we are now witnessing. Rather, this dangerous conflict will only be prolonged and compounded. It is therefore our strong hope that the Council will uphold its duties and take the necessary action to address this growing crisis in order to allow for peace to be realized, not only for Israelis and Palestinians, but for the region as a whole, which is clearly standing at a crucial juncture - on the precipice of a plunge into an all-out military conflagration.”
2006-07-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5493 (2006) · source
“The Council cannot continue to remain passive in the face of such a military aggression against a defenceless civilian population and the grave breaches of international humanitarian law that are being committed by Israel, the occupying Power. In this connection, we continue to reiterate our position that the Council must begin by condemning this most recent Israeli aggression and calling for the immediate cessation of hostilities and compliance with the rules and provisions of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, and calling also for the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces to their original positions before the aggression against the Gaza Strip began.”
2006-07-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5493 (2006) · source
“The occupying Power is obligated to ensure the safety and well-being of these persons. Failing that, those persons are entitled to and should be accorded international protection. Yet, time and again, the Security Council has been unable to take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of the Palestinian civilian population in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, leaving it at the mercy of the brute force and illegal policies and practices of the occupying Power. In this regard, we reiterate that it remains the duty of the Security Council, in accordance with its authority and responsibilities under the United Nations Charter, to act immediately in order to address the continuing crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory and bring a halt to this perilous deterioration of the situation.”
2006-07-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5493 (2006) · source
“Unwilling to uphold its duties for the maintenance of international peace and security when it comes to the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, the Security Council has allowed Israel to continue to act beyond the parameters of international law, permitting it to use the most oppressive measures and practices to impose more death, destruction and loss on the Palestinian people under its occupation. I need not today remind the members of the Council of the fact that all of the atrocities being committed by Israel, the occupying Power, have been committed against an unarmed and defenceless civilian population, who, according to the provisions of international humanitarian law governing military occupation, should be considered protected persons.”
2006-07-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5493 (2006) · source
“There is no doubt that the recent failure of the Security Council to respond appropriately to the Israeli onslaught against the Palestinian civilian population, due to the veto cast by one of the Council's permanent members, has allowed the Israeli Government to continue carrying out such illegal actions with sheer impunity. Without concern for reproach and punishment or for the consequences of its actions, Israel continues to behave as a State that is above the law and continues to refuse to implement dozens of Security Council resolutions related to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.”
2006-07-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5493 (2006) · source
“Israeli tanks and bulldozers have also continued to raze crops and destroy Palestinian agricultural land. All of that destruction, in addition to the closure of border crossings into and out of the area, continues to have a severe impact upon the already deplorable humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian civilian population is suffering from serious shortages of food, medicine and clean water supplies. Israel must be held accountable for the destruction it has deliberately caused, and must rebuild everything it has destroyed, much of which had been funded by the international donor community itself over the years.”
2006-07-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5493 (2006) · source
“Those who continue to repeat such heinous acts should be brought to justice very soon. In addition to the death and injury inflicted on the Palestinian civilian population, the occupying Power has persisted with its wanton destruction of Palestinian property and vital infrastructure. Those unlawful acts are part and parcel of the occupying Power's cruel measures of collective punishment against the Palestinian people. Over the past three weeks, the devastation wrought on Palestinian infrastructure by the occupying forces has been immense. Along with the bombing of power stations, water pipelines, bridges and roads, Israeli war planes have fired missiles at Palestinian National Authority institutions, causing extensive damage to many and completely destroying others, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Gaza City.”
2006-07-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5493 (2006) · source
“The international community must condemn such unlawful acts and compel the occupying Power to cease such grave breaches and abide by its obligations under international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention. Moreover, the protection of civilians must be a priority for the international community. They cannot be left at the mercy of their occupier when there are clear provisions in international law intended to provide them with protection and security. Furthermore, it is imperative that measures ultimately be taken to hold the perpetrators of those crimes accountable and to bring them to justice, for without such measures the culture of impunity that we are now witnessing will only continue, with even more disastrous consequences. It is unacceptable to say "sorry" for killing civilians.”
2006-07-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5493 (2006) · source
“During the same military attack on Nablus and its inhabitants Israeli bulldozers tore down the offices of the Ministry of the Interior, as well as offices used by the Palestinian security services. Israeli occupying forces also stormed the office of the Palestine News Agency (WAFA) in the West Bank city of Ramallah, as well as the headquarters of the local Ramallah governorate, ransacking the property and arresting five civilians, including two police guards, taking them to an unknown location. Such destruction demonstrates yet again the intention of the Israeli occupying forces to destroy Palestinian National Authority institutions and vital infrastructure. Today, Israeli occupying forces bombed a house in the Al-Shuja'ieh neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, killing four Palestinian civilians of the same Harara family.”
2006-07-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5493 (2006) · source
“During the same period over 140 Palestinian civilians were injured, many of whom remain in critical condition. An undercover unit of the Israeli occupying forces, backed by heavy armoured vehicles, bulldozers, helicopters and unmanned drones, attacked the Palestinian refugee population of Al-Maghazi refugee camp, in central Gaza, resulting in the deaths of at least 16 Palestinians, including two children. In another military assault, Israeli occupying forces entered the West Bank town of Nablus from three directions and destroyed the Palestinian security compound - Al-Muqata - and killed seven more Palestinians and injured scores of Palestinian civilians.”
2006-07-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5493 (2006) · source
“That deliberate attack, which was declared by the occupying Power to have been launched for the purpose of assassinating high-ranking Hamas officials, resulted in the massacre of nine Palestinian civilians, all members of the same family - the father, mother and their seven children - in their own home. That is but one example of State terrorism and war crimes being committed by Israel, the occupying Power, against the Palestinian civilian population, for whom there is clearly nowhere to be safe from Israel's military rampage and blatant disregard for human life. In the most recent example of Israel's aggression against the Palestinian people, which took place over the past 48 hours, a total of 23 Palestinians, including five children, were killed by Israeli occupying forces.”
2006-07-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5493 (2006) · source