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 Council has adopted resolutions. The global community has endorsed a vision. They should not relinquish them. They must defend them. The Council must defend them. The year is still young, but Israel persists in pursuing old recipes with objectives that are no longer hidden — colonization and annexation, which have predictable implications, including gross human rights abuses, human suffering, violence and instability. The Israeli Government has announced its unlawful plan and is acting on it. It is time for the international community to announce its own plan in defence of international law and to act on it. It is time for the Council to act. It must not remain paralysed.”
2023-02-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9263 (2023) · source
“I do not agree with those who say that we have already reached it, as we do not have the luxury of fatalism. Every action we take now matters. Every word we utter matters. Every decision we delay matters. Watching the news coming from Palestine, many may feel that it is more of the same, but for the mother who has lost a child and fears for the ones still alive; for the family that can find no safety in the sanctity of its home; for the millions who endure dispossession, displacement and the denial of rights, the pain hits differently each time. I ask the Council members, collectively and individually, not to become numb. I ask them not to grow accustomed to the status quo or to accept defeat. Our people will not. They will not accept coexistence with oppression and occupation. Humankind has elaborated rules.”
2023-02-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9263 (2023) · source
“Watching the news coming from Palestine, many may feel that it is more of the same, that we have been here before and that it is tragic, but it is what it is. But this is not just any moment in time, and while the killing, pain, displacement and demolitions are the same, we are fast approaching a breaking point that no one should care to explore. It is mounting with every child killed, every house demolished and every family displaced. Amid the recurrent headlines, people may miss it. But for those who know our region or have visited it recently, it is obvious, glaring and undeniable. One of the signs is an acceleration of events. The deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank, which has just gone by, may well be surpassed by the deadliest year currently under way. All the ingredients are there for us to reach a point of no return.”
2023-02-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9263 (2023) · source
“At the outset, Madam President, allow me to congratulate Malta on steering the work of the Security Council this month. We share deep bonds of friendship and common values with your country. It is fitting for the Council to be meeting and adopting a presidential statement (S/PRST/2023/1) under your presidency. I would also like to thank the Special Coordinator and the Deputy Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for their briefings. UNRWA’s work is extremely important and should be maintained, protected and financed. Finally, allow me to express our appreciation to the Group of Arab States, represented by my sister the Ambassador of Qatar, for joining today’s important meeting. The year 2023 is still young but an old wound continues to bleed.”
2023-02-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9263 (2023) · source
“Peace is still possible if members stand up to supremacists, reward ending occupation, ensure accountability for annexation, recognize the State of Palestine and reject the State of the settlers in the occupied territory. I urge members to do it now for everybody’s sake.”
2023-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9246 (2023) · source
“And we appreciate the global support by those who raise our flag everywhere, showing their solidarity with the Palestinian people and supporting their rights. Israel still believes that there is a path to peace by crushing the Palestinians. If such a path could be found, Israel would have found it by now. Peace will not come from denying our existence. It will come from the recognition of our plight and rights. Peace is still possible — less probable every single day, but still possible. Whatever leverage Council members have, whatever tools are at their disposal and whatever influence they enjoy, they must be used now, or later it will no longer matter.”
2023-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9246 (2023) · source
“It does not recognize our rights anywhere and proclaims rights for its settlers everywhere. Israel has often denied not only our rights, but our very existence as a nation. Israel’s ban on the display of the Palestinian flag in public spaces is the latest manifestation of that denial. The Palestinian flag floats here in front of the United Nations and inside the building between the General Assembly and the Security Council. It is raised by millions of people in every corner of the globe, as we can see at soccer matches in Doha, Ireland, Scotland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, among many others. And it will continue to fly in the sky above Palestine, no matter what laws and rules Israel enacts. That is a peaceful action by people to honour and respect their national flag.”
2023-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9246 (2023) · source
“At the heart of our international law-based order lie two cardinal principles: the right of peoples to self-determination and the inadmissibility of the acquisition of land by force. Palestine exemplifies the denial of the former and the breach of the latter. The first step towards upholding those principles and addressing their breach is to put an end to the illegal unilateral measures, notably in Jerusalem, including those aimed at undermining the historic status quo and the Hashemite custodianship. The Israeli Government is saying openly what it intends to do and is acting on it. Its programme is to advance settlements and annexation — they are not hiding it, look at the website of Prime Minister Netanyahu — systemic discrimination and oppression.”
2023-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9246 (2023) · source
“Who has been held accountable for its mass arbitrary arrests of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and for withholding, to this day, hundreds of bodies of Palestinians, depriving their families of the ability to bury their loved ones in dignity, sometimes for decades? Give me one name, any name. Israel should know that its actions dictate the Council’s reactions. Israel should renounce colonial occupation to abide by the law, not expect the world to renounce its rules and principles to accommodate its colonial occupation. We decided at the end of the Second World War to build an international law-based order, when all of us, the international community, founded the United Nations. We have enacted rules, which are not directed against anyone, but for the benefit of all, so as to advance a more just and peaceful world.”
2023-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9246 (2023) · source
“The previous and current Prime Ministers are proud that they contacted 50 Heads of State and Government to pressure them not to vote for a draft resolution on a referral to the International Court of Justice and not to sign the statement rejecting pressure and punishment against the Palestinian people. Where does the problem lie? Is it in the positions that Council members express, as Israel says, or is it in the impunity that Israel enjoys? Could Israel act this way if any Israeli official had been held accountable for any of its actions? Who has been held accountable for the forcible displacement of Palestinians over past decades? Who has been held accountable for Israeli settlements? Who has been held accountable for the killing and maiming of Palestinians, including children?”
2023-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9246 (2023) · source
“In 2016, when the Security Council adopted resolution 2334 (2016), the former Israeli representative said that the resolution was a victory for terror, calling it an “evil decree” (S/PV.7853, p.15). Israeli representatives live in a parallel dimension, where the entire world is wrong, and they are right. They have called the United Nations morally bankrupt. They have blasted countries that voted for draft resolutions relating to Palestine, from their closest allies to their proclaimed enemies, without distinction. They show no respect, consideration or regard for anyone and yet demand them from everyone, even when breaching the most fundamental rules of international law. They say that they will not tolerate any pressure, but have no problem bullying countries publicly and privately.”
2023-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9246 (2023) · source
“Israeli officials have spoken of an act of “political terrorism”, adding, with regard to the joint statement rejecting the punitive measures, “[t]his is a meaningless declarative statement, and every country that signed it only added fuel to the fire of Palestinian incitement and terror”. This is the most absurd trial on earth, in which the victim is punished, and the witness is accused by the perpetrator, who is claiming to be the victim. That is not an isolated incident. It is part of a long tradition. Netanyahu said, after the opening of the investigation by the International Criminal Court, “[w]hen the International Criminal Court investigates Israel for fake war crimes — this is pure antisemitism”, adding that, “we will fight this perversion of justice with all our might”.”
2023-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9246 (2023) · source
“Nevertheless, over 100 countries — and the number is increasing by the hour — including through a joint statement, expressed their rejection and called for the reversal of those punitive measures that strike at the heart of multilateralism and of the international law- based order. The Secretary-General also expressed a clear stance against retaliation for resorting to the International Court of Justice. I trust that many Council and non-Council members will express a similar position during our debate today. The Israeli representative said “Palestinians weaponize international institutions in their jihad war against the Jewish State” (S/PV.9236, p.15). That is martial and inflammatory rhetoric, inciting dangerous religious conflict.”
2023-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9246 (2023) · source
“Israel considers that the world cannot hold it accountable for its illegal unilateral actions, and yet it allows itself to punish us for resorting to legitimate multilateral mechanisms. The latest example was Israel’s decision, in response to a resolution by the General Assembly requesting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, to impose sanctions on the Palestinian people, civil society and leadership. The action we took was our democratic right, to go to the Assembly and to seek — in a peaceful, civilized and legal way — to secure the endorsement of the majority of the Assembly for a resolution to ask the Court for an advisory opinion. What happened to us and to our friends? Punishment.”
2023-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9246 (2023) · source
“The year is two weeks old and already 15 Palestinians have been killed, including four children. And yet I say it again, peace is still possible. It is less probable every day, but it is still possible. Our reality is not fatal; it can be altered — but only if the Council and the international community are ready to undertake immediate, sustained and collective action, grounded in international law, to achieve it. There is a choice to be made, and it cannot be delayed any further. Inaction is, was and will always be the wrong choice. When in doubt, consult the situation on the ground. The reality there tells you where inaction leads. We face the absurd situation where impunity is enjoyed by those who violate the law and collective punishment is endured by those entitled to its protection.”
2023-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9246 (2023) · source
“At the outset, allow me to commend Japan for its presidency, and notably for convening a ministerial debate on the rule of law (see S/PV.9241), as well as to thank you, Sir, for convening this important meeting. I would also like to warmly welcome and congratulate the new members of the Security Council — Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland — as well as to pledge our support as they uphold their duties under the Charter of the United Nations. I also bid farewell and express our deep appreciation to India, Ireland, Mexico, Norway and Kenya. The five incoming members are friends, as are the departing members. Allow me to also thank Mr. Tor Wennesland for his briefing. Peace is still possible. I do not say that lightly but with a heavy heart, as Palestinians are killed every day.”
2023-01-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9246 (2023) · source
“It further reaffirms its support for defending the Arab, Muslim, and Christian identity of occupied East Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine, and for the right of the State of Palestine to absolute sovereignty over all its occupied territory since 1967, including East Jerusalem, its air and sea space, its territorial waters, natural resources and borders with neighbouring countries. The Arab Group demands that the international community urgently exert every effort to guarantee respect for and the fulfilment of the national rights of the Palestinian people, foremost of which is their right to self-determination.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“The Arab Group calls on the Security Council and partners in the international community to act immediately and pressure Israel to stop its aggression against the Palestinian people, end its occupation and realize a just and comprehensive peace in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy. That is the only way to end the conflict and achieve regional and international security and stability. In conclusion, the Arab Group reaffirms its full support for the Palestinian people in their steadfast defence of their legitimate rights and the city of Al-Quds and its holy sites.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“The Arab Group reaffirms the centrality of the question of Palestine for the Arab nation as a whole and its insistence on international legitimacy, including the Arab Peace Initiative, which was announced in 2002 as a strategic path towards ending the Israeli occupation, resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict and achieving a just and comprehensive peace on the basis of international law, relevant United Nations resolutions and the two- State solution, which guarantees the establishment of an independent State of Palestine along the 4 June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, while ceasing all illegitimate Israeli measures that undermine that solution. That was reaffirmed by the Algiers Declaration issued at the thirty-first Arab summit.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“The Arab Group calls upon the Security Council to uphold its responsibilities and implement its resolutions to halt all illegitimate, provocative, unilateral and escalatory measures and violations that Israel continues to commit unabated, including in Al-Quds Al-Sharif, in particular the blatant violation by the Israeli occupation army and extremist settler groups of the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“The Arab Group reaffirms the need for continued efforts and endeavours aimed at protecting and defending the occupied city of Jerusalem and its holy sites against the rejected and condemned occupation attempts to change the city’s demography, its Arab, Muslim and Christian identity as well as the legal and historical status quo in the city. The Arab Group supports the Hashemite custodianship to protect Muslim and Christian holy sites, the Jordanian Administration of the Endowments of Jerusalem and the affairs of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque as the exclusive authority, the Al-Quds Committee and the Beit Mal Al-Quds Agency in their efforts to defend the city of Al-Quds and support the resilience of its people.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“The Arab Group also reaffirms the right of the State of Palestine to enjoy sovereignty over the occupied city of East Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine, and maintains that Israel, the occupying Power, has no right or sovereignty over the occupied city of Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites. The Arab Group appreciates the positions taken by countries that rejected and condemned the provocative and belligerent Israeli storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Those countries also reiterated their rejection of any alteration of the legal and historical status quo.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“It also constitutes a blatant violation of international law and the legal and historical status quo. That aggression is also a rejected embodiment of a plan that aims to temporally and spatially divide Al-Haram Al-Sharif and a grave escalation that requires international action to put an end to it. In that regard, the Arab Group reaffirms the need for Israel, the occupying Power, to respect the legal and historical status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque/ Al-Haram Al-Sharif, including the status of Al-Haram Al-Sharif, within its full area of 144 acres, as a place of worship exclusively for Muslims.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“At the outset, we would like to congratulate you, Mr. President, on behalf of the Group, on your membership of the Security Council and for presiding over its work for this month. We wish you every success in your tasks. We also thank Mr. Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary- General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, for his briefing. The Arab Group condemns the illegal Israeli practices and violations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque/ Al-Haram Al-Sharif, as manifested recently in the storming of the compound by extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, accompanied by Israeli occupation forces. The Group warns against such aggression, which constitutes a flagrant provocation of the feelings of Palestinians, Arabs and nearly 2 billion Muslims around the world.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“Some of the countries around this table have helped forge and consolidate it — as we heard from our friend, France — with an understanding of how vital it is that the holiest of cities not become the epicentre of a religious conflict. Without it, every holy site is up for grabs. Differences, allayed by the status quo, would turn into clashes. Underlying tensions would implode into conflicts. Disrupting that delicate balance will lead to foreseen and predictable consequences that are grave for us all. The historic status quo is not a legacy of the past, it is a safe passage to a peaceful, just and stable future. Allow me now to deliver a statement in my capacity as Chair of the Group of Arab States for this month. (spoke in Arabic) My delegation has the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of Arab States.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“We trust the following — that eventually no State in its right mind would sacrifice its credibility, interests and values to shield such an Israeli Government or its behaviour. Some may still be reluctant to say out loud what is becoming impossible to deny: this is apartheid. How many Governments today brag about the relations they had with apartheid South Africa? None can — not even Israel, its closest ally at the time. Who here can justify standing for supremacists instead of standing up to them? Jerusalem is by nature, like all of the Holy Land — because of history, geography and its significance for all monotheistic religions — a city of pluralism and diversity, and therefore a city of peace. The historic status quo has underpinned all efforts to promote peaceful religious coexistence in the city for centuries.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“That is a public confession to annexation and apartheid. What is the international community going to do about it? We heard today a unanimous Council opposed to illegal actions, provocations and unilateral measures, notably those aimed at jeopardizing the historic status quo. I heard everyone say that. I will once more tell the Council that what it says is important, critical even. But what matters most is what it does next. A proverb affirms that we must not trust what a person says, but what that person does. We must trust the hands. We appreciate what Council members said, but what is the Council going to do about implementing its own rules. The Council understands that Israel will keep pushing. It might adapt its rhythm, but this Israeli Government will not change course — not until it has to.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“Israel has been waiting for us to accept that colonial rule, human rights abuses and war crimes should prevail over the rule of international law, which we will never accept — and should the international community. Now an unhinged unrestrained Government has openly adopted a colonial and racist platform. What future is there for Palestine and for the entire region if there is no reaction to such a development, if there is no stand for the rule of law and justice? I quote the head of this extremist Government: “These are the basic lines of the national Government headed by me. The Jewish people have an exclusive and unquestionable right to all areas of the land of Israel. The Government will promote and develop settlement in all parts of the land of Israel — in the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan, Judea and Samaria”.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“Palestinian Christians and Christian holy sites are also under attack — as many today mentioned — from severe restrictions to religious processions, to attacks on clergy, to the desecration of graves. Palestinian Christians suffer from the same colonial and discriminatory policies as their Muslim brothers and sisters. The historic and legal status quo, the rights of the Palestinian people and the sovereignty of the State of Palestine must be upheld. Israel is expecting everyone to pretend they cannot see, cannot read and cannot hear and to keep quiet about its unlawful actions. Israel has been waiting for us and for the international community to surrender, which we will never do.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“Those are the facts as asserted by the Council. Furthermore, Israel has no claim or right to sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and therefore no rightful claim over Al-Haram Al-Sharif. Israel’s actions have nothing to do with religious freedom and everything to do with its unlawful attempt to alter the character, status and identity of the city. There can be no peace without Jerusalem. I repeat — there can be no peace without Jerusalem. Israel wants to take it off the table by entrenching its unlawful annexation of the city. But then there is nothing left to discuss. The future of conflict and peace in our region will be determined in Jerusalem, not in any other capital around the world. Anybody who says otherwise is either delusional or lying.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“Those who pursue the temporal and spatial division of Al-Haram or plan to take it over do not comprehend what it represents for all Palestinians and for Arabs and Muslims around the world. They do not comprehend the sensitivity of that holy site for billions of people in every corner of the world, and they should listen carefully to me. They — the members of the Council — should stop Israel. It is their responsibility, the responsibility of the Council and all States, to uphold international law and the historic status quo. They should stop Israel. But make no mistake. If they do not, our Palestinian people will. We should not lose sight of another critical fact. Al-Haram Al-Sharif is in occupied East Jerusalem, an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory — a fact repeatedly affirmed by the Council and the General Assembly.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“Gilad Erdan stormed Al-Haram Al-Sharif a few years ago for the same reasons that Ben-Gvir did a few days ago. They are pursuing the same agenda that they have confessed to, which is altering the historic status quo. I quote: “I think there is in an injustice in the status quo that has existed since ’67... We need to work to change it so that in the future Jews, with the help of God, can pray at the Temple Mount.” Those are the words of Erdan the Minister that Erdan the Ambassador will now try to walk back. Those are the facts. Al-Haram Al-Sharif will not fall. I repeat: Al-Haram Al-Sharif will never fall. It will stand for generations to come. It has outlasted Begin, Shamir and Sharon and will outlast Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and Erdan.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“I ask this of those who expressed happiness about some statement made by the Prime Minister of Israel. No, it endorsed those actions, even in the wake of worldwide outrage and condemnation. It explained to us all that we had misunderstood what we had seen in plain sight with our own eyes — an extremist Minister of an extremist Government accompanied by occupation forces storming Al-Haram Al-Sharif in violation of international law, the historic status quo, the Hashemite custodianship and Palestinian sovereignty. The Israeli argument is that this has happened before, and it is no big deal. Gilad Erdan also stormed Al-Haram Al-Sharif as Minister of Public Security. It is as if a criminal standing trial finds that his best defence is the fact that he committed the same crime before and got away with it.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“And the moderation and sense of responsibility that we display should never be construed as weakness. The record shows that Israel’s persistence on this kind of path leads not to surrender but to uprising. Those who are committed to international law and peace must act now, not merely lament once the fire spreads out of control. The Israeli extremist Ben-Gvir, who now holds the rank of Minister, was convicted of incitement and support for a terror group and is known for his racist views, did not come to Al-Haram Al-Sharif to visit. He is pursuing the same extremist agenda that he has pursued all his life — ending the historic and legal status quo. That is his objective, regardless of the consequences. It is the agenda he was elected on and joined the Israeli Government to advance. Did the Israeli Government condemn his actions?”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“I thank you, Sir, for convening this emergency meeting in response to our appeals and those of several Security Council members. I also congratulate Japan on its presidency of the Council this month and express our confidence in your wise leadership. What red line does Israel need to cross for the Security Council to finally say that enough is enough and act accordingly? When will it act? Israel has displayed utter disregard for the sanctity of Palestinian life, of international law and of Al-Haram Al-Sharif. It has done it with absolute contempt for us, the Council and the entire international community, and it vows to continue doing so. Yet the Council remains on the sidelines. Council members say nice things, but they are still on the sidelines. Our people are running out of patience.”
2023-01-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9236 (2023) · source
“Trust a man who has been here for a long while: we are at the end of the road. Once we cross this threshold, there is no turning back. It is a leap into the unknown, except for one fact — more bloodshed awaits us until we find ourselves once again in a position to figure out a way forward, maybe decades from now. Our people will not despair. They will not renege on their national identity or accept subjugation. The Palestinian people will be free. One day or another. One way or another. We chose the way the world told us was best — the way the Council told us was best. I urge the members of the Council to not let Israel prove them wrong, for our sake and theirs.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“Everywhere they look, they see annexation — the annexation Israel announced in Jerusalem 40 years ago and the annexation it has enacted in the rest of the West Bank. It is untamed, undeniable and unacceptable annexation. We know that the world recognizes our rights — we know the Council does. But standing by us also needs to mean standing up to occupation. Does the mighty Security Council have the spine to stand up to occupation? If there is anything more that can be done — and members of the Council know there is much more — they should do it. And they should do it now. What are they waiting for? Nearly 75 years have passed since the Nakbah. Nearly 55 years have passed since the occupation began. What are they waiting for? They need to do it — to light a candle now, before darkness takes over.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“Let us go to the International Court of Justice and let it make a factual and legal determination in that regard. Is this a temporary occupation or a disguise for permanent annexation? Is it lawful or is it the most abject manifestation of the acquisition of territory by force? Is it discriminatory in nature and by design or not? If anyone here honestly thinks that that is not the case, let us ask the Court. Oppressed peoples do not just surrender. Neither do they wait for their oppressor to one day finally decide to do the right thing, especially when everything around them confirms that their oppressor has no intention to change course. Our people look around and see more settlements and settlers. They see walls and blockades, homes demolished and families displaced.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“That is why the Charter of the United Nations and Security Council resolutions have reaffirmed the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force. That is why annexation is rejected. That is why international humanitarian law has considered all manifestations of colonialism as grave breaches, and why criminal law has determined them to be war crimes. That is why aggression is deemed the supreme international crime and the most unlawful form of the use of force. Well, Israel is committing such actions in broad daylight and in defiance of the world and of the law. If any here feel confident that Israel is not committing such acts, let us not continue debating. Let us instead ask the most authoritative organ in the world to make a determination.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“So many say it behind closed doors and deny it in public. If the international community cannot even say it, how can it fight it? The role of the Council is not only to determine the way forward; it is to make sure that States embark on it and keep moving forward until they reach the destination. It is not to adopt resolutions and allow them to be breached over decades. It is not to only state the law but also, and more important, to uphold it. If the Council is unable or unwilling to do so, it is the responsibility of the General Assembly to determine what actions need to be undertaken in support of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and just and lasting peace. Our international law-based order never envisaged a situation of perpetual occupation.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“We chose the path of peace, and Israel responded with more violence, colonialism, annexation and aggression. But I am not here to talk about Israel. Israel is a colonial Power acting as such, unlawfully grabbing our land and persecuting our people. I am here to ask the international community what it is doing about it and what it is waiting for. We are drifting away from every determination the Council has made and from our common objective. The international community invested so much time and effort and so many resources to advance the two-State solution. Will it stand idly by while Israel destroys it? I ask the international community to not pretend that it cannot see what the alternative to the two-State solution is. Do not fear the word apartheid, fear what that reality means for Palestinians today and for everyone else tomorrow.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“Either we live side by side or, I fear, we might die side by side. Help us to live. This is the Security Council. Endorse that option. Is security best served by occupying a land and transferring 700,000 Israeli settlers to colonize it? Is it best served by blockades or by the killing of innocent Palestinian civilians, of children? Is it best served by spreading despair like wildfire? I have to ask, where does Israel’s right to security end? Israel claims it in our cities and villages, in our schools and our universities, in our mosques and our churches and in our own homes. And where does our right to security start? Where? What does Israel need to do to finally be called what it truly is, the aggressor? And while every people on Earth have a right to defend themselves, that right belongs to us, not to those colonizing our land.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“If that protection is not afforded and if the aggression against our people continues, what is the expected result? Israel kills, maims, displaces, demolishes, humiliates and then wonders how young Palestinians turned into lions. The Israeli representative keeps asking everyone to put themselves in Israel’s shoes, or should I say Israel’s military boots? He asks what they would do “if”. Well I am asking everyone to put themselves in our shoes, in our ripped shoes and our tired feet from our long march to freedom. Let me ask everyone here what they would do if their country were occupied, their land stolen and their people oppressed — or better yet, what did they do when they were? I ask everyone to revisit their own history — what did they do? Long ago, we said it was time to live and let live.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“Imagine if Europe had decided not to recognize the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) until Israel did. Who would that have served? No one. It would have been morally unjust and politically unjustifiable. The European and American recognition of the PLO contributed decisively to Israel eventually having to recognize the PLO. Israel is trying to destroy the State of Palestine. The role of the international community is to protect it, or it would be effectively abandoning the two-State solution altogether. We did not come here month after month or go from capital to capital to demand offensive weapons or even defensive weapons. We came asking for international protection for our people — a protection they are entitled to.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“How can we explain to our people that 75 years after the Nakbah they still need to wait for their turn to be free? Every liberation movement that we have fought side by side with is now an independent State. Our oppressor, Israel, became the fifty-ninth State Member of the United Nations in 1949; 73 years and 134 Member States later, the State of Palestine has yet to become a Member State of the United Nations. What does it mean to be in favour of the two- State solution and then allow the occupying Power the right of veto over our right to self-determination, over recognition of our State and over our membership of the Organization? Recognizing Palestine is not a card to be played at the right time. Even if it were, look around. There is no time left. It is the correct political, legal and moral step to be taken.”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“At the outset, allow me to commend the brotherly nation of Gabon for its able leadership of the Security Council and for convening this open debate. We listened to Mr. Wennesland’s briefing. Our people, our children and our youth are being killed. They will not die in silence, and they will not die in vain. What happens next is the responsibility of the Security Council. We have tried everything. We have knocked on every door, have searched for any avenue leading to freedom and dignity; justice and redress; and shared peace and security. Who thinks it is wise to shut every door in our face? Have they not wondered what would happen if we reached a dead end? We are sparing no effort to demonstrate that there is a peaceful path forward. Who would it serve to prove us wrong?”
2022-10-28 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9174 (2022) · source
“We appeal to the Council. Our President always says that we are extending both hands, not just one, for peace. Do we have acceptance from the other side? The Council should make it enforceable. It should not accept a situation in which we wait until one party decides that it is ready for peace. The Council decides when peace should happen and it should drag the two parties to the peace process today, not tomorrow. That is our message to the Council, the message of the victims. That is the message on behalf of the 15 children we lost and whom we are honouring today in this meeting of the Security Council.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“In his statement yesterday, the Secretary- General emphasized that point. The Council members all talk about political horizons, but we need to move from saying that to implementing it. We should not wait until the next war or the next election. Peace is never reached by waiting. The Council needs to seek it out, with all its strength and determination, and with the power that it has under the provisions of the Charter. The Council is very powerful. It can do what has to be done and enforce it, and we want it to do that, to act now, to save lives, to save peace. Whatever the price, peace must be achieved, because the cost of war will always be infinitely higher. We know. Our people are the ones who are enduring most of that cost. Peace is within reach if the will of those seeking peace proves stronger than the will of those denying it.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“In three days, we lost 15 children. During his visit, United States President Biden reiterated that Palestinians and Israelis deserve equal measures of freedom, security and prosperity. By that he certainly did not mean that Israelis should live with the abysmal level of freedom, security and prosperity that Palestinians are currently enduring. We deserve the same. Those words should be applicable to us, implemented regarding us and enforced regarding us, not the Israeli side alone. Gaza is not destined to go merely from rubble to rubble, and neither is Palestine fated to remain under occupation forever. The Palestinian people’s destiny is to live in freedom, dignity and security in their homeland. We need to collectively shape a political horizon that can end the current reality and break the impasse we are in.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source
“The members of the Council are not bystanders, praying for that outcome, they are actors who can decisively affect the outcome. The Council is the highest authority in the United Nations system where the maintenance of international peace and security is concerned. It is not an organization that makes comments and expresses opinions. It is a body that can change things, enforce things and decide that things should be done according to international law and its collective will, as reflected in its resolutions. Fifteen children were killed in the space of a few days, and many more are traumatized and suffering. They deserve a better future, a future the Council can help bring into being. This meeting is for honouring them. They deserve to be honoured. Every innocent child killed anywhere deserves to be honoured.”
2022-08-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9107 (2022) · source