YouSaid · the spoken record

Prendergast

lines on the record: 716
first: 1999-08-27
most recent: 2018-09-10
sittings or episodes: 36
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

“On 14 September, the security cabinet approved the legislative package for the implementation of the disengagement plan, including principles for the evacuation of settlements and compensation for settlement residents. The Government also approved advance compensation for those settlers relocating voluntarily, and is slated to discuss - on 24 October, before the Government plans to present it to the Knesset on 3 November - the wider legislation pertaining to the initiative. We have consistently made clear the extreme importance of the context within which the Israeli withdrawal takes place. At the outset of this briefing, I noted the absence of any progress towards a return to the negotiating table or towards implementation of the road map.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“The Israeli initiative to withdraw all armed forces from Gaza and from parts of the West Bank and to evacuate all settlements in the Gaza Strip, as well as four settlements in the northern West Bank, has considerable backing in Israel. According to the polls, public support for the plan remains steady at about 60 per cent, despite vocal opposition from segments of the settler community. Practical preparations for the implementation of the initiative are progressing. On 31 August, Prime Minister Sharon underlined his commitment to implement the initiative and outlined a detailed timetable for the legislative process arising from the plan, which has already begun.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“However, much work remains to be done to ensure that the local elections, which are slated to begin in 36 out of 128 cities and municipalities on 9 December and to be staged over a period of one year, meet minimum international standards and can be deemed free and fair by the Palestinian people and the international community. Even more important, we hope that Palestinian national elections will follow soon. At the same time, it is regrettable that the Israeli authorities closed three registration centres and detained five Palestinian Commission staff on 13 September. That action is an unacceptable interference with the registration process in East Jerusalem, and we call on Israel to facilitate, rather than hinder, voter registration.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“The interior minister should, in turn, report to an empowered Prime Minister. Real progress cannot be postponed any longer. It is important for the Council to note that reform is a priority item on the domestic agenda of the Palestinians themselves. The Palestinian Legislative Council announced that it would suspend its sessions from 7 September to 7 October in protest against President Arafat's refusal to sign 12 laws passed by the Council. Yet it is encouraging to see that, despite the difficult circumstances and limitations on freedom of movement, the voter registration process began on 4 September under the auspices of the Central Elections Commission, as the international community had persistently demanded.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“Progress on the implementation of reform continues to be slow and uncertain - which, as we have been saying persistently, can be explained only by a lack of political will to advance along that road. In a speech he delivered before the Palestinian Legislative Council on 18 August, President Arafat acknowledged past mistakes and reiterated the Palestinian Authority's commitment to reform, pledging that more support would be given to the security organizations and to Prime Minister Abu Ala. Such statements are welcome. They need to be translated into tangible action. We reiterate our call on President Arafat to institute tangible reform of the security services. The existing system should be consolidated into three main services, to be supervised by a professional leadership under the authority of an effective interior minister.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“This recent drive of the Israeli Government to expand settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, together with that Government's continued failure to remove all settlement outposts erected since March 2001, stands in clear contradiction to Israel's road map obligation to freeze all settlement activity, including natural growth, as well to the report of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact- Finding Committee: the Mitchell report. We call on Israel to meet its obligations under international law and under the road map. For its part, the Palestinian Authority has failed to make progress on its obligation to take immediate action on the ground to end the violence and combat terror and to institute meaningful measures of reform.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“The Secretary-General remains convinced that implementation of the road map is the only way forward. However, both parties continue to fail to meet their minimum obligations under it. On 17 August, the Government of Israel released tenders for the construction of 1,001 new housing units in West Bank settlements. Only a few days later, media reports indicated that the Israeli Government had also approved the rezoning of land to allow for the construction of a further 533 housing units.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“The Secretariat is currently working on detailed terms of reference for the establishment of a registry of damages, as requested by the General Assembly. The Secretary-General hopes to present his plans to the Assembly by the end of this month. It has been said many times i but it is no less true for being repeated - that only a negotiated settlement between Israelis and Palestinians can ultimately put an end to the conflict, halt the violence and stop the suffering of both peoples. In the absence of any political dialogue between the two parties, the Quartet's road map for peace is the only realistic and viable path out of the current hopeless situation and back towards the resumption of dialogue and negotiations. The Council endorsed the road map in resolution 1515 (2003).”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“The Israeli High Court, while hearing a number a petitions on the routing of the barrier, has also instructed the Government to respond to the advisory opinion rendered by the International Court of Justice on 9 July, and that may have a further impact on the route of the barrier. Meanwhile, however, Israel continues to construct the barrier to the east of Jerusalem. In addition, there have been reports that construction will be speeded up to the south of Jerusalem. We call on Israel to abide by its legal obligations, as expressed in the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and in the General Assembly resolution of 20 July, which took note of the opinion and demanded that Israel comply with its legal obligations, cease construction work, dismantle the wall and compensate the affected population.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“The Israeli policy of confiscating and/or levelling Palestinian land has continued. In the past month, several hundred more dunums of olive groves and fruit trees and other agricultural land in the West Bank and Gaza were seized and uprooted by Israeli forces in the context of military operations and for the construction of Israel's barrier. We are still awaiting further details to be published on the exact routing of the parts of the barrier that remain to be constructed in the West Bank. Israel is currently revising long sections of the barrier route in accordance with a ruling of the Israeli High Court of Justice.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“We call on Israel to allow national staff to pass the crossing in a safe manner, as international staff do. But it is Palestinian civilians who suffer by far the most under the severe movement restrictions that Israel imposes. As has often been its practice in recent years, Israel instituted a complete closure on the entire occupied Palestinian territory from 9 September onwards, ahead of the Jewish holidays. That closure, which is expected to remain in place at least until late September, has brought life in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to a virtual standstill and is effectively undermining all efforts to resuscitate the ailing Palestinian economy. In addition, the Palestinian school year, which began on 1 September, has already been severely disrupted by checkpoints, curfews and other restrictions on movement.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“For instance, on 31 August, an ambulance of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society was fired on while waiting at the Abu Houli checkpoint in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the injury of the ambulance driver as well as of one member of the five-strong medical team. United Nations agencies are affected by Israeli restrictions on movement. During an especially strict closure of the Erez crossing, begun on 31 August, UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen was unable to leave the Gaza Strip for the West Bank. That was a violation of Israel's obligation under international law and as a United Nations Member State to guarantee United Nations personnel freedom of movement. Since March, United Nations national staff have not been permitted to cross Erez in vehicles, even though crossing Erez on foot has been determined to be unsafe.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“Between 11 August and 14 September, Israeli forces demolished 63 houses and several multi-storey buildings, leaving hundreds of Palestinians homeless. On 31 August, a 14-year-old Palestinian boy was killed during one of the frequent incursions to demolish houses in the Rafah refugee camp. Another 14-year-old was killed in an incursion on 2 September, and around 20 Palestinians were wounded. Worryingly, ambulances and medical teams operating in the occupied Palestinian territory continue to be delayed and subjected to searches - and sometimes even physical assault - by Israeli forces.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“On 26 August, a 9-year-01d girl and her father were injured as a helicopter fired at their house in the Old City of Nablus. Israel carried out targeted assassinations during the reporting period, killing five Palestinians and injuring seven in an explosion that was set off in the house of a Hamas activist in Gaza city on 18 August. On 13 September, an Israeli helicopter strike killed three Palestinian militants as they travelled in their car in the Jenin area. We, again, have repeatedly stated that extrajudicial killings are illegal. We call on the Government of Israel to cease such acts immediately. As we have also made clear previously, the widespread destruction of Palestinian property by Israeli forces raises concerns about collective punishment, and it fuels more violence and bloodshed.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“On 8 September, Israeli troops, backed by tanks and helicopters, entered the Gaza Strip in the south and the north and continued operating near Beit Hanoun and the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip for four days. Eight more Palestinians, including at least two children, were killed and more than 50 were wounded. On 15 September, 11 Palestinians were killed, among them an 11-year-old girl, in Israeli operations in Nablus and Jenin in the West Bank. Earlier, at least two Palestinians, one of them a lO-year-old boy, were killed in a two-week-long Israeli operation in and around Nablus, after an Israeli had been killed by a Palestinian attacker near the settlement of Itamar on 13 August. Dozens of Palestinians were wounded in the course of the operation.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“We again call on the Government of Israel to respect its legal obligations to ensure the safety of Palestinian civilians. Violence in and around Gaza continued during most of the reporting period. On several occasions, Palestinian militants launched Qassam rockets and mortar shells against Israeli settlements in Gaza, as well as against the town of Sderot inside Israel, causing damage and requiring a number of people to be treated for shock. On 6 September, Israeli helicopter gunships, tanks and warplanes attacked a Hamas training site in Gaza City, killing 14 Palestinians - mostly militants - and injuring 30. Palestinian militants then fired a number of Qassam rockets.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“The latest grim toll means that since the eruption of the current intifada in September 2000, 3,633 Palestinians and 966 Israelis have been killed, and 35,400 Palestinians and 6,235 Israelis have been injured. Israeli military operations continue to result in death and injury to Palestinian civilians. For example, on 30 August, a 9-year-old Palestinian girl was injured when a missile hit her home instead of a car during a targeted killing operation in Gaza City. And on 7 September, a 10-year-old girl from the refugee camp in Khan Younis was hit in the head by a bullet while sitting in her classroom in a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) school. She underwent major surgery but remains in a coma in critical condition.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“On 31 August, 16 Israelis were killed and more than 100 injured as a double suicide bombing hit two buses in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva. Responsibility for that terror attack was claimed by Hamas, which stated that it was an act of revenge for Israel's assassinations of its spiritual leader and his successor in the spring. The Secretary-General has unreservedly and repeatedly condemned such acts of terror. We again call on the Palestinian Authority to bring those implicated in terrorist acts to justice and to fulfil its obligation under the road map, as well as under international law, to do its utmost to prevent such attacks. In all, 80 Palestinians and 17 Israelis have been killed in the past five weeks; 630 Palestinians and 133 Israelis have been injured.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“Mr. Prendergast: It has been a bad month in the Middle East. We have seen a marked increase in the number of casualties on both sides, and a resumption of suicide bombings. Nor is there good news to report in terms of a return to the negotiating table through a start on implementation of the road map. On the contrary, Prime Minister Sharon is reported to have said publicly that Israel is not following the road map and that Israel might stay in the West Bank long after any withdrawal from Gaza. Meanwhile, new decisions have been announced on settlement activity and Palestinian reform remains stalled. In terms of specific events, the past five weeks were overshadowed by the first major suicide bombing since March this year, as well as by a number of Israeli military operations, incursions and acts of destruction.”
2004-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5039 (2004) · source
“One of the most basic of them is for us not to abandon ourselves to cynicism or despair. For the sake of the parties, Israelis and Palestinians alike, all of us must uphold the vision of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, based on the resolutions of the Council, which would bring an end to occupation and bring about two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side within secure and recognized borders. While the daily toll of violence, the injustice and the indignities of occupation may make that vision appear hopelessly utopian, it would in fact only become truly unattainable if we were to lose our commitment to its attainment.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“It is of considerable importance, given the regional situation, that Israel and Syria should resume their suspended peace negotiations aimed at implementing Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). Finally, Mr. President, I would like to thank you and the other members of the Council for your patience with what has been a long briefing. The tone and content of the briefing has become depressingly familiar to us all. My colleague Terje Roed-Larsen has often reminded us that despair and pessimism are the enemies of any peace process. I agree. While much of the focus of this month's briefing was on the obligations of the parties and, in most cases, their failure to meet those obligations, we in the international community have obligations too.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“Given the tense atmosphere both along the Blue Line and in Lebanon in general due to that series of incidents, I am pleased to report that the coordinated and complementary interventions of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), United Nations senior representatives and several Security Council member States contributed to reducing tensions and avoiding further deterioration. The period since then has been generally calm, including a noticeable reduction in the number of air violations. However, on 9 August, Israeli air violations of Lebanese airspace resumed. The incidents of 20 July demonstrate the speed with which escalation can occur. Maximum restraint by all parties is essential if we are to avoid dangerous consequences. Unfortunately, I cannot say that any progress has been achieved on the Syrian-Israeli track.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“As the Council is aware from the addendum to the 21 July report of the Secretary- General on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (S/2004/572/Add.1), there was a grave breach of the ceasefire on 20 July. Along the western sector of the Blue Line, sniper fire from Lebanese territory, allegedly by Hizbullah sharpshooters, resulted in the death of two Israeli soldiers in an IDF outpost. The retaliation by the Israel Defence Forces included tank fire and missiles launched from helicopters at Hizbullah positions. A tank round killed a Hizbullah militant. That evening, Israeli jets overflew Lebanon, breaking the sound barrier with low-flying incursions over Beirut and other parts of the country. As would be expected, those violations contributed to the tension and generated a great deal of anxiety among Lebanese civilians.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“The Palestinian economy is dependent on the Israeli economy not only for employment but also for raw materials and trade. Although the parties themselves may choose to change that relationship in the long term, a revival of the Palestinian economy in the short term depends on a return to reasonable levels of Palestinian employment in Israel. Should Israel insist on ending Palestinian employment and should it implement the disengagement plan without accompanying measures to ease internal and external closure, unemployment and poverty will continue to soar among Palestinians, with one certain outcome: more popular support for militant groups and an ever weaker Palestinian Authority that will not be able to maintain law and order. Let me now turn to the situation between Israel and Lebanon.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“It is particularly disquieting that Israel has announced its intention to phase out completely Palestinian employment inside Israel by 2008. Already, the number of Palestinians from the West Bank employed in Israel, Israeli settlements and Israeli industrial zones dropped from 50,000 to 48,000 during the second quarter of 2004. The number of Gazans working in Israel, Israeli settlements and industrial zones fell from 6,000 to less than 500 from the first to the second quarter of 2004, according to recent data. The number of trucks importing and exporting goods from and to Gaza has declined significantly. Truckloads leaving Gaza fell by 70 per cent from April to May 2004, and truckloads entering Gaza declined by 30 per cent over the same period.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“Indeed, the World Bank has emphasized that Israel's disengagement plan will have limited impact on the Palestinian economy and Palestinian livelihoods if it is not accompanied by a radical easing of closure that encompasses three elements: the removal of internal obstacles to movement in the West Bank, the opening of Palestinian external borders to commodity trade and a return to a reasonable flow of Palestinian labour into Israel. If those conditions are met, additional donor money can be raised. But donors need some assurance that their contributions will have a productive impact. Aid will be provided in the context of a successful comprehensive Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank as a first step in the implementation of the road map.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“Recently released figures show a $38 million budget deficit in May. A recent World Bank study found that the deep economic crisis in the West Bank and Gaza is one of the worst recessions in modern history. It is contributing to the impoverishment of an entire generation of young Palestinians as well as to the undermining of the credibility of the Palestinian Authority. And, inevitably, it is increasing the popular appeal of militant factions. The primary cause of this crisis is the closure regime imposed by the Government of Israel. Without a significant change in the closure regime, the Palestinian economy will not be revived.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“The main donor coordination body, known as the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, will also meet in September in New York to examine ways in which the donor community could assist the parties to turn the withdrawal into a true beginning of a genuine peace process. But yet again, it all depends on the parties themselves - the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority - and the choices they make in that regard. On the economic front, I have to say that the picture remains grim. The Palestinian economy is in tatters, and it stands little chance of recovery unless immediate action is taken. This quarter is the third in a row in which Palestinian unemployment has increased. The total unemployment rate stands at 34.3 per cent. Total Palestinian Authority revenues continue to be far below expenditure levels.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“It would be a significant landmark in the history of peacemaking between Israelis and Palestinians. It is our hope that both the Israeli and the Palestinian sides will focus on the tasks at hand in order to make withdrawal and its aftermath a new beginning of the peace process, and not a new low point in the long history of their conflict. As we have stated many times before, the requirements for the success of the withdrawal initiative are the very same requirements as for the successful implementation of the road map. The United Nations and the international community at large are ready to assist the parties in that endeavour if they make the right choices. The Quartet principals are planning to meet here in September to assess the situation on the ground and examine appropriate courses of action.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“Prime Minister Sharon's initiative to withdraw the Israeli armed forces from Gaza and parts of the West Bank and to evacuate all settlements in the Gaza Strip, as well as four settlements in the northern West Bank, is gaining momentum within Israel. Despite vocal opposition from segments of the settler community, recent polls show that 60 per cent of Israelis continue to support the disengagement initiative. The Quartet's position is clear: a withdrawal should be full and complete; it should lead to an end of the occupation of Gaza and be accompanied by similar steps in the West Bank; it should take place within the framework of the road map and the vision of two States; and it should be fully coordinated with the Palestinian Authority and the Quartet. A withdrawal on that basis would create new opportunities for progress towards peace.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“Nevertheless, it needs to be emphasized that, whether in Jerusalem or elsewhere, whether Muslim or Jewish or Christian, the safety and sanctity of all religious sites is of primary importance, in normal times as well as in a situation marked by violence, mistrust and hostility. Israel has an indisputable obligation towards its own citizens and towards the international community to ensure the full protection of all sites currently under its control. We therefore call on the Government of Israel to take effective measures against those involved in the planning or the incitement of acts aimed at undermining the safety or the sanctity of those Holy Sites.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“The Secretariat is currently studying how best to carry out the task entrusted to it by the General Assembly. I expect that we shall have more to report on the barrier next month. Meanwhile, there have been disturbing reports warning of possible attacks on Muslim Holy Sites in Jerusalem by Jewish extremists. On 24 July, Israel's Public Security Minister publicly confirmed that the security establishment had identified an increased intent among right-wing extremists to carry out an attack on the Al-Aqsa mosque. Israeli officials were insistent that due to the existing stringent security routines, extremists planning an attack would find it difficult to penetrate the site.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“On 20 July, the General Assembly adopted a resolution (resolution ES-10/ 15) that acknowledged the advisory opinion rendered by the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Israel's barrier, demanded that Israel comply with its legal obligations and called on Member States to comply as well. The General Assembly also called on both parties to implement their obligations under the road map and requested Switzerland to consult and report with regard to the resumption of the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention. In addition, the resolution asked the Secretary-General to establish a register of damage. The Secretary-General has called on the Government of Israel to abide by its legal obligations.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“Government-sponsored settlement activity, as along the land bridge connecting Jerusalem and Maale Adumim under the controversial E-l plan, would have serious effects on the territorial contiguity of the Palestinian territory, resulting in the creation of two more or less completely separated Palestinian cantons in the West Bank. Thus, reports that the Israeli Government had approved plans for the construction of 600 new accommodation units in Maale Adumim, already the largest Israeli settlement, and in other areas, were of special concern. While we welcome Prime Minister Sharon's instructions to halt and re- examine tenders for construction in those settlements, what we are looking for is a comprehensive and sustained freeze on settlement activities, as is called for by the road map.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“Substantial growth in those settlements slated for evacuation under the Israeli disengagement plan is particularly worrying. Settlement construction is reported to have continued at a considerable pace, in particular in the large settlement blocs such as Gush Etzion and Maale Adumim. In and around East Jerusalem, recent settlement activity, both governmental and privately sponsored, has proceeded at a rate that observers have described as unmatched since 1992. Most private settlement activity proceeds along the route of the barrier in a way that could turn the barrier into a border.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“Concerns remain in the international community that Palestinian Authority preparations for local elections must meet international standards to be deemed free and fair, especially as regards giving the Central Elections Commission a mandate to conduct voter registration. Israel too has failed to implement its core commitments under the road map. Settlement expansion and lack of action on removing the outposts erected since 2001 severely undermine Palestinian trust in Israel's intentions and contributes to strengthening hardliners among Palestinians. Despite repeated promises by the Israeli Government, settlement activities continue. According to recent figures of the Israeli Ministry of the Interior, the settler population continues to increase.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“However, that has yet to be reflected in real change on the ground. Over the past 12 months, we have been consistently calling on President Arafat to take decisive action to reform, refocus and rehabilitate the Palestinian security services. Decisive action in that regard would help to restore law and order as well as the Palestinian Authority's diminished credibility. The required elements of reform are clear to all: the consolidation of all security services into three main bodies, with a professional leadership; and putting them under the authority of an effective Interior Minister who reports to an empowered Prime Minister. Another area where reform is needed is elections.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“In Nablus, unidentified gunmen fired several shots at the home of former mayor Ghassan Shaka'a, who had resigned two months earlier in protest at the emerging chaos in the city. The Minister of the Interior has taken some measures to reorganize the police force. However, Israel has reportedly retracted its earlier consent to his request to permit the Palestinian police to start carrying weapons inside Palestinian cities on 6 August. Israel's cooperation to facilitate any steps taken by the Palestinian Authority to reform its security forces is of vital importance. Meanwhile, the security measures taken by the Palestinian Authority are still limited and unclear. The announced intention of President Arafat to regroup security services from nine into three, as required by the road map, is welcome.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“Palestinian security sources announced on 31 July that an attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Qurei had been thwarted. On the same day, gunmen belonging to the Al-Aqsa Brigades torched the offices of the Palestinian Authority General Intelligence Force in Jenin. On 1 August, unknown gunmen opened fire to break up a Fatah meeting calling for internal elections. The following day, two Palestinians convicted of collaborating with Israel were killed by unknown gunmen. The two killed had been among the seven Palestinians wounded earlier when a Palestinian Authority policeman allegedly threw two hand grenades into the prison cell of inmates suspected of collaborating with Israel.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“Finally, political mediation, notably by a group of Palestinian Legislative Council members, led to an agreement by which President Arafat agreed to grant Prime Minister Qurei - Abu Ala - full authority over the security agencies, which are currently under the authority of the Minister of the Interior, and to abide by the Basic Law as far as the powers of the Prime Minister are concerned. On 27 July, Abu Ala retracted his resignation. However, despite those developments, ultimate authority and control over all Palestinian Authority security agencies remain with the National Security Council, headed by President Arafat. Unrest continued, and on 30 July Fatah gunmen kidnapped three foreigners as they were returning to their home in Nablus. The three were released unharmed two hours later.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“However, those measures led to further unrest as thousands took to the streets in Gaza City in protest. The demonstrations continued on 18 July and involved clashes among various factions of Fatah. An angry crowd attacked the headquarters of Palestinian military intelligence in Rafah. In Khan Younis, a group of armed Palestinians attacked the headquarters of military intelligence, seized weapons and ransacked the building, after which they set it on fire. Meanwhile, unknown gunmen shot Nabil Amr - a former Palestinian information minister and a well-known critic of the Palestinian Authority's very limited steps on reform - in his house in Ramallah on 20 July. He survived the attack but was badly injured. After that attack, manifestations of unrest, popular discontent and chaos increased.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“I would suggest that in the response to those warnings and challenges, the focus should be on the message, not on the messenger. As Mr. Roed-Larsen pointed out in last month's briefing, demands for Palestinian Authority reform come not solely from the Quartet, but also from the Palestinian people. The stalling on much-needed reforms and the lack of responsiveness from the Palestinian Authority to internal demands have led to an outbreak of protests and to a real danger of chaos. Indeed, on 17 July, Prime Minister Qurei submitted his resignation, citing as a reason the state of unprecedented chaos. President Arafat announced a series of security measures to prevent further deterioration, including the appointment of the chief of military intelligence as head of national security forces and the appointment of a new police chief in Gaza.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“In his July briefing to the Council, Terje Roed-Larsen, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority, warned against what he described as emerging chaos in Palestinian areas. Mr. Roed-Larsen - a veteran of the Middle East peace process, an impartial observer representing the Secretary-General and a friend of both the Palestinian and the Israeli peoples - has a duty to remind the parties of their obligations under the provisions of international law, signed agreements and the road map. He also has the duty to draw attention to the challenges that could hamper the efforts of the international community to restart the peace process.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“Those first steps are clear: on the Palestinian side, implement meaningful security reforms and bring to an end the use of violence in all its forms; and, on the Israeli side, dismantle settlement outposts and implement a full freeze of all settlement activities. I am sorry to say that, so far, there has been little reason to believe that we are about to witness the taking of such steps by either side, let alone both sides. Progress on the implementation of Palestinian reform continues to be slow and mostly cosmetic. That cannot be explained other than by a lack of political will to advance along that road.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“As we have been saying consistently over the past 12 months, the Palestinian Authority, despite promises by its President, has made no progress on its core obligation to take immediate action on the ground to end violence and to combat terror. The Israeli Government, despite its commitment, has made no progress on its core obligation immediately to dismantle settlement outposts erected since March 2001 and to move towards a complete freeze of settlement activities. Until and unless both the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel take the necessary first steps to restore momentum towards peace, the stalemate will continue and there will be no lasting ceasefire.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“It has been stated in this Chamber many times before that the continuing violence on the ground comes as a direct consequence of occupation and the absence of any real hope of progress towards a peaceful settlement of the dispute through negotiations. The Secretary-General and his representatives have pointed out, also many times, that the Quartet's road map for peace - which the Council endorsed in its resolution 1515 (2003) - represents a realistic and viable way to move out of the current hopeless situation and to resume political dialogue. However, both parties have failed to meet their minimum obligations under the road map.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“As I mentioned earlier, in Beit Hanoun alone, in the course of operation Forward Shield, some 20 houses were completely demolished and another 230 damaged. Similar demolitions continued to take place during IDF military operations in the Rafah and Khan Younis refugee camps. For example, in the northern West Bank, the village of Azzun Atmeh received 25 demolition orders, and 11 houses were demolished there on 4 August. During the reporting period, the Israeli Government continued the practice of demolishing the homes of the families of persons connected to suicide-bombing attacks. Such punitive demolitions affecting persons not charged with a crime are a form of collective punishment.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“That sole point of passage for Palestinians travelling anywhere outside the Gaza Strip was closed for 19 days as Israel maintained that it had solid information that terrorists were digging a tunnel underneath the crossing and that they planned to rig it with explosives. Civilians - including hundreds of children and elderly persons - had to sleep on the floor in the terminal from 17 July onwards, in temperatures ranging from 30 to 40 degrees Celsius, assisted by the Egyptian Red Crescent Society and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Israel reopened the crossing on 6 August. During the past month, Israel continued demolishing Palestinian houses despite repeated calls by the international community to halt that practice.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“In the Gaza Strip, movement and access remain severely restricted, especially in the northern area affected by the ongoing operation around Beit Hanoun. Numerous flying checkpoints were erected throughout all districts of the Palestinian territory. Jericho remains a closed military zone. On 21 July, Israel permitted the entrance of basic supplies to the city for the first time in 11 days. The northern districts of Tulkarem, Qalqiliya and Salfit were also severely affected by the frequent establishment of flying checkpoints between 23 and 26 July. The closure of the Rafah crossing to Egypt caused increased hardship to more than 3,500 Palestinians stranded on the Egyptian side.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source
“During the past month, Israel carried out extrajudicial killings. On 19 July, Israel wounded a total of five militants in two separate missile strikes on a safe house in the Shati refugee camp, near Gaza City. Three days later, another helicopter missile strike in Gaza killed a senior Islamic Jihad operative, his aide and a third Palestinian. Then a third missile strike, on 29 July, killed two militants in Rafah. We again call on Israel to cease this illegal practice. Search and arrest campaigns throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have continued with unaltered frequency and have at times been stepped up. The almost-daily operations saw the detention of more than 130 people between 14 July and 5 August. Curfews continued to be imposed in many Palestinian towns and villages.”
2004-08-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5019 (2004) · source