YouSaid · the spoken record

Prince Al-Faisal

lines on the record
16
first
2008-09-26
most recent
2009-01-08
sittings or episodes
3
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

  1. “We must always remember that the Security Council has served the people, alleviated their suffering and contributed to their well-being, and that it is not a device to be manipulated by States. What the Security Council achieved today is the result of the efforts and goodwill of all participants. Yet, when we recall the high cost and the loss of human lives, it limits our sense of pride in this accomplishment. Success always has a price and in this case it was a little too high. Thus, we hope that this achievement will be blessed and built upon. In conclusion, we hope that all parties will abide by the resolution so that we can build a durable and just settlement to a conflict that has bedevilled the Middle East and cost it heavily for so long.”

    2009-01-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6063 (2009) · source

  2. “Prince Al-Faisal (Saudi Arabia) (spoke in Arabic): Today raises our hopes for a new path in the work of the Security Council. The Security Council has shouldered its responsibility to put an end to the tragedy taking place in Gaza. It is our hope that the step taken this evening will pave the way to resolving it. By adopting resolution 1860 (2009), the Security Council is restoring confidence in the machinery of peacemaking. We hope that all parties will see this as an achievement for international peace and security and that it will serve as a model for addressing any future crises that may arise. However, the real joy is not what we have achieved here but that which will be felt in Gaza, where it is hoped that our achievement today will save many human lives.”

    2009-01-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6063 (2009) · source

  3. “Either the Security Council must address our legitimate issues responsibly and seriously on the basis of those principles or we shall be forced to turn our backs and consider other options. Palestinians are dying at this very moment. Children are being orphaned. Parents are losing loved ones for no reason save for the fact of where they find themselves. Is the Council going to allow that to continue for even another hour?”

    2009-01-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6061 (2009) · source

  4. “Lifting the siege, calming the situation and establishing the necessary monitoring mechanism will ensure a lasting solution. That will serve to meet Israel's security concerns and pave the way for a resumption of the peace process and the revitalization of negotiations to end the occupation and establish an independent, viable Palestinian State. That is the only way to ensure the security of Israel and Palestine, as well as the security and stability of the region. Arab countries are committed to international law, the principles of international legitimacy and the resolutions of the Security Council. Unfortunately, we are confronted by delays, procrastination and attempts to undermine the peace efforts of Arab countries.”

    2009-01-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6061 (2009) · source

  5. “There is no way out of this crisis but through a clear and explicit resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and the lifting of the siege. The members of the League of Arab States have today presented the Security Council with the resolution adopted by the extraordinary meeting of the League's foreign ministers held in Cairo on 31 December 2008. That document formulates a vision for a resolution to the crisis on the basis of an immediate halt to all military action in Gaza, the lifting of the siege, the opening of the crossing points and an end to the policy of collective punishment imposed on Palestinians that led to this serious deterioration. The Arab proposal aims both at putting an end to the military operation and at addressing the causes that led to it.”

    2009-01-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6061 (2009) · source

  6. “Israel violated the truce agreed by the two parties in June 2008, in return for a ceasefire and an understanding that the crossing points would be opened and the siege lifted. The Palestinian side fulfilled its obligations under the agreement, whereas Israel maintained its stranglehold on 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza - an immoral act and humanitarian tragedy to which the international community failed to respond. In referring to that painful reality, our goal is not to engage in unproductive arguments; rather, it is to describe the situation as it is and to prompt us to work seriously towards a ceasefire that will end the armed conflict that is causing death and destruction in Gaza as we speak.”

    2009-01-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6061 (2009) · source

  7. “What is happening in Gaza now can only be described as a horrendous humanitarian crime that will only lead to more Violence and extremism and put the goal of peace and security, which Israel uses to justify its acts of aggression, further out of reach. Israel's security can be achieved only by the establishment of a just peace that responds to the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. Those rights have been recognized in instruments of international legitimacy, including Security Council resolutions. They have also been affirmed by the Geneva Conventions and enshrined in every agreement and initiative put forth to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the Arab Peace Initiative. Israel bears full responsibility for the grave situation and the ferocious siege on the Palestinian people and the closure of crossing points.”

    2009-01-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6061 (2009) · source

  8. “This places a big question mark over the credibility of the Security Council and the entire system of international peace and security. What we find astonishing and surprising is the deafening silence in the face of the attack on Gaza. Indeed, some claim that the operation is nothing more than Israel exercising its right to self-defence. While following, for example, the armed conflict in Georgia, we saw the international community move most urgently and effectively and mobilize all measures necessary to contain the situation, end the conflict and ensure a withdrawal of forces. Palestinian blood continues to be shed. Destruction is spreading in a way that cannot be justified in any way whatsoever. War no longer evokes glory and pride, only rage and condemnation on the part of the international community.”

    2009-01-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6061 (2009) · source

  9. “The destruction and killing during the aerial bombardment seem insufficient to slake the Israelis' thirst or indeed to convince the Security Council to move swiftly and immediately to prevent the further escalation expected in such grave circumstances. The call for the convening of this meeting proceeds from our appreciation of what is expected from the Security Council in such circumstances, as provided by the Charter of the United Nations. The Security Council is the body entrusted with the maintenance of international peace and security. Although the provisions of the Charter state that when a certain conflict leads to fighting as soon as possible, it seems that the Security Council has set that role aside this time. The Israeli aggression against Gaza has continued for more than 11 days now.”

    2009-01-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6061 (2009) · source

  10. “Prince Al-Faisal (Saudi Arabia) (spoke in Arabic): We meet today as the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip continue to suffer hugely from a savage aggression that is unrelenting and unforgiving at the hand of the Israeli war machine. It has led to the deaths of hundreds and wounded thousands, including children, women and the elderly. It has caused terrific destruction to property and infrastructure. It is a wide human catastrophe that has beset Gaza: overall death and destruction. Israel has turned its munitions falling from the sky into an unbearable hell on the ground, using every conceivable weapon of destruction invented by the human mind to scourge by fire an unarmed people besieged from the air, the land and the sea.”

    2009-01-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6061 (2009) · source

  11. “Feelings of despair and frustration have reached a dangerously high level. The growing perception in the Arab and Muslim world that there is a lack of seriousness on the part of the international community on this matter must be addressed. In this meeting we have not asked for any action such as a resolution or statement. However, we request that this meeting remains open until an appropriate conclusion is reached during the remainder of this United Nations session. If not, we shall come back to this Council and ask it to shoulder its responsibility.”

    2008-09-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5983 (2008) · source

  12. “The only path to true Israeli security is peace. We have to question Israel's refusal to offer meaningful peace initiatives. Its obfuscation and reliance on unilateral measures will never lead to peace. It is time for Israel to understand that it cannot continue to 08-52327 exempt itself from complying with international standards of behaviour based on international law. What we are requesting here is very simple, yet very important. Most of us gathered here, including the permanent members of the Security Council, have made unilateral declarations against continued Israeli settlement activities. What is needed is to take a united stand that clearly reflects this existing consensus. Time is of the essence. The moment for serious action is upon us. Stagnation in the peace process has increased the appeal of extremist ideologies.”

    2008-09-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5983 (2008) · source

  13. “It is immoral to apply sanctions on occupied people while the occupier continues its settlement activities with impunity. We are not asking for anything that was not promised by the Israelis themselves at Annapolis. Since such illegal Israeli practices pre-empt the current negotiations and render them meaningless, Israel should, at a minimum, cease all settlement activities, including the issuance of permits. All Arab Governments, including the present Palestinian Government, have proposed a collective offer to end the conflict with Israel and enter into a peace agreement that provides security, recognition and normal relations for all States of the region. These are extremely serious powerful pledges by all Arab States which should not be ignored. They reflect the strategic choice of peace opted for by the Arab countries.”

    2008-09-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5983 (2008) · source

  14. “Israeli settlements, which are changing the geographic and demographic composition of the occupied Palestinian territories, are clearly in direct violation of the principles of international law, of all relevant United Nations resolutions and of obligations under the Road Map and the Annapolis process. Israeli settlements surround most of the major Palestinian population centres in the West Bank and control more than half of its water resources. In East Jerusalem, excavation and construction continue unabated. In short, those Israeli settlements make it virtually impossible to envision the establishment of a viable Palestinian State in the future. They make it extremely difficult for any Palestinian Government to function effectively, or to convince Palestinians of the feasibility of peace.”

    2008-09-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5983 (2008) · source

  15. “08-52327 Needless to say, the Arab-Israeli conflict continues to overshadow and dominate all other issues in the Middle East. No regional crisis has greater potential to affect world peace than that conflict. The absence of good faith and the intransigence on the part of the Israeli Government compound the problem. Instead of pursuing an honest quest for peace, Israel continues to take more and more of the Palestinian territories, persisting in the daily humiliation of the population and building illegal settlements and walls so as to unilaterally create new facts on the ground.”

    2008-09-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5983 (2008) · source

  16. “I wish to thank the Security Council for granting us this opportunity to meet and discuss an urgent and significant matter that is affecting the credibility of the peace process in the Middle East as well as the universal application of international law. All the members of the League of Arab States have requested this urgent meeting of the Security Council to discuss the problem of the continued Israeli settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, for it is the one issue that threatens to bring down the whole peace process. Our sincere hope is that the meeting will further the purposes of the United Nations with respect to upholding the principles of international law and that it will help to save from failure the Annapolis peace process and the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.”

    2008-09-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5983 (2008) · source