YouSaid · the spoken record

Prosor

lines on the record: 556
first: 2011-06-30
most recent: 2015-07-30
sittings or episodes: 50
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

“From Port Vila in Vanuatu to Port au Prince in Haiti, the global community must sow the seeds of development so that SIDS will prosper in the future.”
2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source
“At its heart is the principle of sustainable development of small island developing States through genuine and durable partnerships. In the spirit of the Samoa Pathway, Israel has pledged to provide 25 public health scholarships for SIDS scholars at the world-renowned Hebrew University in Jerusalem, of which I am a graduate. Furthermore, Israel, in cooperation with the Marshall Islands, deployed an innovative, mobile water purification vehicle in the island of Ebeye. As we are about to agree on the most comprehensive and ambitious sustainable development goals for the next 15 years, we must make sure that SIDS remain at the top of our priorities. In our interconnected global reality, no man is an island and no island is detached from the rest of the world. Island nations must be embraced.”
2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source
“We face important challenges to peace and security, but in our early years the primary strategic threat to Israel was the scarcity of water and the challenges of developing our agricultural infrastructure 4 issues that are still plaguing many SIDS. That is not ancient history, nor is it theory. Our successes and our failures are still fresh, and those lessons are part of our contribution to our SIDS partners on their path to development, peace and security. In 2014 Israel participated in the historic Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States in Samoa. The SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (Samoa Pathway) outcome document of 2014 is the road map for addressing the challenges of peace and security facing SIDS.”
2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source
“Some of the smallest SIDS - some of the smallest Member States in this family of nations, in fact- are proud contributors to peacekeeping. Countries such as Vanuatu, Samoa and Grenada contribute police officers to peacekeeping efforts around the world. For decades we in Israel have appreciated the presence of the Fijian peacekeepers serving in United Nations peacekeeping missions in the Golan Heights and in Lebanon and in the multilateral force in the Sinai. Far away from home, the Fijian peacekeepers have earned a place of respect for their contribution to peace and security in our region. Israel is a small island of sorts, a State in the midst of an often turbulent sea of hostility.”
2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source
“For example, the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre in Belize coordinates the Caribbean region's response to climate change. Efforts to incorporate renewable energy, particularly solar power, to combat climate change are growing in this region. Recently, energy professionals from Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Belize came to Israel to undergo a unique course of intensive training in renewable sources of energy. Israel and its Caribbean SIDS partners are working together to bring renewable energy solutions to the region because we know that small countries can produce big ideas. The courage of SIDS, disproportionate to their size and population, is also quite evident in the realm of peacemaking.”
2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source
“One example we can look to is Palau, which has demonstrated courage and leadership, announcing it will establish the world's first nation-wide marine sanctuary. Palau will designate its entire ocean territory as a regenerative zone for sharks, whales, tuna and countless other precious species. When asked about his country's tremendous efforts in that regard, the President of Palau, Tommy Remengesau, replied powerfully and succinctly, "We have no choice - the ocean is our way of life". The international community has no choice but to stand with the SIDS to protect our oceans and to combat climate change. Around the globe, SIDS are proactively coming together and partnering with other countries to employ innovative ways to combat climate change.”
2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source
“These challenges pose considerable obstacles to their development and, ultimately, to their peace and security and to ours. One major challenge for SIDS is the health of our oceans. Although we in Israel may not have vast oceans lapping at our shores, we know that they are the livelihood of our blue planet. Healthy oceans are not only essential for the environment, but they are at the core of the world's economic prosperity, social resilience and our peace and security. While the health of our oceans is an issue that we must all confront together, the small island developing States are at the vanguard of this global effort and face the highest risks should we all fail. In this campaign, it is not the size of the country but the bravery and determination of its people that will make the difference.”
2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source
“I would like to extend my appreciation to New Zealand for putting the spotlight, for the very first time in the Council, on the peace and security challenges facing small island developing States (SIDS). Albert Einstein said, "In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems." In matters of truth and justice, there is also no difference between large and small countries. More than a fifth of the Member States of the United Nations are classified as small island developing States. Whether in the Pacific, the Caribbean or off the coast of Africa, members of this unique community - SIDS - are disproportionately affected by climate change, environmental degradation and natural disasters.”
2015-07-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7499 (2015) · source
“Itamar had returned to Israel for the wedding ofa friend and to visit his 96-year-old grandfather in Haifa. He then flew to visit his family in the Netherlands, tragically, for the last time. Although his life was short, be filled those years with life. Whether it was his love of travel, of football, or, most importantly, his friends, Itamar lived life to the fullest and brought love and laughter to all who knew him. May his memory, and the memory of all those who perished, be a blessing. We thank and support those carrying out the investigation into this horrible incident, and we welcome the progress made so far. We look forward to the final report.”
2015-07-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7498 (2015) · source
“Tragically, we in Israel are all too familiar with attempts to use violence to paralyse our lives and our routines. We have learned from this painful experience that if we do not take steps to deter future attacks, the consequences can be dreadful. On that difficult day one year ago, 298 people were killed as they made their way through the skies. The passengers on the fated flight spoke different languages, had different destinations and different plans, but they all shared one thing in common: they were all innocent people going about their daily lives. One of the passengers on board was Itamar Avnon, a 27-year-old Israeli citizen. Itamar was on his way back to Australia, where he was a second-year business student at Swinburne University in Melbourne.”
2015-07-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7498 (2015) · source
“One year ago, last July, we witnessed the horrific scene of a civilian aircraft blown out of the skies over Ukraine. The lives of 283 passengers and 15 crew members were shattered in an instant, but the pain of their families continues to this day. Among those killed were 80 children, 80 precious girls and boys who lost their lives in one tragic moment. As a representative of one of the grieving nations, I join with my colleagues to remember those we lost on Flight MH-17, to declare our support for the investigation and to insist that those responsible be held to account. The downing of this civilian aircraft was not simply a tragedy, it was a deliberate attack. The attack was an attempt to disrupt the law and order of the skies and to instil fear in those who use air travel.”
2015-07-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7498 (2015) · source
“Ten years ago, Israel took a significant step with its disengagement from Gaza. A decade later, in the light of regional developments, the international community must take steps of its own. It must disengage from illusions, from its constant bias against Israel and from murderous terror groups. The time has come to disengage from old habits, but engage with the values that we all cherish.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“The deal gives Iran the ability to delay inspections of undeclared sites for 24 days - enough time to hide a smoking gun; and there are insufficient limitations on Iran's weaponization activities. Iran already has the enrichment capability to produce a bomb and the means for suitable delivery: without limitations on weaponization, the way is paved for Iran to assemble a bomb. Now, in the summer of 2015, the countdown to Iran's becoming a threshold nuclear State has begun. In five years, the embargo against conventional weapons will end. In eight years, it can acquire missile technology; in 10 years, unlimited centrifuges. That is not disarmament. It is a timetable for Iran to build nuclear weapons. In future years, the consequences of that mistake will become clear to everyone, but for Israel tomorrow is already too late.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“Instead of contributing to a solution in our region, this agreement has strengthened the source of the problem; it has given the source of the problem, Iran, the money to act on the basis of its destructive ideology and the time and opportunity to develop a nuclear arsenal. The agreement grants Iran not one, but two paths to the bomb: it can acquire the bomb by cheating, or by keeping the deal for 10 years, and then assembling its bomb immediately. And 10 years go by in the blink of an eye. Under the terms of the agreement, Iran may continue significant enrichment not needed for civilian use, as well as continue research and development on advanced centrifuges that will significantly reduce the break-out time for a bomb. Enforcement is largely dependent on Iran's goodwill: inspections are not "anywhere, any time".”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“Council members may have signed a deal with the poster boys of Iran - Zarif and Rouhani * but in Iran the Ayatollah and his Revolutionary Guards are the ones calling the shots. Khamenei declared that even after the agreement is signed, Iran will continue to support terrorists in the Middle East and around the world. Ifthat was not clear enough, listen to what Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister had to say two days ago: "We have told the P5+1 that we will supply arms to anyone and anywhere and will import weapons from anywhere we want we clarified this point during the negotiations." It is worth noting the fact that Israel and many States in the Arab world share grave concerns over the implications of the agreement on the stability of the Middle East. When Israel and the Arab world share the same concerns, the world should pay attention.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“Iran is the source of instability in the Middle East. In Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and other countries, Iran has deployed its Revolutionary Guards in order to expand its empire. Iran is also the godfather of terror around the world. Countries from Bulgaria to Argentina have experienced the horror of Iranian terror at first hand. For years, Iran has armed and financed Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza - two groups that make clear their goal of wiping Israel off the map. Many members of the Security Council described the agreement as the opening of a new chapter. I am sorry to ruin a good book, but Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has a different story to tell.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“Three days ago, the Security Council adopted resolution 2231 (2015), which endorses the nuclear agreement with Iran. The agreement is bad for Israel, bad for the region, and bad for the world. It is a historic mistake that brings Iran closer to achieving its 30-year goal of attaining nuclear weapons and fuels its drive for imperial expansion. The resolution took the first step to lift the sanctions without waiting to see ifIran complies with even one single obligation in the agreement. What makes the international community so sure that Iran will live up to its end of the bargain? When the nuclear deal was struck with North Korea, good and well-intentioned people believed that it would prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons. Sometimes, good intentions lead to wishful thinking.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“Abbas seized the funds of Fayyad's non-governmental organization, Tomorrow for Social Development, and froze his accounts. The Palestinian Authority never misses an opportunity to avoid responsibility. The international community should not shy away from criticizing the PA and pushing it to assume responsibility. Avoiding responsibility has its price. Last month, there were numerous terror attacks, including two that were fatal. Dani Gonen and Malachi Rosenfeld were shot and killed by Palestinian terrorists as they went about their daily lives. May their memory be a blessing. Those murderous attacks are just part of an increase in the terror attacks we have witnessed recently. Yet the leadership of the PA remains silent and fails to condemn the murder of innocent people.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“Last September, the Security Council tried to adopt a draft resolution to address the situation in Gaza. While Israel agreed to the draft resolution, the Palestinian President dragged his feet, obstructed the process and eventually rejected the proposition altogether. The draft resolution would have restored PA governance over the people of Gaza, granted the PA control over the crossings into Gaza and disarmed Hamas. The draft resolution would have given control over Gaza back to the PA, but Mahmoud Abbas rejected it. The Palestinian leadership is apparently too busy settling scores with political rivals in the PA to worry about what happens in Gaza. Just look at how Abbas treated the former Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Salaam Fayyad - a Palestinian leader esteemed and respected in the international community.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“Hundreds of trucks enter Gaza every day, carrying thousands of tons of food, humanitarian aid, medicine and more, all without restrictions. Since October 2014, Israel has supplied Gaza with 1.3 million tons of construction material. While Israel is fully committed to the implementation of the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism and will continue to cooperate with the United Nations in this important mission, the Palestinian Authority (PA) not only refrains from taking part in the effort, but it puts obstacles in the way of those who do so. The PA is quick to condemn Israel at the United Nations, but on the ground it refuses to assume responsibility for the people of Gaza. The Palestinian Authority has no authority over the Gaza Strip, and apparently it does not want any.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“Those strikes have hit United Nations facilities, hospitals, schools and civilian neighbourhoods and left entire families dead, yet - surprise, surprise - no commission of inquiry, no board of inquiry. This is the same United Nations that made it clear to us 4 Israel 4 that it is standard operating procedure to automatically establish a board of inquiry any time a United Nations facility is hit. That is a balanced approach indeed. When it comes to investigating the results of war and conflict, it seems the United Nations believes, to paraphrase George Orwell, that all people are equal, but some people are more equal than others. Israel's struggle against the Hamas rulers of Gaza does not prevent us from playing a key role in helping the people of Gaza.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“I am holding in my hands a 200-page-long Israeli report that details the systematic and widespread atrocities committed by Hamas and analyses Israel's military response. If someone at the United Nations had read this report, he or she would have had a broader perspective on the threat Israel faces and recognized Hamas for what it really is - an internationally recognized terrorist organization. When Palestinians in the Yarmouk refugee camp were massacred by ISIS and the Secretary-General said, "the refugee camp is beginning to resemble a death camp", we did not hear any call for a commission of inquiry from the Human Rights Council. The United Nations prides itselfon taking a balanced approach to international affairs. That is very interesting. Saudi Arabia has for months been carrying out massive and indiscriminate air strikes in Yemen.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“The authors of the report said, "The Commission cannot conclusively determine the intent of Palestinian armed groups with regard to the construction and use of these tunnels." Would I have a suggestion? Maybe these tunnels were intended to be the new metro system in Gaza. In that case, as the previous Ambassador to the Court of St. James, I give Council members a tip: do not forget to mind the gap. Perhaps the United Nations is simply suffering from a severe case of tunnel vision. After all, this is the same United Nations that appointed as the head of the Commission William Schabas, the law professor who conveniently forgot to mention his prior paid consulting job with the Palestine Liberation Organization.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“We can start answering the question by looking at the Hamas military parade in Gaza this month, where Hamas publicly displayed two newly developed rockets. For anyone who did not get the message, Hamas explained that "until now the enemy has only seen a small part of our true power". Hamas has intensified its efforts to repair its network of terror tunnels and smuggle, stockpile and develop new weapons. A year after the operation, the United Nations has done nothing to weaken Hamas, but plenty to criticize Israel. Two weeks ago, the United Nations Human Rights Council's Commission of Inquiry published its report on last summer's conflict. Let me give the Council an example of how professional, insightful and thorough this report was.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“Hospitals, schools and United Nations facilities were used as weapons depots, playgrounds were used as launching pads, and innocent children were used as human shields. Firing rockets on civilians from behind civilians is a double war crime, and the international community should say so loud and clear. While the rockets constituted terror from above, Hamas also sought to unleash terror from below. In Gaza, there is no money to rebuild hospitals or to pay teachers, but there is a lot of money to dig and expand terror tunnels. When Hamas finishes its work, Gaza will be the first city in the world to have a modern infrastructure underground before having a basic infrastructure aboveground. As we sit here today, one year after last summer's conflict, we must ask: what has really changed?”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“Before the West had to deal with the Islamic State halfway around the world, Israel had to deal with the Hamas terror State on our doorstep. It is now exactly one year since Operation Protective Edge. One year ago, Israel was forced to protect its people after Hamas terrorists kidnapped and killed three Israeli youths, launched hundreds of rockets and mortars at Israel, and rejected or violated every truce offered to the parties. The Israeli Defence Forces faced a cruel and cynical enemy that knows no red lines and that has violated every code of morality the civilized world holds dear. Hamas launched its indiscriminate attacks from residential areas that it had turned into military staging grounds.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“Many in the international community were captive to their dreams of a new Middle East, but we can no longer just hit the snooze button. It is time to wake up. We are, all of us, engaged in a large-scale war over the future of the Middle East and the rest of the world. What will our region look like? Will it progress to an era of democracy and human rights or regress to a collection of fundamentalist States? Which countries will remain standing? Will it be the countries we have known for a century? Or will much of the Middle East become known simply as the United Islamic Empire? The trends are against us. If we do not wake up in time, we will get all the answers wrong. Israel does not have the luxury of waiting for the rest of the world to wake up.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“These emerging radical factions differ in their ideologies, in their interests and in their goals, but they all share one thing in common: they seek to impose their radical religious beliefs on all who come under their control. In the new lawless Middle East, there is only one law - submit or die - and sometimes you are not even given the choice. A butterfly flutters its wings in one place and causes a storm halfway around the world. When the earth shakes in the Middle East, you can feel the vibrations under your feet from Europe to Asia. In one day last month, we witnessed terror attacks on three continents - a day of bloodshed during which terrorists murdered 65 innocent people in Tunisia, in Kuwait and in France.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“This is not the Middle East we learned about from our high-school geography teachers; those borders are now unrecognizable. The Google map of the region must be updated every day based on which terror group seized control of which area during the previous night. In the Sinai peninsula, terrorists have declared war on Egypt. Earlier this month, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, an ISIS branch in Egypt, carried out an attack on 15 Egyptian military positions in northern Sinai, killing more than 70 Egyptians. Let it be clear: these groups are not only looking to terrorize Egyptians, they are trying to destabilize the entire region.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“Gaza was supposed to be the pilot project for Palestinian governance in the West Bank, but the pilot crashed the plane. Since then, a similar model has proliferated all over the Middle East. From the Mediterranean to the Caspian, States that we knew yesterday are no longer here today, and others are on the verge of disappearing tomorrow. We live in a time in which nation States are disintegrating before our eyes. New political structures have not been established, and bands of religious zealots are rushing in to create new theocratic States in this vacuum. Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Libya no longer exist as we knew them. Now we have the kingdom of Al-Qaida, the republic of Jabhat Al-Nusra, Houthistan and, of course, the Islamic State.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“And just recently, when Israel revealed to the world that senior Hamas members Abdullah Kishta and Wa'al Faraj collaborated with the Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS) in northern Sinai to carry out a large-scale attack on Egyptian military bases, not a single voice of condemnation was heard from this Chamber. To this day, Hamas refuses to accept the three conditions of the international Quartet. It refuses to recognize Israel, it refuses to abide by previous agreements, and, obviously, it refuses to renounce violence. The Quartet, not Israel, established these conditions, and Hamas flouts them. Gaza was supposed to be a model of a stable, self-governing society. Instead, it became the model for lawlessness, violence and destabilization.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“Apparently it did not get the memo that an Israeli withdrawal was supposed to end the jihad against its people. Since the disengagement, terrorist groups have fired 15,000 rockets and mortars at Israeli citizens. They have dug terror tunnels underneath the border to attack Israeli towns and communities. Yet, despite all of this, When Hamas joined the Palestine Liberation Organization Government, the UN gave its warm blessing. When Hamas refused to adopt the Quartet principles and refused to recognize Israel's right to exist, the Council looked the other way.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“Not a single Israeli civilian or soldier remained in Gaza. We in Israel have always been told, including in this prestigious Chamber, that the obstacles to peace are the settlements and the Israeli presence in Judea and Samaria. If only Israel would pull back, if only Israel would leave the Palestinians to run their own affairs, there would be peace. If Israel would only listen to the international community, the border between Israel and the Palestinians would be like the border between the Netherlands and Belgium. So we did. Ten years after we withdrew from Gaza, the territory we left has become a safe haven for terrorists. Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist organization, has used and abused the people of Gaza to continue its war against Israel.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“I should first like to congratulate New Zealand for its able stewardship of the Security Council this month. I thank Foreign Minister McCully for being here today to preside over this meeting, and I also wish to thank the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary- General, Mr. Nickolay Mladenov, for his briefing today and his ongoing efforts to help ease the situation in this volatile region. Ten years ago this month, Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip, and I would like to remind the Council that we also dismantled four settlements in the West Bank in order to show that there is a political horizon. We removed thousands of Israeli families from their homes, uprooted entire communities and withdrew every unit of the Israeli Defence Forces.”
2015-07-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7490 (2015) · source
“With great joy and with heads held high, we will celebrate the realization of the words of our national anthem, Hatikvah. Our hope will not be lost - the hope of 2,000 years, the hope to be a free people in our own land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem.”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source
“Tomorrow, Israel will commemorate Yom Hazikaron and honour the 23,320 individuals who have lost their lives to war and terror. We will remember the brave soldiers who died so that we can have our freedom, and we will mourn the thousands of men, women and children who were robbed of their lives simply because they were Israeli. War has never been the choice of the State of Israel. Our choice is and always has been the path of peace. But when war and terror are forced upon us, we will not surrender, and we will not back down. For nearly 2,000 years, the Jewish people were stateless and powerless in the face of hatred and indifference. Those days are no more. On Thursday, Israel will celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut, our sixty-seventh anniversary as a free and independent Jewish State.”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source
“Israel is on the frontline of that fight, but it is not just Israel's fight. It is the fight of anyone who believes in progress and pluralism, tolerance and freedom. The Jewish people have fought for those rights for generations. Israel was one of the first countries in the world to screen people at airports. For its efforts to protect passengers, Israel was criticized for putting travellers through an invasive ordeal. Three decades later, Israel's once so-called insensitive policies have become the standard procedure at every airport across the globe. In its short history, Israel has repeatedly confronted the moral dilemmas that go hand-in-hand with combating terrorism, long before other democracies woke up to the threat. Make no mistake - Israel's battle today will determine how we all live tomorrow.”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source
“The agenda item of today's debate is "The situation in the Middle East", but listening to the meeting briefing, one could well think that the only thing taking place in the Middle East is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The world's disproportionate focus on our conflict is an injustice to the tens ofmillions ofvictims oftyranny and terrorism in the Middle East. One has to wonder why the Palestinians deserve more time and attention than the Yemenis, the Syrians or the Libyans put together. The time has come to focus global attention where it belongs, namely, on the terrorists and their sponsors. The enemies of freedom are trying to drive us back to the dark ages. They deny women their freedom, censor the media, dictate how religion must be practiced and impose their radical way of life through barbaric acts of violence.”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source
“Month after month, individuals in this Chamber have argued that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a territorial dispute that can be resolved by addressing the so-called root causes. That lie has circled the world countless times. The fact of the matter is that our conflict is not about the right place for Israel's borders. It is about Israel's right to exist in the first place. Israel stands for democracy, for human rights and for freedom. Last month, the Jewish State held its twentieth national election. That makes 20 more free and fair elections than Qatar and Iran have ever held. Yet Members of the Organization question Israel's democratic nature and focus disproportionately on our conflict.”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source
“It has ignored its oversight obligations, namely, to ensure that construction materials are not channelled into terror activities. It has not imposed sanctions on merchants selling cement on the black market. In contrast, Israel has fully cooperated with the trilateral Gaza reconstruction mechanism and has overseen the transfer of tens of thousands of tons of construction supplies. If President Abbas is serious about making peace, he must break his alliance with Hamas, put an end to incitement and return to direct negotiations with Israel. The fourth question is: What has changed when it comes to the international community? Winston Churchill once said, "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on".”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source
“On three separate occasions, Israel offered the Palestinians a State, and on all three occasions the Palestinians refused the deal or walked away from the table. The very last thing Israel can afford is another terrorist State in its backyard. Just imagine what that State would look like. We got a preview when Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005. Hamas took over the Gaza Strip and created a terror stronghold. Given the chance, Hamas would gladly create a second terror State in Judea and Samaria. Such a terror State might as well be called ISIL, which would stand for Iran, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. It would be sponsored by Iran and would be as volatile as Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon. Hamas is terrorizing the people of Gaza, and the Palestinian Authority is not doing anything about it.”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source
“President Abbas also claims to oppose terrorism, but his Government forged a pact with a terrorist organization, pays salaries to convicted terrorists and incites violent attacks against Israelis. Last month, the Palestinian Authority dedicated a monument in Ramallah to the terrorist responsible for the murder of 37 Israeli civilians. As if that were not bad enough, the monument is in the shape of what the Palestinian Authority describes as Palestine, and it includes all of the State of Israel from the Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea. The Palestinians want a State without making compromises, without making concessions and without making peace. I want to be clear. Israel is in favour of a Palestinian State, and that would end the conflict.”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source
“The Council must see Hamas for what it is and call it what it is - an internationally recognized terrorist organization. Stop giving Hamas a free pass and start giving Israelis and Palestinians a chance for a better future. The third question is: What has changed when it comes to the Palestinian leadership? If nothing has changed with Hamas, why should one expect anything to have changed with President Abbas? President Abbas claims to support the two-State solution, but apparently that message gets lost in translation because one will never hear him make that claim in Arabic. He insists that Palestinian refugees be allowed to flood the Jewish State. So in truth he is committed to the creation of two Palestinian States.”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source
“The closest Hamas has come to reaching out to the people in Gaza is the social media campaign it ran earlier this year. In an effort to improve its image, Hamas encouraged people to ask questions on Twitter using the hashtag #AskHamas. A number of important questions were posed to the terrorist group. Those questions included: How does Hamas prevent repetitive strain injury when firing dozens of rockets into Israel on a single day? Does Hamas think it is better to hide its weapons in a hospital's pediatric or its geriatric unit? Is Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal right- or left-handed? From the safety of his luxury hotel in Doha, he seems equally adept at ordering room service with one hand, while ordering terrorist attacks with the other. It is time for a change.”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source
“With every test rocket launched into the sea, Hamas propels itself towards another conflict. Just in the past week, a senior Hamas leader issued a new call for Palestinians to kidnap Israelis. It may just be my hearing, but I have yet to hear a single United Nations official report on any of those inflammatory developments. Some Members of the Organization refuse to name Hamas as the terrorist group that ignites tensions in our region and ignites United Nations offices. In January, Hamas members looted and set fire to the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process in Gaza. The Council does no favours to the Palestinian people by failing to hold Hamas to account. I have not heard any criticisms of Hamas for denying its people freedoms or for failing to hold free elections.”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source
“The second question is: What has changed when it comes to Hamas? The answer is nothing. Hamas continues to abuse its people and wage war against Israel. Last summer, Hamas proved its utter disregard for the well-being of the Palestinian people. It hid its rockets in schools, fired missiles from hospitals and used civilians as human shields. Today, Hamas is once again disregarding the needs of its people as it rearms and rebuilds its terror infrastructure. Earlier this month, Israeli authorities revealed that Hamas is using the Kerem Shalom crossing, the only humanitarian crossing to Gaza, to hide tons of dual-use items inside shipments of humanitarian goods. The smuggled materials are used to rebuild tunnels, reconstruct training camps and manufacture rockets. Since Operation Protective Edge, Hamas has test-fired more than 150 rockets.”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source
“Ayatollah Khamenei lies, deceives and betrays even more than does the character Frank Underwood of the television show House of Cards. The two of them would get on like a house of cards on fire. What about President Rouhani? One of his first acts as President was to appoint Mostafa Pourmohammadi - known in Iran as the Minister of Murder - as the Minister of Justice. He has lived up to his name. In the past year, Iran has executed 753 people; that is the highest total recorded in the past 12 years. Iran is one of the worst human-rights offenders, the primary sponsor of global terrorism and is behind much of the chaos ravaging the Middle East. If the international community gives Iran its support by signing a nuclear agreement, the regime will be more dangerous than ever before.”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source
“I am sure the representative of Bahrain has not forgotten the last time that Iran meddled in that country's internal affairs, much as I suspect the Saudi Ambassador in Washington, DC, still remembers the bitter cup of coffee he had at Cafe Milano. Imagine how much more dangerous the situation will become in our region and around the world if Iran is allowed to snap open a nuclear umbrella. Iran is cunning, and it is fanatical. Yet the international community is willing to allow the regime to keep its thousands of centrifuges, continue developing its long-range ballistic missiles and conceal the military dimensions of its nuclear programme. What message is the Council sending when it rewards an outlaw regime for violating Security Council resolutions and international law?”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source
“Hizbullah is playing a dangerous game of Russian roulette. Instead of betting on red or black, they are now gambling everything on the Blue Line, where Iranian-sponsored terrorist groups surround Israel. There is Hizbullah in the Syrian Golan and southern Lebanon, with Hamas in Gaza. The Iranian doctrine is apparent from Baghdad to Beirut and from Damascus to Sana'a. Terrorists are committing a double war crime, hiding behind civilians, while targeting civilians. As Iranian influence spreads, so do tyranny, subjugation and terrorism. In the past four years alone, Iran has committed or ordered attacks in 25 countries on five continents.”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source
“Today, I am here to tell the Council that unless it stops singling out Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, and starts focusing on the real threats in our region, nothing will change. Just as we ask four questions on Passover to tell the sad story of freedom, today I offer four questions to explain why freedom and peace remain a distant dream in the Middle East. The first question is: What has changed with regard to Iran? The answer is that Iran is more dangerous today than it has ever been before. Make no mistake f Iran is not only a threat to Israel, and it is not only a threat to the Middle East. It is a threat to the entire world. Iran is the engine of aggression behind the chaos in our region. It has supplied Hizbullah, which today has more than 120,000 missiles hidden in and within civilian neighbourhoods.”
2015-04-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7430 (2015) · source