Unifeed

GA/ GAZA

As the temporary ceasefire continues to hold in Gaza, senior United Nations officials today urged Israelis and Palestinians to return to the negotiating table, and called on the 193 Member States to respond to calls for emergency humanitarian funding. UNIFEED - UNTV
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00:03:43
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MAMS Id
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Description

STORY: GA / GAZA
TRT: 3:43
SOURCE: UNIFEED-UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 6 AUGUST 2014, NEW YORK CITY / RECENT

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Shotlist

RECENT – NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters

6 AUGUST 20114, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, General Assembly
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations:
"Yes, we uncovered cases in which weapons were stored in a small number of abandoned buildings. Yes, there were reports that Hamas rockets were fired from near UN premises. Yet, let me be clear: Mere suspicion of militant activity does not justify jeopardizing the lives and safety of many thousands of innocent civilians."
4. Med shot, Palestinian delegation
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations:
"We must spare no effort to turn the current calm into a durable ceasefire that addresses the underlying issues of the conflict: ending rocket fire from Gaza, weapons smuggling, opening the crossings, lifting the blockade and bringing Gaza back under one Palestinian Government that accepts and adheres to the PLO commitments.”
6. Med shot, Israeli delegation
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert H. Serry, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process:
“Gaza’s legal crossings must be opened. And they must be opened in such a way that is compatible with Israel’s security concerns, including measures that would counter illegal trade, especially of arms, and safeguard the exclusivity civilian use of goods and materials entering Gaza.”
8. Wide shot, dais
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“The 2009 Fact-Finding Mission on Gaza noted the need for the International Criminal Court to address the situation. Such a recommendation is still relevant today. The ICC’s role is to end impunity and render justice in cases where national authorities have been unable or unwilling to do so.”
10. Wide shot, delegates
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Kyung-Wha Kang, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator:”
“Hospitals do not have electricity to adequately power critical machinery. Food production lessened. Water and sewage cannot be pumped. Some people have been without water for nearly two weeks. Sewage is backing up and risks flooding low lying areas and contaminating the water system. This makes the outbreak of communicable and water-borne disease a very serious risk.”
12. Wide shot, delegates
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Riyad H. Mansour, Ambassador and Permanent Observer to the State of Palestine to the United Nations:
“Nothing can justify the killing, including massacres, and maiming of children, women and men. Nothing can justify the wanton destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure, inflicting a humanitarian disaster with massive health, social, economic, psychological and developmental consequences. Nothing can justify inflicting terror and trauma on an entire people.”
14. Wide shot, General Assembly
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Ron Prosor, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations:
“Few nations have the courage to admit that Hamas is committing a double war crime – targeting Israeli civilians while hiding behind Palestinian civilians. Fewer still have the courage to admit that Hamas is willing to see its own children killed so it can build sympathy for its cause. By not vocally and unequivocally condemning Hamas you are condemning another generation of Israelis and Palestinians to further suffering.”
16. Wide shot, zoom out General Assembly

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Storyline

As the temporary ceasefire continues to hold in Gaza, senior United Nations officials urged Israelis and Palestinians to return to the negotiating table, and called on the 193 Member States to respond to calls for emergency humanitarian funding.

Speaking to Member States at today’s (6 Aug) informal session of the General Assembly on Gaza, the Secretary-General noted that it seems that the long-overdue ceasefire there is holding, adding that the near constant firing of Hamas rockets and Israeli missiles and mortars has subsided.

But the Secretary-General added that we cannot rest as the suffering continues. This ceasefire has come at a price that is almost too much to bear.

He also said “yes, we uncovered cases in which weapons were stored in a small number of abandoned buildings. Yes, there were reports that Hamas rockets were fired from near UN premises. Yet, let me be clear: Mere suspicion of militant activity does not justify jeopardizing the lives and safety of many thousands of innocent civilians.”

Ban also said that we must spare no effort to turn the current calm into a durable ceasefire that addresses the underlying issues of the conflict: ending rocket fire from Gaza, weapons smuggling, opening the crossings, lifting the blockade and bringing Gaza back under one Palestinian Government that accepts and adheres to the PLO commitments.

The Secretary-General also discussed the attacks that hit UN premises and emphasized that the UN flag must be respected and assure protection to those in need. UN shelters must be safe zones, not combat zones.

The Secretary-General also thanked UN staff in Gaza for their bravery and sacrifice and paid tribute to the staff members who have died during the conflict.

Also briefing the General Assembly from Cairo, Robert Serry, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said that Gaza’s legal crossings must be opened, in a way that is compatible with Israel’s security concerns.

Serry noted that the importance of bringing the Palestinian Authority back to Gaza.

Navi Pillay, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, talked about the need for accountability.

She said that the conclusions and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry established last month by the Human Rights Council will be presented in March 2015 and should be carefully considered and followed with appropriate action.

Pillay underlined “the 2009 Fact-Finding Mission on Gaza noted the need for the International Criminal Court to address the situation. Such a recommendation is still relevant today. The ICC’s role is to end impunity and render justice in cases where national authorities have been unable or unwilling to do so.”

Kyung-hwa Kang, the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, discussed the toll of the conflict, saying that more than 1,800 Palestinians have been killed.

Of those identified, at least 1,300 were civilians, including more than 400 children and 200 women. Meanwhile, 64 Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed.

Kang added that more than half a million people, or over one quarter of the population of Gaza, were displaced by the conflict.

She stressed “hospitals do not have electricity to adequately power critical machinery. Food production lessened. Water and sewage cannot be pumped. Some people have been without water for nearly two weeks. Sewage is backing up and risks flooding low lying areas and contaminating the water system. This makes the outbreak of communicable and water-borne disease a very serious risk.”

The Ambassador and Permanent Observer to the State of Palestine to the United Nations Riyad Mansour reiterated the request made by President Abbas to the Secretary-General for the urgent provision of international protection for the Palestinian people.

He said “nothing can justify the killing, including massacres, and maiming of children, women and men. Nothing can justify the wanton destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure, inflicting a humanitarian disaster with massive health, social, economic, psychological and developmental consequences. Nothing can justify inflicting terror and trauma on an entire people.”

Also speaking to the General Assembly, the Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor stressed that Israel did everything in its power to avoid the conflict accepting every cease-fire – even as the people of Israel came under attack.

He said “few nations have the courage to admit that Hamas is committing a double war crime – targeting Israeli civilians while hiding behind Palestinian civilians. Fewer still have the courage to admit that Hamas is willing to see its own children killed so it can build sympathy for its cause. By not vocally and unequivocally condemning Hamas you are condemning another generation of Israelis and Palestinians to further suffering.”

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the conflict exasperated an already desperate situation after seven years of a blockade, with unemployment at 43 percent, food insecurity at around 60 percent and where approximately 80 percent of the population, over half of whom are children, are dependent on external assistance.

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