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7839th Security Council Meeting: Situation in Middle East, Including Palestinian Question
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that he was saddened that his final briefing to the Security Council on the question of Palestine brought no sense of optimism for the future.
Delivering his last report on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, he pointed out that the Security Council had adopted only two resolutions on the Middle East peace process during his tenure. “We are fast approaching a precipice as a direct result of the actions of those seeking to destroy the prospects for peace,” he added.
Noting that Israel’s settlement-construction activities beyond the 1967 line were in flagrant violation of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, he said Israel’s legislature was currently debating a bill that could lead to the “regularization” of more than 50 outposts built on private Palestinian land. He strongly urged the lawmakers to reconsider advancing that bill, cautioning that it would substantially diminish the chances for Arab-Israeli peace.
He went on to emphasize that the framework for peace remained unchanged: the establishment of two States on the basis of the principle of land for peace, and a just and comprehensive regional peace settlement consistent with relevant Council resolutions and with existing agreements signed by the parties. The Council had made clear that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, had been under military occupation since 1967, he pointed out.
Bold steps on Israel’s part to empower the Palestinian Authority could benefit the Palestinian people and increase Israeli security, he continued. However, progress on that front would be difficult unless the Palestinian authorities took similarly brave concrete steps to address incitement and violence. “As we look to the future, I call on the Security Council to reaffirm without reservations that there is no alternative to the two-State solution,” he said. “We must not give up on the right of Palestine to exist, just as we must protect the right of Israel to exist in peace and security with its neighbours.”
Council members taking the floor after the briefing agreed that settlements built on the West Bank were in violation of international law and an obstacle to a two-State solution. They expressed particular concern about the legislation before the Knesset aimed at retroactively legitimizing outposts.
New Zealand’s Minister for Foreign Affairs said it was difficult to understand how the Council could remain silent as the space for a two-State solution was undermined. “We are now moving into a space in which the plain facts are telling us that the forces currently in play will irretrievably undermine the prospect of two States living peacefully, side by side,” he emphasized. While many reasons had been given over time as to why further Council pronouncements might be counter-productive or premature, people on the ground were losing hope as facts on the ground were altered, he noted. The Council must either reassert its firm commitment to a two-State solution or shoulder its responsibilities if there was eventually only one State rather than two.
Turning to Syria, he said that country’s Government as well as the Russian Federation and Iran must allow the United Nations to get aid to those who needed it and ensure the safety of those who remained in the country and those who chose to leave. The Security Council had failed to meet its responsibilities, he added, stressing that unless that changed, an emergency special session of the General Assembly would be an appropriate next step.
France’s representative said it was the Council’s responsibility to firmly condemn Israel’s settlement policy, which was carving up the territory of a future Palestinian State and “contributing to disaster”. France’s mid-2016 initiative to end the current stand-off had been partially eclipsed by the conflict in Syria, he recalled, announcing that his country would host a ministerial event in January 2017 as a follow-up to the 3 June ministerial meeting held in Paris with the aim of saving the two-State solution. That goal would “disappear like a mirage in the desert” in the absence of progress, he stressed.
Malaysia’s representative said the Council had for too long been in a state of inertia in relation to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Referring to the legislation before the Knesset, he said settlements had a far-reaching impact on Palestinians, generating widespread anger, frustration and despair, which in turn contributed to the radicalization of a population with nothing left to lose. The Council must strive to reverse negative trends undermining peace, he emphasized, pointing out that it had not shied away from using the various tools at its disposal in relation to other conflicts.
The representative of the United States, while opposing efforts to de-legitimize Israel, said the situation in the ground was moving in the wrong direction. Israel faced a choice between continuing its settlement activities and a two-State solution. At the same time, the Palestinian leadership must strongly condemn incitement to violence and terrorist actions, she stressed, while expressing deep concern about reports of Israel’s excessive use of force against Palestinians.
The Russian Federation’s representative expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying it contributed to radicalization. Turning to the wider region, he noted that the turmoil and upheaval that had arisen from the Arab Spring had created a mass of problems, including those in Syria and Libya. The senseless and short-sighted attempts by certain countries to impose their version of democracy had led to chaos and anarchy, he said, adding that terrorists had taken advantage of the situation. The Russian Federation had consistently favoured a peaceful resolution in Syria. In addition, there had been heavy fighting in Iraq against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh). The situation in Yemen was also serious, with 82 per cent of the population requiring urgent humanitarian assistance.
Egypt’s representative said the Council had failed to end modern history’s longest-running conflict, adding that support for a two-State solution was expressed only in words. The denial of truth had reached a new low, he said, pointing out that some had condemned the proposed legalization of new outposts in the hope that the illegal nature of all settlements under international law and Council resolutions would be overlooked.
Also speaking this morning were representatives of the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Ukraine, Uruguay, Senegal, Venezuela, Angola and Spain.
The meeting began at 10:04 a.m. and ended at 11:55 a.m.
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