8219th Security Council Meeting: Situation in Middle East

Security Council members condemn killing of Palestinian civilians in clashes at Israel-Gaza border after peaceful protest turned violent at 8129th meeting.

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 01:10:49
• Production Date: 30 March 2018
• Asset Language: Arabic; Chinese; English; French; Russian; Spanish
• Personal Subject: MANSOUR AL-OTAIBI; RIYAD MANSOUR
• Corporate Name: DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL AFFAIRS - DPA; UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST - UNRWA
• Subject Topical: BORDER INCIDENTS; PROTEST MOVEMENTS; REFUGEES; VIOLENCE
• Geographic Subject: GAZA; ISRAEL; PALESTINE; WEST BANK
• MAMS Id: 2120405
• Parent Id: 2120232

Description

The Security Council members, in an emergency meeting tonight, condemned the killing of civilians in Gaza during a peaceful protest that had erupted in violence.

Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, briefing the Council on the situation, said that what had begun early in the day as a demonstration had devolved into violence at several locations across Gaza, resulting in more than 15 deaths and 1,000 injuries of civilians, with some reportedly coming from live ammunition that had been used by the Israeli security forces.

The demonstration had been meant to begin six weeks of peaceful protests leading up to the commemoration of Al-Nakba, marking 70 years of the expulsion of 800,000 Palestinians from their homes and lands.

“The developments in Gaza today are again a painful reminder of the consequences of a missing peace between Israel and Palestine and the need to step up our efforts in support of a peaceful resolution of the conflict,” he said, strongly urging Palestinians, Israelis and the international community to take concrete measures to reverse the current course of the conflict and advance the goal of a just and sustainable peace based on the two-State solution.

Following the briefing, Council members expressed grave concern about the possibility of violence spiralling out of control, with many calling for an investigation and for perpetrators to be held accountable.

The representative of Kuwait, whose delegation had requested the meeting, said Palestinians could not be the exception to the international commitment to protect civilians from atrocities. “Let us be clear here, what happened today was a peaceful demonstration to express their desire for their legitimate rights. These were defenceless people,” he said. Today’s incident could not be separated from the overall context in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, he added, noting that some of the demonstrators were refugees negatively impacted by the cut in funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Meanwhile, the United States’ delegate urged those involved to take steps to lower tensions and reduce the risk of new clashes. “Bad actors who use protests as a cover to incite violence endanger innocent lives,” he said. His Government was focused on taking concrete, near-term steps to improve the humanitarian and economic conditions in Gaza, and hard at work on a peace plan that would provide a brighter future for both Palestinians and Israelis.

Several delegates pointed out other challenges, with many urging the Council to remain seized of the matter. The representative of France raised concerns about the general lack of a political process, emphasizing the importance of ensuring the return of authorities to Gaza, the lifting of the blockade and security guarantees for Israel. Kazakhstan’s delegate called on both sides of the conflict to exercise restraint, highlighting that parties must also find a long-term solution to the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

The representative of Bolivia said the exacerbation of tensions in Gaza was the result of 70 years of conflict and 50 years of occupation, underlining that negotiation was the only way to achieve a two-State solution. Agreeing, Ethiopia’s delegate said that, unless the peace process advanced, the tragedy at hand would only happen again.

The Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine, after condemning the civilian deaths, called on the Council to swiftly uphold its Charter duties and the integrity and authority of its resolutions in light of the violations and provocations against the rights and legitimate national aspirations of the Palestinian people. He also called on the international community, including the Security Council, to act now to provide protection to the Palestinian people to avert bloodshed and diffuse the current volatile situation.

Also speaking today were representatives of Russian Federation, Côte d’Ivoire, United Kingdom, Sweden, Equatorial Guinea, Peru, China, Poland and the Netherlands.

The meeting began at 7:42 p.m. and ended at 8:48 p.m.