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UN / MIDDLE EAST
STORY: UN / MIDDLE EAST
TRT: 3:10
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 19 NOVEMBER 2018, NEW YORK CITY
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UNHQ exterior
19 NOVEMBER 2018, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations:
“The fragility of the situation underscores the urgency to fundamentally change the dynamics on the ground, that address the underlying political issues. Two million Palestinians in Gaza cannot be held hostage to political grandstanding and brinkmanship. Their lives matter and they deserve real leadership that addresses the real problems of Gaza.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations:
“Hamas and militant groups must stop all provocations and attacks, Israel must significantly improve the movement and access of goods and people to and from Gaza as a step toward lifting of the closures, in line with UN Security Council resolution 1860; and the Palestinian Authority must strengthen its engagement in Gaza, which is an integral part of the Palestinian territory.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations:
“Israeli settlement activity continues to advance, eating away at the viability of a contiguous future
Palestinian state. I reiterate that all settlement activities are illegal under international law, an
obstacle to peace and must immediately cease.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations:
“We cannot stand idle and allow the division between the West Bank and Gaza to be further
entrenched. The Palestinian people are demanding that their leadership finally re-unites Gaza and
the West Bank and advance their goal of peacefully ending the Israeli occupation and establishing
a viable Palestinian state based on relevant UN resolutions. This is what people desire, and this is what they deserve.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations:
“As we speak, political actors have yet to find agreement on a national unity government. The delay hampers Lebanon’s ability to address issues essential to its stability, including the economy. We again encourage all stakeholders to put the national interest first and expeditiously reach an agreement that preserves Lebanon’s stability and ability to deliver on its international commitments.”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Nikki Haley, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
“The Tehran regime has proven itself to be the same violent and predatory group of murderers that it was in the 1980s. Our European allies are increasingly finding proof of that in their own front yards. We must unite in our efforts to stop this behaviour before it reaches more innocent people across the world.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Nikki Haley, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
“Even if you accept Hamas’ excuse that it launched its missiles in response to an Israeli covert operation, you cannot escape the fact that the Gaza militants targeted civilians in response. Their actions were not actions of a nation exercising self-defence, but of a terrorist group seizing a pretext to kill civilians.”
16. Wide shot, Security Council
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov said two million Palestinians in Gaza “cannot be held hostage to political grandstanding and brinkmanship” adding that the fragility of the situation there underscored the “urgency to fundamentally change the dynamics on the ground.”
Addressing the Security Council via teleconference from Jerusalem today (19 Nov), Mladenov said the recent escalation risked unleashing a conflict with catastrophic consequences for people in Gaza. He said the escalation was triggered by an Israeli military operation in the strip, which led to the death of an Israeli officer, a local Hamas commander, and six other Palestinians. Militants in Gaza launched some 450 rockets and mortars at Israel in the following two days, and Israel responded with airstrikes on 160 militant targets, including a Hamas-affiliated TV station and a hotel.
The Special Coordinator said the latest outbreak of violence came as the UN and its partners were intensifying efforts to alleviate Gaza’s deepening humanitarian and economic crises. He said these efforts have had an immediate positive impact but warned that the improvements are temporary.
SOUNDBITE (English) Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations:
“Hamas and militant groups must stop all provocations and attacks, Israel must significantly improve the movement and access of goods and people to and from Gaza as a step toward lifting of the closures, in line with UN Security Council resolution 1860; and the Palestinian Authority must strengthen its engagement in Gaza, which is an integral part of the Palestinian territory.”
Mladenov turned to Israeli settlement activity which he said was “eating away at the viability of a contiguous future Palestinian state.” He reiterated that “all settlement activities are illegal under international law, an obstacle to peace and must immediately cease.” He said Israeli authorities advanced plans for a total of 264 housing units in East Jerusalem and demolished 31 Palestinian-owned structures.
Mladenov stressed the importance of intra-Palestinian reconciliation adding that the international community must do all it can to support Egyptian-led efforts in this regard. He said, “We cannot stand idle and allow the division between the West Bank and Gaza to be further entrenched. The Palestinian people are demanding that their leadership finally re-unites Gaza and the West Bank and advance their goal of peacefully ending the Israeli occupation and establishing a viable Palestinian state based on relevant UN resolutions. This is what people desire, and this is what they deserve.”
The Special Coordinator also spoke on the Government formation process in Lebanon where “political actors have yet to find agreement on a national unity government.” He said, “The delay hampers Lebanon’s ability to address issues essential to its stability, including the economy. We again encourage all stakeholders to put the national interest first and expeditiously reach an agreement that preserves Lebanon’s stability and ability to deliver on its international commitments.”
United States ambassador Nikki Haley said while the Council remains focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it ignores continued evidence of increased international terrorist activity by the Iran. She said in Iran attempted in recent months to kill dissidents in Europe, including a plot by intelligence agents to killed three exiled Iranians in Denmark and a plot to bomb an Iranian opposition rally in Paris in June.
Haley said, “The Tehran regime has proven itself to be the same violent and predatory group of murderers that it was in the 1980s. Our European allies are increasingly finding proof of that in their own front yards. We must unite in our efforts to stop this behaviour before it reaches more innocent people across the world.”
On the recent violence in Gaza, Haley said Israel launched airstrikes on military posts, weapons depots, and intelligence assets in Gaza in response to over the 400 rockets and mortars that were fired indiscriminately from Gaza into Israel. She said, “Even if you accept Hamas’ excuse that it launched its missiles in response to an Israeli covert operation, you cannot escape the fact that the Gaza militants targeted civilians in response. Their actions were not actions of a nation exercising self-defence, but of a terrorist group seizing a pretext to kill civilians.”
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