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STORY: UN / ARAB STATES LEAGUE
TRT: 03:36
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 22 JANUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, United Nations headquarters
23 JANUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations:
“We meet today in the early days of the ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza. This critical and long-awaited agreement offers a ray of hope, a long-overdue moment that provides much-needed relief for Palestinians in Gaza and for the hostages reunited with their loved ones.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations:
“The League has always supported the Palestinian people, including through its efforts to rally international support for a ceasefire. The international community has a shared responsibility to support efforts toward a just and lasting resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A negotiated two-state solution remains the only viable path to ensuring peace, security, and coexistence for both Israelis and Palestinians.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations:
“While the situation in the Middle East remains fragile and several key conflicts continue unabated, the ceasefire in Gaza, the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon and developments in Syria together represent an opportunity for significant positive change in a region that has been in acute crisis for far too long.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the Arab League:
“I emphasize here that the ceasefire is not a permanent solution, and that the basis for peace can only be achieved by the realization of the Palestinian people of their right to an independent state on the orders of June, 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the Arab League:
“Our joint efforts overlap with the efforts of the United Nations. However, the situation requires greater promotion of our mutual visits with the United Nations, and we need to accelerate the next visit of the Security Council members to the League of Arab States headquarters after the last visit, which was in 2016 in order to hold extensive meetings with the League’s Council in Cairo.”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmed Attaf, Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad and African Affairs:
“Firstly, in terms of figures, the situation is critical in more than a third of member states of the League of Arab States. And unfortunately, Arab states have become constantly on the agenda of the Security Council. Arab country concerns are the primary concern of the Security Council.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmed Attaf, Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad and African Affairs:
“Today more than ever we need an Arab-UN partnership. Partnership that is honest and effective.”
16. Wide shot, end of Security Council session
“This critical and long-awaited agreement offers a ray of hope,” said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific, as the UN Security Council convened to discuss the Middle East's fragile ceasefire and broader regional issues.
Today’s (23 Jan) meeting comes in the wake of a recently brokered ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages, a development Khiari described as providing "much-needed relief for Palestinians in Gaza and for the hostages reunited with their loved ones."
While acknowledging the progress, Khiari emphasized the need for sustained international efforts to secure a just and lasting peace. “The League has always supported the Palestinian people, including through its efforts to rally international support for a ceasefire. A negotiated two-state solution remains the only viable path to ensuring peace, security, and coexistence for both Israelis and Palestinians.”
The discussion also touched on the broader regional context, with Khiari noting, “The situation in the Middle East remains fragile and several key conflicts continue unabated.” He highlighted opportunities for positive change, referencing the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon and developments in Syria.
Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the Arab League, reiterated that the ceasefire is a temporary measure. “The basis for peace can only be achieved by the realization of the Palestinian people of their right to an independent state on the orders of June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he said, urging renewed dialogue.
Aboul Gheit called for closer Arab-UN collaboration, proposing an accelerated visit of Security Council members to the League of Arab States headquarters in Cairo, following their last visit in 2016. “Our joint efforts overlap with the efforts of the United Nations,” he said.
Ahmed Attaf, Algeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, echoed the call for partnership, stressing the scale of the challenges. “The situation is critical in more than a third of member states of the League of Arab States,” he stated, adding, “Today more than ever we need an Arab-UN partnership. Partnership that is honest and effective.”
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