The situation in the Middle East - Security Council, 9868th meeting

‘Last chance’ to achieve two-State solution, UN Mediator tells Security Council, as speakers highlight need to sustain Gaza ceasefire.

• Categories: Meetings & Events / Security Council
• Video Length: 03:10:38
• Production Date: 25 February 2025
• Asset Language: Arabic; English; French; Russian; Spanish; Chinese; Original
• Personal Subject: SIGRID KAAG
• Corporate Name: OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL COORDINATOR FOR THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS - UNSCO
• Subject Topical: MIDDLE EAST SITUATION; PEACE PROCESS; TWO-STATE SOLUTION; MEDIATION; PALESTINIAN PEOPLE; HOSTAGES; CEASEFIRES; TERRITORIES OCCUPIED BY ISRAEL
• Geographic Subject: MIDDLE EAST; ISRAEL; PALESTINE; GAZA; WEST BANK
• MAMS Id: 3343403
• Parent Id: 3342638

Description

This may be “the last chance” to achieve a two-State solution — the creation of independent Israel and Palestine coexisting peacefully side by side — a United Nations mediator told the Security Council today, as it considered the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the first phase of which is set to expire on 1 March. 

While welcoming the implementation of this initial phase, including the release of 34 hostages, Sigrid Kaag, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process ad interim, added: “None of us will forget the harrowing pictures of the coffins of the Bibas children taken hostage with their mother and killed while in captivity.” Condemning Hamas’ public parading of hostages, she also noted the release of 1,135 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, and reports of the ill treatment and humiliation they experienced. 

In Gaza, far more remains to be done to address over 15 months of deprivation of basic human necessities and “above all, a loss of human dignity”, she said, while noting some improvements in humanitarian aid access. “Palestinians must be able to resume their lives, to rebuild and to construct their future in Gaza,” she stressed, adding that there can be no question of forced displacement. Gaza must remain an integral part of a future Palestinian State, and the Strip must be unified with the West Bank including East Jerusalem, “politically, economically and administratively”, she said, calling on the Council to ensure continued support for the full realization of the ceasefire deal, urgent de-escalation in West Bank and support for Gaza's recovery and reconstruction — which would cost $53 billion. 

Also briefing the Council today was Daniel Levy, President of the US/Middle East Project, who stressed that Israelis and Palestinians both deserve security, while acknowledging the “power asymmetry” between a colonizing State and a colonized people. Recalling the Israeli ambassador’s “gimmick” of shredding the UN Charter at the General Assembly podium, he said: “When a State like Israel conducts itself in ways that render the Charter meaningless and which assault [international] conventions, including on genocide […] then that is a challenge that cannot be allowed to pass.” 

Calling for a full ceasefire, the release of all Israeli hostages and a surge in humanitarian assistance, he cautioned: “There is good reason to fear that this could collapse.” In that vein, he warned against the attempt to permanently depopulate the north of Gaza, adding: “Hamas non-governance in Gaza is achievable, the movement itself has said so.” But, there will be resistance if the structural violence of occupation and apartheid continue. He also cautioned against zero-sum thinking, also stressing that the unlawful forced displacement of Palestinians must not be endorsed or encouraged by any State, let alone, one of the permanent five. 

Related Sites and Documents

UN Press Coverage

S/PV.9868