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STORY: UN / ISRAEL PALESTINE
TRT: 04:50
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS
DATELINE: 29 APRIL 2025, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UN flag
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (French) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Across the Middle East, people demand and deserve a better future, not endless conflict and suffering. We must collectively work to ensure that this turbulent and transitional period meets those aspirations -- and delivers justice, dignity, rights, security and lasting peace. It starts by recognizing two fundamental facts: First, that the region is at a hinge-point in history. And, second, that truly sustainable Middle East peace hinges on one central question. On a core issue that this Security Council has affirmed and re-affirmed decade after decade, year after year: a two-state solution, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The world cannot afford to watch the two-State solution disappear. Political leaders face clear choices -- the choice to be silent, the choice to acquiesce, or the choice to act.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The humanitarian situation throughout the Gaza Strip has gone from bad … to worse … to beyond imagination. For nearly two full months, Israel has blocked food, fuel, medicine and commercial supplies, depriving more than two million people of lifesaving relief. All while the world watches. I am alarmed by statements by Israeli government officials about the use of humanitarian aid as a tool for military pressure. Aid is non-negotiable.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“In this period of turmoil and transition for the region, Member States must spell out how they will realize the commitment and promise of a two-State solution. This is not a time for ritualistically expressing support, ticking a box, and moving on. We are past the stage of ticking boxes – the clock is ticking. The two-State solution is near a point of no return. The international community has a responsibility to prevent perpetual occupation and violence.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Palestine:
“President Trump in his latest conversation with the Israeli Prime Minister stressed what he called in his own words “the need to be good to Gaza” given how people there are suffering and signaling specifically that the United States are pushing to secure the entry of food and medicine to Gaza. We deeply hope that the United States, Egypt and Qatar, with the support of the international community as a whole, will be able to secure a return to the ceasefire to start bringing all this suffering to an end.”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Miller, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Israel:
“Our assessments indicate there is currently no evidence of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Further, under Article 23 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, the party is not obliged to allow aid that is likely to support the enemy's military effort, and yet, it's exactly what Hamas has done, stealing aid from the civilian population and selling supplies to rebuild the terror machine. Still, some in the international community continue to draw dangerous false equivalencies, ignoring that Hamas alone began this war, continued to prolong it and still holds 59 hostages underground in inhumane conditions, 59 hostages who have never received an ounce of humanitarian aid.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (French) Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Foreign Affairs, France:
“As we speak, Gaza lies devastated by war, Lebanon is only beginning to recover, Syria is embarking on a fragile and uncertain transition, and Iran continues its dangerous pursuit of nuclear armament. This spiral of destabilization must not lead us to the irreparable. This is why we must work together toward a path of peace and security for all. Our first priority is to stop the hostilities to end the suffering of civilian populations.”
16. Wide shot, Security Council
“The world cannot afford to watch the two-State solution disappear,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the Security Council to take urgent action toward achieving a two-state solution, warning that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached levels “beyond imagination.”
The Security Council on Tuesday (Apr 29) held its quarterly open debate on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question,” chaired by French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot.
“Across the Middle East, people demand and deserve a better future, not endless conflict and suffering,” Guterres said, calling the region “at a hinge-point in history.” He stressed that peace is only possible by resolving “a core issue that this Security Council has affirmed and re-affirmed decade after decade… a two-state solution, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.”
With the situation in Gaza deteriorating, Guterres said, “For nearly two full months, Israel has blocked food, fuel, medicine and commercial supplies, depriving more than two million people of lifesaving relief. All while the world watches.” He condemned statements by Israeli officials suggesting the use of humanitarian aid as leverage, emphasizing, “Aid is non-negotiable.”
The Secretary-General cautioned against complacency, “This is not a time for ritualistically expressing support, ticking a box, and moving on. We are past the stage of ticking boxes – the clock is ticking. The two-State solution is near a point of no return.”
Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer for Palestine, cited recent remarks by the U.S. President Donald Trump, saying he had urged Israel “to be good to Gaza” and called for allowing humanitarian aid. “We deeply hope that the United States, Egypt and Qatar, with the support of the international community as a whole, will be able to secure a return to the ceasefire to start bringing all this suffering to an end,” Mansour said.
Israel’s Deputy Permanent Representative Jonathan Miller rejected claims of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, stating, “Our assessments indicate there is currently no evidence of a humanitarian crisis.” He accused Hamas of diverting aid to its fighters and blamed the group for prolonging the war and holding 59 hostages in “inhumane conditions.” “Still, some in the international community continue to draw dangerous false equivalencies,” he said.
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot warned of broader regional destabilization, “As we speak, Gaza lies devastated by war, Lebanon is only beginning to recover, Syria is embarking on a fragile and uncertain transition, and Iran continues its dangerous pursuit of nuclear armament.” He called for an immediate halt to hostilities, adding, “Our first priority is to stop the hostilities to end the suffering of civilian populations.”
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