UN / MIDDLE EAST

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe says that on the Israeli-Palestinian track, "we appreciate and support" US efforts to engage in parallel talks on substance with the parties, but added there is serious concern at the continuing lack of progress in the search for a negotiated settlement. UNTV

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:47
• Production Date: 19 January 2011
• Asset Language: Original
• Subject Topical: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; PEACE AND SECURITY; DISARMAMENT
• Geographic Subject: MIDDLE EAST
• MAMS Id: U110119d

Description

STORY: UN / MIDDLE EAST
TRT: 2.47
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS

DATELINE: 19 JANUARY 2010, NEW YORK

Shotlist

RECENT 2011, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations

19 JANUARY 2010, NEW YORK

2. Wide shot, Security Council meeting
3. Cutaway, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, United Nations:
“The viability of the political process and the credibility of the Quartet are also at stake this year. We are seriously concerned at the continuing lack of progress in the search for a negotiated settlement. Peace and Palestinian statehood cannot be further delayed.”
5. Cutaway, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ambassador Rosemary A. DiCarlo, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States, United Nations:
“We believe that continued settlement expansion is corrosive, not only to peace efforts and the Two State Solution but to Israel’s future itself. The faith of the existing settlements is an issue that must be dealt with by the parties, although with other permanent status issues but like every US administration for decades we do not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity.”
7. Cutaway, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ambassador Nawaf Salam, Permanent Representative of Lebanon, United Nations:
“If the council today cannot oppose the settlement activities by Israel then our credibility will be hampered as well as our effectiveness; this will affect our image because the impression would then be that there is a double standard being applied with regard to certain states as if some states were above the law and could not be or should not be subject to any questioning.”
9. Wide shot, Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour approaches microphone
10. Cutaway, cameraman
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ambassador Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine, United Nations:
“I think that the international community is at the point that they are extremely fed up with the intransigence of Israel and we hope that Israel this time, once and if the resolution is adopted, will listen so that we can remove this obstacle, major obstacle from the path of the negotiations so that we can go back to negotiation in a very expedited time table to reach a peace treaty by September 2011 that will end the occupation that started in 1967 and allow for the independence of the state of Palestine that will pave the way for our full membership in the UN system as we were promised by or as it was announced by President Barack Obama last September in the General Assembly.”
12. Cutaway, cameraman
13. Wide shot, Riyad Mansour leaves journalists behind

Storyline

The United Nations (UN) political affairs chief today (19 January) warned the Security Council of developments in Israeli-Palestinian talks, and the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).

Pascoe voiced his concern over the target dates supported by the Middle East Quartet – a group made up of the UN, European Union, Russian Federation and the United States which champions the internationally endorsed plan for two states and for reaching an Israeli-Palestinian framework agreement on permanent status and for completion of the Palestinian Authority’s two-year state-building programme.

The Quartet’s principals are due to meet in Munich, Germany, on 5 February to try to further the talks between Israelis and Palestinians.

“The viability of the political process and the credibility of the Quartet are also at stake this year,” Pascoe said.

He added “we are seriously concerned at the continuing lack of progress in the search for a negotiated settlement. Peace and Palestinian statehood cannot be further delayed.”

Noting the continued sharp increase in Israeli settlement construction activity, Pascoe said further settlement expansion in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, continues to undermine trust and prejudices final status discussions.

The US Deputy Permanent Representative said that her government believed that the continued settlement expansion was corrosive, not only to peace efforts and the two state solution “but to Israel’s future itself.”

Rosemary DiCarlo stressed that like every US administration “for decades we do not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity.”

Meanwhile the Palestinians presented a Security Council draft resolution sponsored by Lebanon declaring that Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory were illegal. The proposed resolution reiterated demands that Israel halt all settlement building in Palestinian territory.

Lebanese Ambassador Nawaf Salam stressed that if the Council could not oppose the settlement activities by Israel “then our credibility will be hampered as well as our effectiveness.”

Nawaf also noted that if the Council didn’t support the draft resolution it would affect its image “because the impression would then be that there is a double standard being applied with regard to certain states.”

Following the meeting the Permanent Observer of Palestine Ambassador Rijad Monsour told reporters that if the resolution was adopted, he hoped that Israel would listen so that the settlement obstacle could be removed from the path of the negotiations and reach a peace treaty by September 2011 “that would end the occupation that started in 1967 and allow for the independence of the state of Palestine.”