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STORY: UN / MIDDLE EAST
TRT: 2:46
SOURCE: UNIFEED-UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 15 SEPTEMBER 2016, NEW YORK CITY
RECENT - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UNHQ exterior
15 SEPTEMBER 2016, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The two-state solution is at risk of being replaced by a one-state reality of perpetual violence and occupation. Despite warnings by the international community and the region, leaders on both sides have failed to take the difficult steps needed for peace.
4. Wide shot, Ban speaking at meeting
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“I am disturbed by a recent statement by Israel’s Prime Minister portraying those who oppose settlement expansion as supporters of ethnic cleansing. This is unacceptable and outrageous. Let me be absolutely clear, settlements are illegal under international law. The occupation, stifling and oppressive, must end.”
6. Wide shot, delegates
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“I continue to be appalled that Palestinian parties choose to praise despicable acts, such as the 1972 terrorist attack against Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. The glorification of terror is disgraceful and the Palestinian leadership must put an end to it.”
8. Wide shot, Foreign Minister of New Zealand speaking at meeting
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Murray McCully, Foreign Minister, New Zealand:
“For those in Israel who think that this does not matter, who think that time is their friend, I urge them to think again. If the prospect of a two state solution is shattered by this negative trajectory of events, international attention will shift to the two standards of citizenship that exist in the single state that remains. No friend of Israel wishes to see such an outcome.”
10. Pan right, people attending meeting
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Amr Aboulatta, Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations:
“A pseudo-state that is at least comprised of over 500,000 settlers; settlements which are spread throughout Palestinian land with the official support of the Israeli occupation, which has not spared no effort over the decades to confiscate land, demolish homes, and displace Palestinians. It was also sponsored by the inability of this organization and the silence of this council which has unwillingly surrendered to the negativity of the only super power which is able to end this illegal spread (of settlements).”
12. Zoom out, Security Council
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said 23 years after the Oslo Accord was signed between the Palestinians and Israelis, the two-state solution was at risk of being replaced by a “one-state reality of perpetual violence and occupation.”
Speaking today (15 Sep) at a Security Council meeting on the Middle East, Ban said both sides continued to make statements that “only perpetuate an environment of mistrust.” He said the Israeli Prime Minister’s portrayal of those who oppose settlement expansion as supporters of ethnic cleansing was “unacceptable and outrageous.” At the same time, Ban said Palestinian parties’ glorification of terror was “disgraceful.” Despite warnings by the international community, Ban said leaders on both sides failed to take the difficult steps needed for peace.
Ban also expressed concern over last week’s decision of the Palestinian High Court to suspend all preparations while deliberations continue on a petition to cancel elections. He said Local elections in the West Bank and Gaza could provide an important renewal of Palestinian democracy and a first step towards advancing national unity.
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray McCully said both the Palestinian and the Israelis were falling seriously short of the expectations of the international community. He said it was time for both sides to step back and think about what they need to do to keep the prospect of a negotiated two state solution alive.
McCully said Israeli settlement development was of particular concern. He said “No amount of spin can hide the fact that these actions are a violation of Israel's international obligations, and have profoundly negative implications for the peace process.” The Foreign Minister added that Palestinian condoning of violence against Israelis continued and the first election in a decade had been postponed. He said the result of these developments was that the two-state solution was “close to becoming a shattered dream.”
Egyptian Ambassador Amr Aboulatta said 23 years after the Oslo agreement, there was a “pseudo-state” of illegal settlements was being established instead of a sovereign Palestinian State in accordance with international provisions. He said this was “sponsored by the inability of this organization and the silence of this council which has unwillingly surrendered to the negativity of the only super power which is able to end this illegal spread (of settlements).”
Aboulatta said the Arab Peace Initiative confirms the willingness of Arab states to live in peace with Israel if it agreed to the “most basic good neighbourly practices.” He said his government could not understand why Israel continued to ignore this initiative despite it “directly addressing issues that were historical concerns for Israel.”
