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STORY: UN / GAZA ARAB LEAGUE
TRT: 04:37
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 14 FEBRUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, aerial view, United Nations headquarters
14 FEBRUARY 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, ambassadors at the stakeout area
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Tareq Al Banai, Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Kuwait:
“The displacement of Palestinians in Gaza must be unequivocally rejected. The Arab group categorically rejects such displacement, which constitutes a clear violation of article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 prohibiting the forcible transfer of protected populations from occupied territories, irrespective of motive.”
4. Wide shot, ambassadors
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Tareq Al Banai, Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Kuwait:
“We commend the international community's firm stance in rejecting these proposals and reaffirming their illegality under international law, a united and unequivocal rejection by member states is imperative. This is not acceptable, whether it is against the people of Palestine or any other state. We would also like to shed light on the ongoing, alarming Israeli expanded aggression in the West Bank. These actions are a clear violation of international law and must stop immediately.”
6. Wide shot, ambassadors
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Palestine:
“Practical commitments, including supporting the government of the State of Palestine, strengthening it, allowing it to be able to shoulder its responsibility vis a vis the Palestinian people. It means that to take practical steps against the illegal settlements and settlers. It means not to send weapons to kill the Palestinians. It means many other things, including for some countries that have not recognized the state of Palestine, to do so. And it means for the Security Council to give a recommendation for the admission of the State of Palestine to full membership. These are but samples of the commitments that we expect from all member states.”
8. Wide shot, ambassadors
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Palestine:
“We told the Security Council for the next few weeks you have two things that you declared that you are united around. One is the implementation of Security Council resolution 2735 that has many things, including the rebuilding of Gaza, returning to Gaza and unifying it with all the lands of the State of Palestine. And the other thing that we asked him for that implementation of this resolution, implement your joy and happiness, in which you declared unanimously in statements in the Security Council that you are welcoming and committing yourself to the agreement on the ceasefire and the implementation of these three stages in it. So, we told them, ‘This is what we want from you.’”
10. Wide shot, ambassadors
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Palestine:
“And if you if we do not see serious commitment to these things, then we will go to plan B, which I will not share with you, nor I shared with them now then. But we are flexible, we are reasonable. We are willing to work with whoever wants to work with us to see the implementation of these two things, the resolution and agreement, but we will not accept that whatever will happen will be at the expense of the Palestinian people.”
12. Wide shot, ambassadors
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Palestine:
“Between the technical know-how, between money and the financial resources, by our brothers, the Arabs, we will be able not to abandon the Palestinian people but let them to be resurrected from the dooms of what happened to them in the Gaza Strip, to the glory of where they can be and to the genius of the Palestinian people. Because we are the most educated people in the Middle East, so we can do wonders. Trust us.”
14. Wide shot, ambassadors leaving the stakeout area
“The displacement of Palestinians in Gaza must be unequivocally rejected,” said Tareq Al Banai, Kuwait's Ambassador to the United Nations, as he led the Arab group in condemning the forced transfer of Palestinians from the occupied territory.
“The Arab group categorically rejects such displacement, which constitutes a clear violation of article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949," he stated at a press briefing at UN headquarters today (Feb 14).
The Arab group called on the UN Security Council to take concrete steps to prevent any demographic changes in Gaza, urging unified international action to uphold international law. Al Banai praised the global community's “firm stance in rejecting these proposals,” adding, “a united and unequivocal rejection by member states is imperative. This is not acceptable, whether it is against the people of Palestine or any other state.” He also pointed to what he described as “alarming Israeli expanded aggression in the West Bank,” calling for an immediate halt to the ongoing violations.
Palestine's Riyad Mansour echoed the call for action, outlining a series of “practical commitments” expected from the international community, among them “taking practical steps against the illegal settlements and settlers.” Mansour urged countries that have yet to recognize Palestinian statehood to do so. He also called for the Security Council to recommend Palestine for full UN membership.
Mansour stressed the urgency of implementing Security Council Resolution 2735, which includes provisions for Gaza's reconstruction and the return of displaced residents. Addressing members of the Security Council, he said, “For the next few weeks, you have two things that you declared that you are united around: the implementation of Resolution 2735 and the agreement on the ceasefire.”
While advocating for diplomacy, Mansour warned of alternative measures if progress stalls. “If we do not see serious commitment to these things, then we will go to plan B, which I will not share with you,” he said, maintaining that Palestinian leadership remains open to cooperation but unwilling to compromise on its core demands.
The Palestinian envoy also expressed confidence in the ability of Arab nations to assist in Gaza's recovery. “Between the technical know-how, between money and the financial resources, by our brothers, the Arabs, we will be able not to abandon the Palestinian people,” Mansour said.
