Delegates Stress Urgent Need to End Suffering in Gaza, as General Assembly Resumes Special Session on Illegal Israeli Actions in Occupied Palestinian Territory
Deploring United States Recent Vetoing of Security Council Resolution, Speakers Say Ceasefire, Depoliticization of Conflict is Only Viable Solution
Highlighting the dire humanitarian condition in the Gaza Strip, delegates underscored the urgent need to put an end to the conflict and for measures to contain the civilian population’s suffering, as the General Assembly today resumed its tenth emergency special session on illegal Israeli actions in Occupied Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. (For background, see Press Release GA/12625.)
They also commended the recent ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, expressing hopes that the development will similarly bode well for Gaza while cautioning against a spillover of the Israel-Gaza conflict into the region.
Regretting that for over a year Gaza and Israel have endured “a relentless cycle of death, destruction and displacement”, Philemon Yang (Cameroon), Assembly President said: “The horror in Gaza must end.” Noting that the international community’s demands are clear, as evident in the draft resolution considered by the Security Council on 20 November which received 14 votes in favour, only to be blocked by a permanent member’s veto. “Once again, the Security Council is paralyzed, unable to fulfil its primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security,” he said, adding that this requires the Assembly to take the lead on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory which cannot be resolved through “endless war and occupation”.
The conflict will only end when Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in their own sovereign States in peace and security, he said. He further expressed alarm at the decision by Israel’s parliament to adopt two laws concerning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which, if implemented, will prevent the Agency from carrying out its essential work in the region. He therefore called on Tel Aviv to comply with its international obligations and allow UNRWA continue its work as mandated by the General Assembly.
State of Palestine: Gaza is Now Most Dangerous Place on Earth
The Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine, pointing to the ethnic cleansing and burning of displaced families yesterday, said every hour and every day, Palestinians are victimized and brutalized “with no end in sight”. The mass killings, mass displacements and this cruel war of atrocities against an entire village are “breaching every rule and crossing every red line”. “How can the world allow this to go on? The perpetrators are known … their crimes are livestreamed,” he asked, lamenting that nowhere is safe in “what has become the most dangerous place in the world”. This impunity must be brought to an end, he said, hoping that the warrants of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court prove to be a turning point in the situation.
He noted that the assault against the Palestinian people has been combined with an all-out assault against all those who are resolved to save human lives and ensure compliance with international law. Regretting that the United Nations has also been a target of these attacks — including on the Secretary-General, staff and agencies — he said “the Israeli government has gone rogue” and is, among other actions and beyond attacking UNRWA buildings, pressuring the international community to abandon the Agency. “This aggression against a UN agency and the license to kill UN personnel by a Member State of these United Nations cannot be tolerated and must have consequences,” he said, including Israel’s ability to enjoy its rights and privileges as a member of the UN.
Israel has breached every single order of the International Court of Justice aimed at addressing genocide. Calling on all States to use “any and all leverage they have to put an end to this genocide” and to “stop this assault on our collective humanity”, he pointed to the only way to stop this genocide and to save lives: an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire. Gaza’s haemorrhage — the “bleeding heart of Palestine and open painful wound of the human family” — must be stopped, he pleaded, so “our people can live, and our region can thrive”. He further implored Member States to stand up to their historic responsibilities to “extinguish the fire devouring our children”, adding that: “what we do today will determine what we will all suffer or enjoy tomorrow”.
Israel: Not a Single Resolution Denouncing 7 October 2023 Massacre
“Time and again opportunities for peace were met with rejection,” responded Israel’s delegate, adding: “Palestinian so-called leaders chose conflict every time.” 7 October 2023 was not just a day of horror. It was a moment that exposed the true face of Hamas and their allies who are exclusively committed to extermination. Women were raped, children were executed, and families were burned alive. “Yet, to this day, this Assembly remains silent,” he said. Not a single resolution has been passed to denounce the 7 October 2023 massacre. “And nothing, nothing about the hostages suffering in unimaginable conditions,” he said. The UN is an enabler of Palestinian rejectionism.
It all begins in the classrooms funded and supported by the Member States of the UN. “You paid for this propaganda,” he said, holding up a leaflet which he said teaches 10-year-old children “that the path to greatness lies in murder”. That comes from the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, he added. “This is a deliberate theft of Palestinian children’s future, robbing them of hope and tying them to a legacy of hatred and despair,” he continued. Meanwhile, UNRWA was created “not to solve a problem but to preserve one”. Billions of dollars have been invested into the Agency. “We have videos of UNRWA’s employees invading Israel on 7 October, kidnapping Israelis,” he went on to say. Israel hopes “more countries would join the Abraham Accords very soon”, he stressed, urging Member States to dismantle UNRWA and hold Palestinian leadership accountable.
“Every second the war continues, innocent civilians perish, most of them women and children,” said Arrmanatha Nasir, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia. The total death toll in Gaza has surpassed the population of seven UN Member States. “If actions equivalent of wiping out the whole population of a country is not genocide, please tell me what is,” he asked. And if a group that killed 1,200 people is labelled a terrorist organization, what about a Government that has killed 44,532 people and counting. Double standards have given Israel the “license to kill”. “Many are now saying that we are now entering the age of the collapse of international rule of law,” he warned, calling on the “majority of countries with a conscience” to rise and protect the innocent.
Member States: Depoliticization of Events in Region Key to Peace
Delegates opposed the use of the veto in the situation in the Gaza Strip and urged a depoliticization of events in the region.
Speaking for the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, Venezuela’s representative condemned the veto by the United States, which demonstrates its complicity with Israel’s actions in Gaza, “severely undermining peace and security in the Middle East”. He called on that country, as a permanent Security Council member, to “put aside its political calculations”, which have not only taken the 15-nation organ hostage but also emboldened Israel to continue its actions.
Malta’s delegate, speaking also for the Council’s 10 elected members — Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Mozambique, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Switzerland — said the “catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza” underscores the need for the Council to shoulder its responsibility and take action. Regretting that the draft resolution tabled by the group on 19 November was vetoed, she called on all parties to comply with their obligations under international law, adding that UNRWA, being “indispensable and irreplaceable”, must be allowed to fulfil its critical mandate.
Noting that “we must refuse to allow the Palestinian people to be decimated,” South Africa’s representative called for a suspension of the use of the veto in case of mass atrocities. He further welcomed the decision of the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue warrants of arrest for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel-Lebanese Ceasefire Welcomed
Some speakers also welcomed the latest development between Israel and Lebanon and expressed a related optimism for the current conflict in Gaza.
Kuwait’s delegate, representing the Gulf Cooperation Council, hoped that the recent ceasefire between the two countries will not only “hold and be implemented to stop the bloodshed” but also be followed by another agreement that stops the war in Gaza and the suffering there. He underscored the need to ensure the opening of all border crossings without any preconditions and called for the implementation of relevant Assembly and Security Council resolutions.
On that, the representative of Cameroon, speaking for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, regretted that the hopeful expectation following the adoption of Council resolution 2728 (2024) in March “has only intensified” with the increasing death toll. Concerned that the international system’s inability to effectively address the situation continues to “shock human conscience all over the world”, he urged action to stop the ongoing carnage.
Two-State Solution, Sustained Support for UNRWA Crucial
Providing possible paths towards resolving the impasse, delegates overwhelmingly advocated a two-State solution in which Israel and Palestine can live in peace, including urging sustained support for UNRWA.
“Have you ever seen an army that kills women and children and at this frequency in any war?” the representative of Egypt asked, noting that no priority currently exists more pressing than ending the war. He called for negotiations so that Palestinians can live a decent life and be able to heal their wounds and urged those with a “sense of humanity” to not stand idly as spectators but immediately implement a ceasefire as this war has “gone way beyond the finish line.”
The representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, urged full implementation of the orders of the International Court of Justice, adding that UNRWA must continue its crucial work. The bloc, the Agency’s largest contributor, will persist in backing UNRWA as it strives to deliver aid to people in need. Agreeing with this, Lebanon’s delegate, representing the Arab Group, urged a restriction of Israel’s illegitimate measures in the West Bank, which only undermine prospects of a two-State solution, and called for its withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese territories.
Similarly, Chile’s speaker rejected the confiscation of land in the occupied West Bank, calling it “a step in the wrong direction,” as violence cannot be solved with more violence. To mitigate against the threat of famine which hangs over all of Gaza, Jordan’s delegate observed, the international community must deliver humanitarian aid to that city and counter Israeli measures to impose this phenomenon on the Palestinian people.
As for Uganda’s delegate, speaking for the Non-Aligned Movement, Palestine should be allowed to become a full-fledged member of the UN. Qatar’s speaker, recalling her country’s mediation efforts in partnership with Egypt and the United States which resulted in humanitarian pauses and a ceasefire in December, said her delegation, despite stumbling blocks, will continue contacts with all parties should their position change so a favourable conclusion can be reached.
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