Speakers Join Secretary-General in Urgent Calls on Divided Security Council to Pursue Diplomacy, Support Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza, Lebanon

Norway’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Urges Universal Recognition for State of Palestine in UN, Two-State Solution Based on 1993 Oslo Accords

Convening two days after its emergency meeting on Lebanon, the Security Council deliberated on the situation in the Middle East, particularly Gaza, and heard from over 25 speakers, including the Secretary-General, who again urged the sharply divided Council to unite and support an immediate ceasefire leading to the creation of a Palestinian State.  (For background, see Press Release SC/15834.)

“We need this ceasefire now … and avoid a regional war at all costs,” urged United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.  Pointing to Israel’s ongoing strikes, including today on civilian buildings in Beirut believed to be Hizbullah’s headquarters, he warned:  “Shockwaves radiating from the unprecedented death and destruction in Gaza now threaten to push the entire region into the abyss:  a full-scale conflagration with unimaginable consequences.”

Noting that the 700 Palestinians and 14 Israelis killed since 7 October 2023 was the highest number on both sides in more than two decades, he reported that Gaza was now the most dangerous place in the world for the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and described how, on 9 September, soldiers pointed their weapons directly at UN convoy personnel on its way to support the polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza.

Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, construction of new settlements, landgrabs, demolitions and settler violence continued, he said.  Israeli authorities were still limiting and preventing the international media from reporting from the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

“Gaza remains the epicentre of violence.  And Gaza is the key to ending it,” he underscored, reiterating his appeals for the immediate release of hostages, mobilization of the international community for an immediate ceasefire and the beginning of an irreversible process toward end of the occupation and the creation of a Palestinian State.  “I urge the Council to unite in support of an immediate ceasefire leading to a viable two-State solution.  This is the only way to end the cycle of tragedy,” he said.

Mohammad Mustafa, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Observer State of Palestine, rebuking the 15-nation organ tasked to maintain international peace and security, said its double standards have left Palestinian children, women, elderly, doctors, journalists and teachers, as well as humanitarian workers without protection or support “as if they were not even human beings”.

Israeli massacres have not ended and the Council to this day has not put an end to that country’s aggression, he continued.  It did not put pressure on the Israeli Government to put an end to the war, or stop its invasion of cities in the West Bank, its attacks against unarmed Palestinian citizens and the Lebanese people.

“Our call is clear,” he said, enumerating, among other things, the need to recognize the State of Palestine and support its membership to the UN, join the global alliance to end the occupation and implement the two-State solution.  “A free Palestine is the sole key that can unlock a peaceful future for our region… It starts with the decision that each State will make today,” he emphasized.

However, the representative of Israel said Hizbullah, since 8 October, has launched over 9,000 rockets and more than 1,000 anti-tank missiles and hundreds of explosives and unmanned aerial vehicles at Israeli civilians.  “It is time to hold Iran and its proxy accountable and take decisive action,” he stressed.

Recalling the 7 October 2023 massacre, he reported that more than 100 hostages remain in Hamas’ grasp and the bodies of six hostages were found brutally murdered.  Yet, the Palestinian Authority refused to condemn Hamas and instead continues to protect them.  “How can you expect to govern Gaza when you have allowed strong terrorist thresholds to flourish in your backyard?” he asked, underscoring that Israel was left with no choice but to act.

“We will not stop until our citizens are safe,” he said, insisting that Israel has made every effort to protect Gaza’s civilian population and ensure the continued flow of humanitarian aid.  While Israel will continue to go above and beyond its international obligations, the Palestinian Authority must be forced to condemn terrorism, renounce Hamas and change their radical positions that fuel this cycle of violence, he said.

In the ensuing debate, Member States called for an immediate ceasefire and for the international community and for the Council in particular to continue pursuing diplomatic solutions — especially as regional spillover becomes a dangerous reality in the Middle East.

“There is no winner in a competition of pain,” Japan’s delegate observed.  The parties, in particular Hamas, must swiftly move towards the conclusion of a deal in accordance with this Council’s resolution 2735 (2024).  The representative of the Republic of Korea concurred, echoing that there was still time to turn back “and extinguish these fires through reinvigorated diplomacy”.

Joining that call for diplomacy, the United States representative emphasized that an “all-out war is not inevitable”.  She urged Member States to support the proposal that her country, France and others put forward, outlining a 21-day ceasefire between Hizbullah and Israel that would provide space for a diplomatic solution, pull Hizbullah’s forces back from the border and allow people to safely return to their homes in both countries.  This framework would also set the stage for the reunification of Gaza and the West Bank under a revitalized Palestinian Authority.

However, Sergey Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, describing the Gaza Strip as the largest open-air prison from which people cannot flee, addressed the United States’ representative, noting:  “The choice is yours. Either you continue to block the work of the Security Council or stand on the side of the world and demand an end of the war.”

Ray Collins of Highbury, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom, voiced support for the proposal, urging Israel and Hizbullah to immediately agree to a ceasefire.  Further, ahead of winter, Israel must ensure that supplies and equipment can enter Gaza, he said, echoing concerns about humanitarian provisions expressed by the representatives of Sierra Leone and Switzerland.

In a different vein, Hugh Hilton Todd, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Guyana, condemned the false and misleading information being put out about what is happening in Gaza. Citing claims about the UN’s inability to handle the flood of aid and misinformation about the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as well as the killing of journalists wearing clearly marked press vests  he stated:  “There is power in information, and it is clear that this is among the cache of weapons that the occupying Power is using in this war.”

Malta’s representative expressed grave concern that the situation in the West Bank was quickly edging towards catastrophe, which “would extinguish any remaining hope for peace”.  Similarly, Manuel Gonçalves, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique, urged Israel to hold accountable any individuals and entities responsible for violence against civilians in the West Bank.

Ministers and other representatives of Arab and Middle Eastern States, including Badr Ahmed Mohamed Abdelatty, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates of Egypt and Bassam Sabbagh, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Syria, who spoke for the Arab Group, were united in their support for the State of Palestine and repeated calls on Israel to end its aggression and on the Council to carry out its responsibilities.

Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iran, underscored that American weapons constitute a major part of Israel’s weapons and, therefore, the United States is implicated in every aspect of Israeli atrocities.  Ahmed Attaf, Minister for Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad of Algeria, reminded the Council that it has “moved heaven and earth in previous situations”.

Signalling a sign of hope for a Palestinian State, Wang Yi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of China, recalled the recent and historic adoption of the first resolution introduced by the State of Palestine demanding implementation of the International Court of Justice advisory opinion, and ending the Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.

Similarly, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, noted that the Palestinian question remains the most important crisis that requires the Council’s attention.  His country, together with Norway, launched the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two State Solution on 27 September.

Joining Ecuador’s representative, who urged Member States to remember the spirit of the Oslo Accords, was Espen Barth Eide, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Norway, whose country facilitated the agreements in 1993. Realizing that negotiations could not go on eternally, he announced that Norway, together with Slovenia, Spain and Ireland, had joined a list of countries — currently 149 — that have recognized the State of Palestine.

He also called on Member States to join the Global Alliance. “We have to change gear and accelerate this work now, and see how we can come out of this deadlock and try to use this deep crisis also as an opportunity,” he told the Council.  Adding to that, he declared:  “We want one Palestine, not different ‘Palestines’.  We want that Palestine that came out of the Oslo Accords.”