Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at UNSC briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question
Mme.President,
We thank OCHA Coordination Director Ramesh Rajasingham, and civil society briefer Ms.Janti Soeripto for their reviews of the catastrophic situation in Gaza, where contrary to UNSC resolution 2728 that demands an immediate ceasefire, the ruthless military operation by IDF continues.
Only four days remain until the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which is sacred to the entire Muslim world, but judging by the bellicose rhetoric of the leadership of West Jerusalem, no ceasefire (which is expressly provided for in resolution 2728) is expected even for a short period of time. 62 people have fallen victims to hostilities in the enclave over the past 24 hours alone, and the total number of casualties in the Gaza Strip has exceeded 33 thousand Palestinians, including over 13 thousand children. About 12 thousand more are presumably killed – their bodies remain under the rubble that covers almost the entire territory of the enclave, where 70% of residential buildings have been destroyed.
In these circumstances, the UN HRC Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the oPt, F.Albanese, concluded that "the threshold indicating Israel’s commission of genocide had been met". At the same time, she called "humanitarian camouflage" the statements by the Israeli authorities about alleged compliance with international humanitarian law during the military operation in the Gaza Strip, as well as their reference to the right to self-defense and fight against terrorism.
Mme.President,
The humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorates daily. We are receiving more and more horrifying data.
We reiterate our position in this regard. A real ceasefire and Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law are urgently needed to prevent a humanitarian apocalypse and mass starvation in Gaza. That is the only way to prevent this tragedy from having more victims. With the ongoing military operation in the enclave, it is impossible to provide adequate humanitarian assistance, including food assistance.
Since the beginning of escalation in Gaza, the Security Council has adopted two relevant humanitarian resolutions which (like resolution 2728 demanding a ceasefire) contain provisions to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access to those in need and unconditional compliance with IHL obligations to create minimum operating conditions for humanitarian agencies. Israel fails to implement them too.
We believe that the Council should agree on measures to be taken against West Jerusalem for such blatant disrespect for UNSC decisions and the UN Charter. Such measures could include, for example, an arms embargo and other types of sanctions. The Council must act in unison; it is unacceptable for individual members of the Security Council to send signals that call into question the need to implement its resolutions.
Mme.President,
Palliative measures will not suffice to improve the situation in the Gaza Strip. I mean airdrops of humanitarian aid construction of a temporary pier. According to the humanitarian agencies themselves, those measures are purely symbolic in nature and do not contribute to the normal delivery of the required amount of aid. Besides, dozens of Palestinians have died and drowned during the implementation of those measures. No one should engage in humanitarian "campaigning" to cover up an unwillingness or inability to take measures to stop the bloodshed and ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access.
Mme. President,
The situation is greatly exacerbated by the crisis over UNRWA that is being created by Israel. UNRWA is a unique structure for providing comprehensive support to 6 million Palestinians both in the oPt and in neighboring Arab countries. Despite the fact that the Israeli authorities had never provided information to substantiate their accusations against the Agency's staff, Washington had decided to suspend its funding at the legislative level. At the same time, a number of Western countries, although having reinstated their payments to the Agency’s budget, made a reservation that those funds should not be used for UNRWA's work in Gaza.
We should like to dwell separately on the information war unleashed by West Jerusalem against UNRWA. Because of unsubstantiated accusations, the veracity of which is highly questionable, the Agency is experiencing serious reputational and financial difficulties. But that was not the most important thing. The main thing is that even the modest assistance that UNRWA could provide was not being provided. On top of that, the Israeli authorities have denied UNRWA humanitarian access to northern Gaza, where the situation is the most dire. This obstruction must end. We are all well aware that there is no alternative to UNRWA in the West Bank, Gaza and the adjacent Arab countries. UNSC members must not play along with Israel, which had embarked on a crusade against UNRWA long before the events of 7 October.
A few words about the safety of humanitarian workers. As recently as Tuesday, seven employees of the volunteer organization World Central Kitchen were killed in a targeted Israeli attack. These people were escorting food aid needed by the Gazans. The incident sparked violent reactions and outrage in Western capitals, as the killed humanitarians were mostly residents of Western countries. Washington even "sprang" to an unusually sharp criticism of its Middle Eastern ally. Overall, during the conflict, Israeli rocket attacks on Gaza's humanitarian facilities, schools and hospitals, have already resulted in the deaths of 224 aid workers, not to mention the tens of thousands of dead Gazans. Once again, we ask the simple question, will there be investigations into these atrocities? Will the Council demand it of Israel? Or will our Western colleagues focus only on the deaths of their compatriots? What does the leadership of the UN Secretariat, which has already lost 179 staff members who performed their heroic duty, plan to do about it? Why did the UN immediately begin to address the Israeli accusations against UNRWA, while, as far as we can see, no investigation has even begun into these egregious deaths of UN staff?
Mme.President,
Basically, what we are seeing in Gaza is a siege and blockade aimed at causing famine among the civilian population and a clear example of the use of famine as a method of warfare. Such actions are expressly prohibited by the provisions of international humanitarian law and relevant Security Council resolution 2417. The occupying power's decisions on the temporary opening of the Erez border crossing, which were adopted on the eve of our meeting in order to mitigate the aforementioned indignation of Western capitals, do not change the overall picture. Israel has failed to comply with the Security Council's main demand - an immediate ceasefire.
The Council is obliged to ensure that all parties to the conflict fully implement all its decisions aimed at ending violence in Gaza, increasing humanitarian assistance to the civilians and preventing their forcible transfer. Only then can we think about new initiatives aimed at a long-term settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on a recognized international legal basis.
Thank you.
Right of reply:
Mme.President,
A few minutes ago, you and I witnessed an attempt at cynical and unscrupulous manipulation on the part of our American colleagues.
In his statement, the representative of the United States emphasized that the call for the protection of humanitarian workers was contained in the American draft that Russia and China had vetoed. At the same time, he slyly omitted the fact that resolution 2728, which was eventually adopted by the Council, also contains such demands through a reference to the need to implement resolution 2720, which is devoted to this topic. He was also silent on the fact that the draft that we rightly vetoed did not contain a demand or even a call for a ceasefire. In doing so, it effectively gave a green light to the Israeli operation in Rafah.
Colleagues, we believe that such low standards of "megaphone diplomacy" should have no place in the Security Council. Instead of such unscrupulous moves by our colleagues from the United States, they should have concentrated on putting pressure on Israel and also should stop supplying it with weapons that are used to kill Palestinians in the oPt.
Thank you.
