Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at a UNSC Open Debate on the Situation in the Middle East
Mr. President,
We thank Khaled Khiari, Espen Eide, and Tony Blair for their briefings. We welcome the participation of the Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs in today’s meeting.
Mr. President,
We are gravely alarmed by the developments in the Middle East. The failure to resolve the long-standing conflicts alongside the attempts to address them haphazardly through brute force and the language of ultimatums, while circumventing international formats, are bearing bitter fruit that we are reaping today. Such a policy, whereby the interests of one side are being completely disregarded, is naturally being met with opposition and resistance. As a consequence, for two and a half years now, the region has been convulsed by periodic outbreaks of armed hostilities, alternating with short-lived and untenable ceasefires that are repeatedly violated.
Thus, despite the ceasefire reached between Beirut and West Jerusalem, active hostilities in Lebanon do not cease. On April 26 alone, Israeli strikes killed 14 people and injured another 37. Since March 2, more than 2,500 Lebanese have perished in the conflict, and nearly 8,000 have been wounded. The Israelis have occupied the south of the country, systematically destroying entire residential neighborhoods, and blowing up bridges across the Litani River. The notion of Lebanese sovereignty does not exist for them – their vessels are freely patrolling the Lebanese coast, while their planes and drones are controlling the skies over the capital.
Nor does Israel respect the authority of UN peacekeepers. It took two days for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to obtain permission from the Israeli military command for patrol movements. And even this, alas, is not a panacea. The Blue Helmets have been encountering all sorts of obstacles. They are being fired at, including from tanks, and there are already casualties among peacekeepers. And for UN representatives not to see what they are not supposed to see, their outdoor surveillance cameras are being disabled.
We demand a prompt investigation into all incidents threatening the safety and security of peacekeepers. The perpetrators must be held duly accountable, irrespective of their rank. We call upon both sides to respect the ceasefire and strictly comply with the keynote Security Council Resolution 1701, which stipulates, inter alia, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory. Until this condition is fulfilled, any peace agreements will remain highly untenable, as was the case with the truce reached in November 2024.
Mr. President,
What has become a defining factor in the Middle East is Israel’s policy towards incrementally expanding occupation, maintaining its military control, preserving its free rein and making unilateral demands for demilitarization while refusing to assume any obligations for itself. At the same time, we see numerous attempts to justify aggressive actions by citing allegedly destructive activities by external forces who are plotting against Israel.
The erroneous nature of this reasoning is borne out by the example of Syria: not a single instance of firing at Israel from Syrian soil has been recorded over the recent years. Damascus is also willing to engage in serious dialogue with West Jerusalem with a view to finding a comprehensive solution to security matters. Despite all this, Israel continues to occupy the south of Syria, fueling centrifugal forces in the country, and regularly conducting airstrikes that undermine the capabilities of the Syrian military.
We urge the Israeli authorities to revert to complying with the provisions of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement, and to observe relevant UN Security Council resolutions, including the Council’s latest decision – Resolution 2811 – which extended the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) for a period of six months. Damascus’s statesmanship and strategic restraint should not be misinterpreted as weakness. Patience may run out.
Mr. President,
The Palestinian issue remains at the crux of the peace process in the Middle East: it is only through a fair resolution of this matter that lasting peace and security can be achieved in the region. The current Israeli leadership is not only completely refuting but also systematically dismantling the core principles for the settlement that are enshrined in numerous resolutions of the UN Security Council and those of the UN General Assembly, above all the two-State solution. The options proposed to Israel’s opponent in their preliminary ultimatums are obviously unrealistic and unviable, but this does not bother the Israeli leaders who are clearly desperate to proceed with the armed confrontation. We deeply regret the fact that such escalatory steps, which have already caused a major war in the Middle East, enjoy the unconditional support of the United States.
Given the above, despite generally optimistic remarks by Mr. Blair, we see no tangible results from the work of the Peace Board. The implementation of UNSC resolution 2803 adopted five months ago at Washington’s initiative has also stalled. However, this was foreseeable and proves the point. International Stabilization Forces in Gaza have still not been deployed. The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza remains located abroad. More than half of the enclave is occupied by Israel, and humanitarian access is still being obstructed. Since the ceasefire on October 10, 800 Palestinians have been killed.
Unfortunately, our grim predictions have come to pass. We are witnessing attempts to literally buy out the Palestinians with flashy business projects like “New Gaza,” rather than addressing the complex political issue of establishing an independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital within the 1967 borders.
The situation in the West Bank is equally bleak, as this matter was unaddressed by the Security Council Resolution 2803. We see there creeping colonization, regular raids, and ongoing violence by radical settlers.
Israel’s infringement upon the positions of the Palestinian Authority (PA) – including the withholding of its due tax revenues – is an exceedingly dangerous path to deadlock. It is in no way enhancing Israel’s security but rather radicalizing Palestinian society, as is West Jerusalem’s destructive policy vis-à-vis UNRWA, which remains the indispensable bedrock of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians both in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and in neighboring Arab countries. The Agency’s mandate has particular significance as the universally recognized international legal basis for a Middle East settlement, first and foremost in terms of helping the Palestinians and ensuring their protection until their right of return is enforced.
Against this backdrop, one of the scarce bits of good news is the successful conduct of municipal elections in Palestine. The peaceful voting in Deir al-Balah was particularly symbolic in this regard, as it demonstrated to the entire world that the West Bank and Gaza Strip are inextricably linked to each other and that all the attempts to artificially divide the Palestinian people are nothing but futile.
Mr. President,
In conclusion, we wish to stress that a Middle East settlement cannot withstand hasty or short-sighted solutions nor military options. It is only through accounting for the interests of all parties, rooted in a universally recognized international legal basis, including the two-State solution, that we can achieve results.
Thank you.
