Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Anna Evstigneeva at a UNSC Briefing on the Situation in the Middle East in the Context of the Implementation of Resolution 2334
Madam President,
We are grateful to Ramiz Alakbarov, Acting UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, for his detailed assessment of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory in the context of Security Council Resolution 2334. We listened carefully to the representatives of civil society.
Today’s Security Council meeting is taking place on the last day of the High-Level Week of the 81st session of the General Assembly, during which almost all heads of foreign delegations, while speaking from the rostrum, drew special attention to the need to find a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question based on the well-established framework of international law, with its key principle being “two States for two peoples.” Equally important is the fact that a series of significant high-level events on the settlement in the Middle East took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, with broad participation from UN Member States. The unified position of the global majority is that there is no alternative to the two-State solution, which confirms the pivotal importance of settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the interest of swift stabilization of the situation throughout the entire Middle East.
Unfortunately, not all States were able to exercise their right to participate in person in the General Assembly’s General Debate and ministerial conferences. The US side, in violation of its obligations, once again refused to issue visas to the Palestinian delegation led by President Mahmoud Abbas.
Madam President,
The assessments of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) expressed by Mr. Ramiz Alakbarov point to an existing dangerous trend to undermine the political and geographical basis of the two-State solution. The Israeli authorities ignore the provisions of the specialized UN Security Council resolutions and have consistently pursued a policy to tighten administrative and legal control over the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The construction of new settlements and the expansion of existing ones are taking place at a record rate. Despite the international community’s outrage and rejection of this, the Israelis are rubber-stamping new settlement plans, including those as part of the provocative E1 project, whose implementation would cut the Palestinian territory in two.
We are particularly concerned by the surge in violence by settlers against Palestinian residents of the West Bank. According to regular reports by the UN Secretary-General, such attacks often occur with the connivance or even support of Israeli military personnel. Of course, we are extremely alarmed by the reported attacks by Palestinians against Israeli civilians. However, as far as we know from open sources, the number of such incidents cannot be compared with the number of attacks by settlers in the West Bank.
We would like to stress that Israel’s comprehensive and consistent policy to create irreversible realities on the ground is a gross violation of Security Council Resolution 2334. I’d like to remind you that it is not a historical document, but a resolution currently in force that, as some of our Western colleagues like to point out, was passed without opposition. The key demand, adopted ten years ago by the Security Council, remains relevant and binding for Israel – West Jerusalem must cease all settlement activity in the OPT immediately and completely.
Madam President,
We also cannot ignore the dire situation in another part of the OPT – in the Gaza Strip. We indeed have taken note of the latest briefing by the Board of Peace on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly High-Level Week and the latest promises to promptly rebuild the enclave through implementing far-reaching projects. We do not question the importance of such initiatives. However, it is clear that, in order to implement them, it is stability on the ground that we need to achieve first.
The reality in Gaza today is such that, despite the formal entry into force of the ceasefire, civilians are being killed there each and every day. The number of people killed since last October as a result of Israeli strikes has exceeded 1,400 people. Israel continues to impose severe restrictions on the provision of humanitarian aid – both by arbitrarily categorizing certain goods as dual-use and by a lack of desire to reopen all checkpoints along the perimeter of the enclave.
The prospects for implementing the Board of Peace’s proposals to disarm Hamas and withdraw Israeli troops appear elusive. This is especially true following West Jerusalem’s public rejection of the roadmap proposed by High Representative on Gaza involving a staged surrender of weapons by Hamas in conjunction with the gradual withdrawal of IDF units.
In other words, for almost a year now, the key elements of the so-called peace plan are still just on paper. An astounding fact is that Israel, despite its status as one of the founding members of the Board of Peace, continues to obstruct the implementation of the comprehensive plan to end the conflict in Gaza, which basically underpinned the Board of Peace, established by the US. As you know, Russia is not a member of this organization. However, we note the increasingly frequent voices of reason coming from the Arab-Muslim Group of Eight, which is part of the Board of Peace, which persistently calls on West Jerusalem to fulfill its obligations in good faith.
In turn, Russia remains open to engagement and coordination with our Arab friends and other stakeholders in the interest of a comprehensive and just solution to the Palestinian issue. We are convinced that there is no alternative to the two-State solution, and that its implementation will help to bring lasting peace and security to all the peoples of the Middle East.
Thank you.
