{"id":300980,"date":"2024-09-04T14:41:10","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T18:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=300980"},"modified":"2024-09-06T14:42:22","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T18:42:22","slug":"sc-pr-4sep24","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/sc-pr-4sep24\/","title":{"rendered":"Security Council’s 9717th Meeting: Every Human Life \u2018Equal\u2019, Security Council Told as Speakers Weigh Killing of Israeli Hostages, Mounting Palestinian Death Toll in Gaza, West Bank"},"content":{"rendered":"
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4 September 2024<\/div>\n
9717th Meeting (PM)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Against the backdrop of the recent killing of six Israeli hostages, a mounting Palestinian death toll in Gaza and increasing settler violence in the occupied West Bank, speakers in the Security Council today urged Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that includes a ceasefire and unconditional release of those still held captive.<\/p>\n

Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs<\/strong><\/a>, said that, according to Israel, the hostages had been shot multiple times at close range. \u201cThey were killed by Hamas shortly before Israeli soldiers were able to reach them inside a tunnel in Rafah,\u201d she said. \u00a0<\/a>At least 101 hostages are still held in Gaza, she noted, calling for their unconditional release and an immediate ceasefire.<\/p>\n

Israeli military operations continue across Gaza, she said, adding that some 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since 7\u00a0October, a majority of whom were\u00a0reportedly women<\/a>\u00a0and children. \u00a0In the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, some 630 Palestinians and 15 Israelis have been killed, she added, citing the \u201cincreasingly brazen and deadly\u201d attacks carried out by Israeli settlers against Palestinians. \u00a0Israel also launched on 28\u00a0August large-scale military operations against alleged terrorist cells in Jenin, Tulkarm, and\u00a0Tubas<\/a>\u00a0governorates, she noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe latest developments in Gaza and the West Bank compel us to affirm, yet again, the equal value of every human life,\u201d stated Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.\u00a0 There are no winners in this war, and the suffering and devastation \u201cshow that there has been almost no limit to the inhumanity unfolding before our eyes\u201d, she said.\u00a0 This is apparent in the 7\u00a0October\u00a02023 Hamas attacks, in the recent killing of six hostages, in the hostages that remain in Gaza and the toll of injuries and deaths among Palestinians in the Strip.<\/p>\n

She said that water infrastructure has been severely damaged, food sources and production facilities have been destroyed, vital humanitarian operations have been crippled and repeated evacuation orders leave civilians exposed to the dangers of hostilities and deprived of the essentials to survive.\u00a0 \u201cIt does not have to be this way,\u201d she underscored, noting that local humanitarian pauses have enabled the launch of the emergency polio vaccination campaign \u2014 over 187,000 children under 10 have been vaccinated so far.<\/p>\n

The Council also heard from two civil society briefers, including Efrat Bron-Harlev, an Israeli paediatric physician and Director of Schneider Children\u2019s Medical Center of Israel \u2014 one of the leading paediatric centres in the world, who said that no child should ever go through what the children and civilians of Israel have gone through on 7\u00a0October. \u00a0On that day, \u201cmany children, of all ages \u2014 babies, toddlers, children \u2014 were butchered in their houses,\u201d she recalled.\u00a0 Of the 253 hostages, 38 were children, she said, adding that the youngest, still now in Gaza, was then only 8 months old.\u00a0 Many of these young children were kept in captivity, not allowed to cry or laugh, and were moved from place to place in the middle of the night.<\/p>\n

In all, she said, Schneider Children\u2019s Hospital received 19 children, 6 mothers and one grandmother that were all in captivity. \u00a0\u201cWhen they arrived [in the hospital], they did not look like children; they looked like shadows of children,\u201d she added. \u00a0The Council needs to help Israel bring back the children that have not yet returned, she said, adding: \u201cI need you to help all of us make sure that never again such intentional atrocities will happen to children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yuli Novak, Israeli human rights activist and Executive Director of B\u2019Tselem<\/strong>, criticized his country\u2019s Government for prioritizing war over the return of hostages, leaving people feeling \u201cangry, desperate and betrayed\u201d. \u00a0That Government\u2019s \u201ccriminal conduct\u201d over the last eleven months has been guided by the idea of promoting \u201cJewish supremacy over the entire territory under its control\u201d \u2014 a constitutional principle enshrined six years ago, she stated. \u00a0Accusing the Government of \u201ccynically exploiting\u201d the collective trauma of 7\u00a0October to further its \u201cproject of cementing Israeli control,\u201d she added: \u00a0\u201cTo do that, it is waging war on the entire Palestinian people, including committing war crimes almost daily.\u201d \u00a0She went on to warn that by \u201cmaking Gaza uninhabitable,\u201d the Israeli \u201cregime\u201d is \u201claying the groundwork for long-term control of Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n

Highlighting how Israel has enjoyed impunity for decades, she urged the Council \u201cto acknowledge this failure\u201d to protect civilians and \u201cto compel Israel and Hamas to immediately and permanently cease all hostilities\u201d. \u00a0Every day when the Council fails to act on the International Court of Justice\u2019s call to end the occupation and apartheid, \u201cis another day you are abandoning us \u2014 the people suffering and dying needlessly under this cruel and unjust regime\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n

However, the representative of Israel<\/strong> stressed that his country\u2019s top priority is the return of the hostages. \u00a0It is Hamas that stands in the way of this, he said, adding that his country agreed to the ceasefire deals put forward on 27\u00a0May and 16\u00a0August. \u00a0Yet the international community continues to direct pressure at his country \u201cas if we are the ones who are holding hostages,\u201d he said. \u00a0Although hostage-taking is a violation of international humanitarian law and Council resolutions, this is the first time a Council session has been dedicated to the situation of hostages.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe double standard is unbearable,\u201d he said, adding that the Council must adopt a \u201ca simple resolution\u201d that condemns Hamas\u2019 atrocities and designates them a terrorist organization. \u00a0\u201cI cannot understand why all of you cannot raise your hand\u201d to support such a text, he said.<\/p>\n

The six hostages, the representative of the United States<\/strong> said, were executed while negotiators were discussing the names of individuals to be released in a ceasefire deal.\u00a0 This calls into question the sincerity of Hamas, she said, underscoring: \u00a0\u201cHamas is a terrorist organization.\u201d\u00a0 While some Council members will not acknowledge that, she said: \u00a0\u201cWe can condemn Hamas for what they are and still have empathy for the suffering of civilians in Gaza.\u201d\u00a0 The ceasefire deal being negotiated by her country, Qatar and Egypt is a deal that ensures Israel\u2019s security, she said. \u00a0<\/a>France was outraged, its delegate said, to learn of the killing of six hostages. \u00a0Expressing solidarity with the Israeli people and condemning the terrorist attack of October\u00a07, he said an immediate and permanent ceasefire is vital to ensure the return of hostages and allow the at-scale delivery of aid. \u00a0Further, the localized humanitarian pauses must continue, he said, adding that the vaccination campaign demonstrates that it is possible to allow humanitarian actors to act on the ground.\u00a0 This must become the norm, he stressed.<\/p>\n

The representative of the United Kingdom<\/strong> said that her Government\u2019s decision this week to suspend certain armed export license to Israel does not undermine its commitment to Israel. \u00a0Noting that Israel faces threats not only from Hamas, but also from\u00a0Iran, she expressed unwavering commitment to its security.<\/p>\n

However,\u00a0the observer for the State of Palestine underscored that\u00a0\u201cIsrael is seeking to impose a military solution to the conflict by disappearing a nation.\u201d \u00a0Instead of ending the Nakba, Israel\u2019s \u201cfascist, extremist\u201d leaders have decided to seek its conclusion \u2014 \u201cPalestine with no Palestinians\u201d, he added. \u00a0On the situation in the West Bank, he said that Israel has killed over 30 Palestinians there in recent days, along with destroying refugee camps and civilian infrastructure with countless air strikes.\u00a0In parallel, it advances its settler colonial agenda.\u00a0 \u201cViolence by settlers and soldiers is spreading like wildfire to push people out of their homeland,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Noting an imminent General Assembly vote on a resolution demanding the end of this illegal occupation within a time frame, he urged Member States to remember all those either killed or left to endure torment when they make their decision:\u00a0 \u201cYou are either on the side of the arsonists or the firefighters \u2014 you cannot be on both.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those present are gathered today because \u201cdiplomacy has failed\u201d, said the representative of Algeria, wondering aloud how many lives could have been saved if the Council had been more resolute in implementing its resolutions \u2014 including resolution 2735 (2024).\u00a0 And, as the world struggles to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, \u201cthe Israeli occupier escalates its operations in the West Bank, continuing to slaughter Palestinians in blatant violation of international law\u201d, he said. \u00a0The Council must act \u2014 today \u2014 to ensure that \u201cinternational law is above all\u201d and protect the multilateral system by \u201creining in the occupation authorities that seek to extinguish the hope of a Palestinian State\u201d, he urged.<\/p>\n

The situation in Palestine today did not begin on 7\u00a0October\u00a02023, said Guyana\u2019s representative.\u00a0 Rather, it began when Israel first violently rejected the two-State solution in 1948.\u00a0 \u201cWhat we have seen since 7\u00a0October are the symptoms of this rejection,\u201d she said, \u201cwith the victimizer capitalizing on the events of 7\u00a0October to carry out its own sinister motives \u2014 even amidst protests by its own citizens\u201d.\u00a0Recalling Plato\u2019s assertion that \u201conly the dead have seen the end of war\u201d, she emphasized that the Council can ensure that remaining generations of Palestinians and Israelis also see this \u2014 \u201cand, more than that, experience sustainable peace\u201d.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s delegate also called for greater diplomatic efforts to secure the release of all detainees, whether Israeli or Palestinian, and said it is\u00a0wishful thinking<\/a>\u00a0to prolong the war in the hope of a total victory.\u00a0 The Israeli leadership should listen to its \u201cpublic\u2019s forceful appeals\u201d and do its utmost to make the ceasefire happen. \u00a0The countries who hold sway over the warring parties must act in good faith to bring the violence to an end. \u00a0\u201cEvery life\u00a0matters<\/a>,\u201d he stressed, adding that Gazan children have the same right to grow up in safety and good health as do children anywhere in the world. They do not deserve to face lethal weapons after vaccination, he said.<\/p>\n

The representative of the Russian Federation said that the Council cannot afford to remain inactive in the face of developments in Gaza and the West Bank \u2014 which Israeli military personnel are \u201csystematically cleansing\u201d.\u00a0 The organ has already given three months for negotiations to persuade both sides to accept the deal envisioned by resolution 2735 (2024).\u00a0 \u201cThis was more than enough time,\u201d he stressed.\u00a0 But, as the United States consistently provides cover for Israel\u2019s actions, he said that it is \u201chardly surprising\u201d that West Jerusalem continues to advance new conditions for reaching a deal.<\/p>\n

Several speakers expressed concern over the alarming escalatory trend in the West Bank, with the representative of Mozambique underscoring the utmost importance of protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure under the international law by the warring parties. \u00a0\u201cAn escalation on that front must be prevented at all costs. \u00a0The West Bank cannot turn into another Gaza,\u201d warned the representative of Malta. \u00a0In this vein, Sierra Leone\u2019s delegate cited the 19\u00a0July\u00a02024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that \u201chas made it clear in its determination\u201d that Israel\u2019s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is \u201cunlawful\u201d. \u00a0He, therefore, urged Israel \u201cto comply and for the United Nations, including the General Assembly and Security Council, to work on the modalities as declared by the ICJ\u201d.<\/p>\n

Many speakers, including Japan\u2019s representative, welcomed the first days of the polio vaccination campaign, underscoring \u201cthe brave efforts and dedication\u201d of the relevant UN agencies. \u00a0\u201cA large-scale humanitarian operation is possible in Gaza if hostilities cease and safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access is guaranteed,\u201d said the representative of Switzerland, adding: \u00a0\u201cIt is high time that this became a reality throughout the Gaza Strip\u201d. \u00a0Echoing this point, the representative of the Republic of Korea underscored the importance of upholding humanitarian pauses by both sides to ensure the campaign\u2019s success, warning: \u00a0\u201cFailure to prevent the spread of polio in Gaza will have fatal impacts in the wider region, including Israel\u201d. \u00a0Similarly, the delegate from Ecuador said that the campaign showed that \u201cwith genuine political will, results can be achieved\u201d.<\/p>\n

The representative of Slovenia, Council President for September, spoke in his national capacity to describe \u201cparallel realities\u201d \u2014 decades-long suffering and human-rights violations experienced by Palestinians, security concerns for Israelis and regional instability that threatens international peace and security.\u00a0 \u201cThere is only one possible common denominator for these realities,\u201d he stressed \u2014 \u201cpeace\u201d.\u00a0 Only a ceasefire will alleviate the suffering of hostages and their loved ones, as well that of Palestinians in Gaza.\u00a0 Therefore, he urged the Council to proceed with two steps: \u00a0first, a strong, united call for the conclusion of ceasefire negotiations led by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, and second, a focused discussion on a peace process that will lead to a two-State solution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

4 September 2024 9717th Meeting (PM) Against the backdrop of the recent killing of six Israeli hostages, a mounting Palestinian death toll in Gaza and increasing settler violence in the occupied West Bank, speakers in the Security Council today urged Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that includes a ceasefire and unconditional release of […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[660,759,897,906,969,5248,1593,1065,1074,5836,1119,1152,2321,2553],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[2677,1362,6158],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1769,1829,2265,2033,2005,2533,6848,1741,2181,6880,1745,6251,1841],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-300980","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","country-algeria","country-china","country-israel","country-japan","country-malta","country-mozambique","country-palestine-state-of","country-republic-of-korea","country-russian-federation","country-sierra-leone","country-slovenia","country-switzerland","country-united-kingdom","country-united-states-of-america","document-category-press-release","document-source-btselem","document-source-security-council","document-source-united-nations-department-of-political-and-peacebuilding-affairs","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-casualties","document-subject-ceasefire","document-subject-children","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-health","document-subject-hostages","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","document-subject-negotiations-and-agreements","document-subject-occupying-power","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","document-subject-west-bank","document-subject-women","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/300980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/300980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":301006,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/300980\/revisions\/301006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=300980"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=300980"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=300980"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=300980"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=300980"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=300980"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=300980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}