<\/p>\n
04 December 2024<\/p>\n
Tenth Emergency Special Session<\/strong> Highlighting the dire humanitarian condition in the Gaza Strip, delegates underscored the urgent need to put an end to the conflict and for measures to contain the civilian population\u2019s suffering, as the General Assembly today resumed its tenth emergency special session on illegal Israeli actions in Occupied Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. \u00a0(For background, see Press Release\u00a0GA\/12625<\/a><\/em>.)<\/p>\n They also commended the recent ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, expressing hopes that the development will similarly bode well for Gaza while cautioning against a spillover of the Israel-Gaza conflict into the region.<\/p>\n Regretting that for over a year Gaza and Israel have endured \u201ca relentless cycle of death, destruction and displacement\u201d, Philemon Yang (Cameroon), Assembly President<\/strong> said: \u201cThe horror in Gaza must end.\u201d \u00a0Noting that the international community\u2019s demands are clear, as evident in the draft resolution considered by the Security Council on 20 November which received 14 votes in favour, only to be blocked by a permanent member\u2019s veto. \u00a0\u201cOnce again, the Security Council is paralyzed, unable to fulfil its primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security,\u201d he said, adding that this requires the Assembly to take the lead on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory which cannot be resolved through \u201cendless war and occupation\u201d.<\/p>\n The conflict will only end when Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in their own sovereign States in peace and security, he said. \u00a0He further expressed alarm at the decision by Israel\u2019s parliament to adopt two laws concerning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East\u00a0(UNRWA), which, if implemented, will prevent the Agency from carrying out its essential work in the region. \u00a0He therefore called on Tel Aviv to comply with its international obligations and allow UNRWA continue its work as mandated by the General Assembly.<\/p>\n The Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine<\/strong>, pointing to the ethnic cleansing and burning of displaced families yesterday, said every hour and every day, Palestinians are victimized and brutalized \u201cwith no end in sight\u201d.\u00a0 The mass killings, mass displacements and this cruel war of atrocities against an entire village are \u201cbreaching every rule and crossing every red line\u201d. \u00a0\u201cHow can the world allow this to go on? \u00a0The perpetrators are known \u2026 their crimes are livestreamed,\u201d he asked, lamenting that nowhere is safe in \u201cwhat has become the most dangerous place in the world\u201d. \u00a0This impunity must be brought to an end, he said, hoping that the warrants of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court prove to be a turning point in the situation.<\/p>\n He noted that the assault against the Palestinian people has been combined with an all-out assault against all those who are resolved to save human lives and ensure compliance with international law. \u00a0Regretting that the United Nations has also been a target of these attacks \u2014 including on the Secretary-General, staff and agencies \u2014 he said \u201cthe Israeli government has gone rogue\u201d and is, among other actions and beyond attacking UNRWA buildings, pressuring the international community to abandon the Agency. \u00a0\u201cThis aggression against a UN agency and the license to kill UN personnel by a Member State of these United Nations cannot be tolerated and must have consequences,\u201d he said, including Israel\u2019s ability to enjoy its rights and privileges as a member of the UN.<\/p>\n Israel has breached every single order of the International Court of Justice aimed at addressing genocide. \u00a0Calling on all States to use \u201cany and all leverage they have to put an end to this genocide\u201d and to \u201cstop this assault on our collective humanity\u201d, he pointed to the only way to stop this genocide and to save lives: \u00a0an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire. \u00a0Gaza\u2019s haemorrhage \u2014 the \u201cbleeding heart of Palestine and open painful wound of the human family\u201d \u2014 must be stopped, he pleaded, so \u201cour people can live, and our region can thrive\u201d. \u00a0He further implored Member States to stand up to their historic responsibilities to \u201cextinguish the fire devouring our children\u201d, adding that: \u00a0\u201cwhat we do today will determine what we will all suffer or enjoy tomorrow\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cTime and again opportunities for peace were met with rejection,\u201d responded Israel\u2019s delegate<\/strong>, adding: \u201cPalestinian so-called leaders chose conflict every time.\u201d\u00a0 7 October 2023 was not just a day of horror. \u00a0It was a moment that exposed the true face of Hamas and their allies who are exclusively committed to extermination.\u00a0 Women were raped, children were executed, and families were burned alive.\u00a0 \u201cYet, to this day, this Assembly remains silent,\u201d he said. \u00a0Not a single resolution has been passed to denounce the 7 October 2023 massacre. \u00a0\u201cAnd nothing, nothing about the hostages suffering in unimaginable conditions,\u201d he said. The UN is an enabler of Palestinian rejectionism.<\/p>\n It all begins in the classrooms funded and supported by the Member States of the UN. \u00a0\u201cYou paid for this propaganda,\u201d he said, holding up a leaflet which he said teaches 10-year-old children \u201cthat the path to greatness lies in murder\u201d.\u00a0 That comes from the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, he added.\u00a0 \u201cThis is a deliberate theft of Palestinian children\u2019s future, robbing them of hope and tying them to a legacy of hatred and despair,\u201d he continued. \u00a0Meanwhile, UNRWA was created \u201cnot to solve a problem but to preserve one\u201d. \u00a0Billions of dollars have been invested into the Agency. \u00a0\u201cWe have videos of UNRWA\u2019s employees invading Israel on 7\u00a0October, kidnapping Israelis,\u201d he went on to say. \u00a0Israel hopes \u201cmore countries would join the Abraham Accords very soon\u201d, he stressed, urging Member States to dismantle UNRWA and hold Palestinian leadership accountable.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery second the war continues, innocent civilians perish, most of them women and children,\u201d said Arrmanatha Nasir, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia<\/strong>. \u00a0The total death toll in Gaza has surpassed the population of seven UN Member States. \u00a0\u201cIf actions equivalent of wiping out the whole population of a country is not genocide, please tell me what is,\u201d he asked.\u00a0And if a group that killed 1,200\u00a0people is labelled a terrorist organization, what about a Government that has killed 44,532\u00a0people and counting. \u00a0Double standards have given Israel the \u201clicense to kill\u201d. \u00a0\u201cMany are now saying that we are now entering the age of the collapse of international rule of law,\u201d he warned, calling on the \u201cmajority of countries with a conscience\u201d to rise and protect the innocent.<\/p>\n Delegates opposed the use of the veto in the situation in the Gaza Strip and urged a depoliticization of events in the region.<\/p>\n Speaking for the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations<\/strong>, Venezuela\u2019s representative<\/strong> condemned the veto by the United States, which demonstrates its complicity with Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza, \u201cseverely undermining peace and security in the Middle East\u201d. \u00a0He called on that country, as a permanent Security Council member, to \u201cput aside its political calculations\u201d, which have not only taken the 15-nation organ hostage but also emboldened Israel to continue its actions.<\/p>\n Malta\u2019s delegate<\/strong>, speaking also for the Council\u2019s 10\u00a0elected members<\/strong> \u2014 Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Mozambique, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Switzerland<\/strong> \u2014 said the \u201ccatastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza\u201d underscores the need for the Council to shoulder its responsibility and take action. \u00a0Regretting that the draft resolution tabled by the group on 19\u00a0November was vetoed, she called on all parties to comply with their obligations under international law, adding that UNRWA, being \u201cindispensable and irreplaceable\u201d, must be allowed to fulfil its critical mandate.<\/p>\n Noting that \u201cwe must refuse to allow the Palestinian people to be decimated,\u201d South Africa\u2019s representative<\/strong> called for a suspension of the use of the veto in case of mass atrocities. \u00a0He further welcomed the decision of the International Criminal Court\u2019s decision to issue warrants of arrest for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n Some speakers also welcomed the latest development between Israel and Lebanon and expressed a related optimism for the current conflict in Gaza.<\/p>\n Kuwait\u2019s delegate<\/strong>, representing the Gulf Cooperation Council, hoped that the recent ceasefire between the two countries will not only \u201chold and be implemented to stop the bloodshed\u201d but also be followed by another agreement that stops the war in Gaza and the suffering there. \u00a0He underscored the need to ensure the opening of all border crossings without any preconditions and called for the implementation of relevant Assembly and Security Council resolutions.<\/p>\n On that, the representative<\/strong> of Cameroon<\/strong>, speaking for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation<\/strong>, regretted that the hopeful expectation following the adoption of Council resolution 2728 (2024) in March \u201chas only intensified\u201d with the increasing death toll. \u00a0Concerned that the international system\u2019s inability to effectively address the situation continues to \u201cshock human conscience all over the world\u201d, he urged action to stop the ongoing carnage.<\/p>\n Providing possible paths towards resolving the impasse, delegates overwhelmingly advocated a two-State solution in which Israel and Palestine can live in peace, including urging sustained support for UNRWA.<\/p>\n \u201cHave you ever seen an army that kills women and children and at this frequency in any war?\u201d the representative of Egypt<\/strong> asked, noting that no priority currently exists more pressing than ending the war. \u00a0He called for negotiations so that Palestinians can live a decent life and be able to heal their wounds and urged those with a \u201csense of humanity\u201d to not stand idly as spectators but immediately implement a ceasefire as this war has \u201cgone way beyond the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n The representative of the European Union<\/strong>, in its capacity as observer, urged full implementation of the orders of the International Court of Justice, adding that UNRWA must continue its crucial work. \u00a0The bloc, the Agency\u2019s largest contributor, will persist in backing UNRWA as it strives to deliver aid to people in need. \u00a0Agreeing with this, Lebanon\u2019s delegate, representing the Arab Group, urged a restriction of Israel\u2019s illegitimate measures in the West Bank, which only undermine prospects of a two-State solution, and called for its withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese territories.<\/p>\n Similarly, Chile\u2019s speaker<\/strong> rejected the confiscation of land in the occupied West Bank, calling it \u201ca step in the wrong direction,\u201d as violence cannot be solved with more violence. \u00a0To mitigate against the threat of famine which hangs over all of Gaza, Jordan\u2019s delegate observed, the international community must deliver humanitarian aid to that city and counter Israeli measures to impose this phenomenon on the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n As for Uganda\u2019s delegate<\/strong>, speaking for the Non-Aligned Movement<\/strong>, Palestine should be allowed to become a full-fledged member of the UN. Qatar\u2019s speaker<\/strong>, recalling her country\u2019s mediation efforts in partnership with Egypt and the United States which resulted in humanitarian pauses and a ceasefire in December, said her delegation, despite stumbling blocks, will continue contacts with all parties should their position change so a favourable conclusion can be reached.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 04 December 2024 Tenth Emergency Special Session 57th Meeting (PM) Deploring United States Recent Vetoing of Security Council Resolution, Speakers Say Ceasefire, Depoliticization of Conflict is Only Viable Solution Highlighting the dire humanitarian condition in the Gaza Strip, delegates underscored the urgent need to put an end to the conflict and for measures to […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[1365],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1769,1945,2005,1741,6245,6251],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-304015","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-press-release","document-source-general-assembly","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","document-subject-violence","document-subject-west-bank","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/304015","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":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/304015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":304019,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/304015\/revisions\/304019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=304015"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=304015"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=304015"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=304015"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=304015"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=304015"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=304015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n57th Meeting (PM)<\/strong><\/p>\nDeploring United States Recent Vetoing of Security Council Resolution, Speakers Say Ceasefire, Depoliticization of Conflict is Only Viable Solution<\/strong><\/h3>\n
State of Palestine: \u00a0Gaza is Now Most Dangerous Place on Earth<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Israel: \u00a0Not a Single Resolution Denouncing 7 October 2023 Massacre<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Member States: \u00a0Depoliticization of Events in Region Key to Peace<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Israel-Lebanese Ceasefire Welcomed\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Two-State Solution, Sustained Support for UNRWA Crucial<\/strong><\/h3>\n