‘Stop this Genocide, or Forever Remain Silent,’ Says Palestinian Observer
The unrelenting violence in the Middle East is further diminishing the prospects for a sustainable resolution in the region, warned Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, as he urged all efforts to de-escalate the situation towards an immediate ceasefire and, ultimately, the two-State solution, as Member States joined the Security Council during its quarterly open debate on the situation in the region and the question of Palestine.
“We are … at the most dangerous juncture in the Middle East in decades,” he warned. Noting his visit to the Gaza Strip last week, he recalled the immense destruction of residential buildings, roads, hospitals and schools, and thousands living in makeshift tents, with nowhere else to go as winter nears. Meanwhile, UN colleagues and their humanitarian partners described the dire humanitarian situation in northern Gaza, he said, which has received virtually no humanitarian assistance since the start of October.
Citing preliminary figures by the Gaza Ministry of Health, he reported that “just yesterday in Gaza, Israeli forces struck a building in Beit Lahiya, leaving at least 90 Palestinians missing or killed, including at least 25 children”. Also, on 28 October, “the Israeli Knesset adopted two laws on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) forbidding Israeli State officials from contact with UNRWA or its representatives and prohibiting UNRWA operations within what is referred to as the sovereign territory of the State of Israel”, he said, noting that those bills are set to go into effect in 90 days.
These developments risk the collapse of UNRWA’s operations across the Occupied Palestinian Territory and severely undermine humanitarian operations in Gaza, which rely on UNRWA, he warned. Pointing to a “horrific humanitarian nightmare”, he said it is essential to establish a safe and enabling environment, meet operational requirements, including funding, and ensure that Israeli authorities allow for unimpeded movement of food, shelter materials for the winter, medicine, fuel and the capacity to repair essential life-saving infrastructure.
Detailing growing tensions in the region, he said hostilities between Hizbullah and Israel are inflicting civilian casualties, and massive displacement and destruction on both sides of the Blue Line; armed groups operating from Yemen, Iraq and Syria continued to launch missiles and projectiles towards Israel; while Israel has reportedly carried out air strikes in Syria in the past month.
“We need a ceasefire now; we need the hostages released from Gaza now,” he stressed, noting that, since the 7 October 2023 attacks perpetrated by Hamas and other Palestinian groups, the violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in the wider region has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians and over 1,600 Israelis and foreign nationals, while 101 hostages are still held captive in Gaza.
“Every effort – by all of us – must be made to de-escalate the situation,” he underscored. As well the international community must work towards establishing political and security frameworks in Gaza, which “facilitate a Palestinian Government structure that can reunify Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, politically, economically and administratively with no reductions in its territory nor displacement of Palestinians from the Strip”.
Voicing concern about unilateral steps which threaten to further set back a political resolution, he stressed: “We must do everything in our power to chart a course towards a just and lasting peace that will establish a two-State solution on the basis of United Nations resolutions, previous agreements and international law, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States.”
“When will the condemnations lead to action and accountability?” asked the observer for the State of Palestine, who recalled that, week after week, he has sat before the Council and the General Assembly with the hope that he would be “able to tell my people that help is on the way”. “They endured horrors that you watch on your TV screens and yet can barely comprehend, but their tormentors continue to be shielded, and Palestinian victims continue to be abandoned,” he said.
The legislation passed on 28 October to destroy UNRWA’s ability to serve Palestine refugees and help the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza survive, “constitutes a new level in this war against the UN”, and an integral part of the all-out assault on the Palestinian people and their presence in their land, he emphasized. Israel is thus currently at war with the UN, declaring the Secretary-General persona non grata, killing and maiming and detaining and torturing UN staff, attacking UN peacekeepers and striving to dismantle a UN agency, he said.
“The genocide is only possible because of impunity,” he underscored, imploring the Council to “honour the memory of those killed and save those who can still be saved” by deciding on an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and the provision of life-saving assistance. Moreover, the Council must ensure implementation of its resolutions, end impunity, ensure accountability and finally “bring an end this terrible injustice”. “Let your actions match your words. Stop this genocide. Or forever remain silent,” he said.
Israel’s representative, however, pointed to terrorists’ years-long infiltration of UNRWA, noting that UNRWA Gaza is a terrorist front camouflaged as a humanitarian agency. He recounted that, less than two weeks ago, an UNRWA clinic, disguised by the UN’s blue banner, was exposed as a weapons storage and launch site. Shortly before that, it was discovered that the head of its teachers union in Lebanon moonlighted as a Hamas commander, or rather, was “a Hamas terrorist moonlighting as an UNRWA teacher”.
“It is not legitimate nor is it moral to ignore the fact that UNRWA Gaza has become a front for Hamas,” yet that is exactly what the Secretary-General is doing, he said. The Agency’s employees “being paid by the UN” are not aid workers, but “savages who have seized UNRWA Gaza and transformed it into a Hamas chapter”, he emphasized, urging the Council, the international community and the entire Organization to “accept the reality that UNRWA Gaza is beyond redemption, beyond saving, beyond reform”.
Describing Israel’s work to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza above and beyond its international obligations, he said: “The problem isn’t the flow of aid; it is Hamas, which hijacks supplies … to fuel the terror machine.” Israel has been under attack for over a year now and will continue to carry out all necessary operations in accordance with international law to protect its citizens. “The international community should correct historic wrongs and support us in our efforts to defend our State and our people,” he said, instead of unfairly scrutinizing Israel and enabling terrorists, he said.
In the ensuing debate, which lists over 60 speakers, including ministers and other high-level representatives, delegates echoed the UN’s calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages. Among them were Council members, including the representatives of Ecuador, Guyana, France, Japan, Malta, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and the United Kingdom. “An immediate and permanent ceasefire is the prerequisite for saving lives and preventing further deterioration of the situation,” stressed China’s representative.
An immediate ceasefire must be imposed in both Gaza and Lebanon, underscored Algeria’s representative, who stressed the need to launch a genuine peace process to end the occupation of Arab land. “The core issue in the Middle East is the occupation,” he emphasized.
Echoing that view, the Russian Federation’s representative noted that the root cause of the violence is the lack of settlement to the conflict, calling on the United States to cease sabotaging new initiatives in the Council. He urged implementation of Council resolutions – a call echoed by other delegations, including Mozambique.
Ignazio Cassis, Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs for Switzerland, Council President for October, speaking in his national capacity, underlined the need for accelerated efforts to achieve a political solution. He welcomed all initiatives to this end, highlighting, among others, the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution – an initiative recently launched by Saudi Arabia, Norway and the European Union and for which, later in the meeting, other delegations, including the Philippines and Spain, also voiced support.
The Head of the delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, in its capacity as observer, called for an international peace conference as soon as possible to revive the peace process. The bloc is committed to resolution 2334 (2016) and stresses that a credible pathway to Palestinian statehood is a crucial component of that political process, he said.
Joining Council members who voiced alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, as well as the just-adopted legislation by the Knesset regarding UNRWA, were the representatives of Indonesia and Peru. The observer for the League of Arab States called on the Council to freeze its implementation. Pointing to the reckless policies of an extremist Israeli Government that shows no respect for international instruments or UN commitments, she urged the Security Council to implement its resolutions.
Throughout the debate, many speakers, including Egypt’s delegate, expressed dismay about the Council’s inaction to halt the suffering of innocent civilians, especially in northern Gaza. Qatar’s representative pointed out that people there are made to choose between forced displacement or being starved and shelled. Citing the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR), she said the forced transfer of people from northern Gaza, as well as Israel occupation forces’ aggression, could amount to a war crime.
“This unimaginable suffering was set in motion by Hamas on 7 October,” underscored the representative of the United States, who spoke earlier in the meeting. Echoing concerns about legislation adopted by the Knesset regarding UNRWA, she called on the Secretary-General to create a mechanism to review and address allegations that UNRWA personnel have ties to Hamas and other terrorist groups. Israel must address the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza and it must conduct its operations in Gaza in a way that protects civilians and adheres to international law. “Its words must be matched by action on the ground,” she said, adding: “That is not happening right now; this must change immediately.”
“The credibility of the UN and the Council is on the line,” declared Lebanon’s representative, adding: “All your resolutions on the Middle East are still not implemented.” With the Council unable to impose a ceasefire in Gaza, the circle of killing and displacement has expanded to his country, where “our children, women and paramedics are being targeted with bunker buster bombs, vacuum bombs and explosive drones,” he said.
Uganda’s representative, speaking for the Non-Aligned Movement, concurred, and condemned Israel’s ongoing aggression against Lebanon, which has displaced more than 1.2 million people. He also joined other speakers in voicing alarm about Israeli attacks on United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) positions along the Blue Line. “These attacks set a dangerous precedent. Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) must be upheld and we urge all parties to adhere to its provisions,” stressed New Zealand’s delegate, who also spoke on behalf Canada and Australia.
The Council’s duty is to protect all humanity, not just cater to the few, underscored Mauro Luiz Iecker Vieira, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Brazil. “Its failure to act decisively has allowed atrocities to continue unchecked,” he said. Reiterating his country’s calls for an end to the escalating violence in the Middle East, he said: “Israel’s response to 7 October has gone far beyond any sense of proportion.” “When international law is violated, those responsible must face consequences,” he said, adding: “We cannot allow the veto to become a shield for impunity.”
The meeting was suspended at 6 p.m., to be resumed on 30 October.
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