Remarks by Ambassador Dorothy Shea, Chargé d ’Affairs ad interim, at a UN Security Council Briefing on the Situation in the Middle East

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January 28, 2024

Thank you, President. Thank you, Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini and Secretary-General Jan Egeland, for your briefings.

The United States is strongly committed to implementing the ceasefire agreement, so that the hostages can return home and the people of Gaza can look toward a brighter future under new leadership.

We must never forget the lives taken as a result of the brutal Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023 and the horrors endured by countless innocent people in the war that followed.

Hamas can not be allowed to play spoiler on behalf of the Palestinians any longer. Not after it started this conflict through its horrific attack and its deplorable behavior.

We have seen Hamas cynically weaponize the suffering of Palestinians by using civilian infrastructure, like schools and hospitals, to store caches of weapons, house fighters, and coordinate attacks.

We are concerned about reports that returned Israeli hostages were held by Hamas in UN facilities during their prolonged captivity in Gaza. It is vital for a full and independent investigation to assess these very serious allegations.

Unfortunately, this follows a pattern of serious allegations on the misuse of UN facilities – particularly UNRWA facilities – by Hamas terrorists.

Today’s briefing focuses on Israel’s laws, set to go into effect on January 30, that may impact UNRWA activities and prohibit contact between Israeli officials and UNRWA.

It is Israel’s sovereign decision to close UNRWA’s offices in Jerusalem on January 30. The United States supports the implementation of this decision.

UNRWA exaggerating the effects of the laws and suggesting that they will force the entire humanitarian response to halt is irresponsible and dangerous.

What is needed is a nuanced discussion about how we can ensure that there is no interruption in the delivery of humanitarian aid and essential services.

UNRWA is not, and never has been, the only option for providing humanitarian assistance in Gaza. Many other agencies have experience and expertise to do this work and have done this work.

UNRWA’s work has been tainted and its credibility questioned due to the terrorist ties to Hamas that UNRWA staff had that were exposed as a result of Hamas’ October 7 attack.

Colleagues, now is the time to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those in need throughout Gaza, in accordance with the ceasefire deal the United States, Qatar, and Egypt secured.

We urge countries to support this effort through additional funding and resources to help quickly scale-up and distribute much needed humanitarian aid.

We must ensure Hamas or other terrorist groups are not permitted to seize, divert, or profit from this assistance – and that if it does so, it is reported immediately and held accountable.

Gaza must be fully demilitarized to provide a brighter future for the Palestinian people. Hamas should have no role in its governance.

The region has suffered for too long from the nefarious influence of Iran, and its terrorist proxies, who have exerted undue influence and destabilized the region for decades.

As a result of the ceasefire, the countries of the Middle East have an historic opportunity to reshape their region in a way that affords its people a better path forward, where Israel is fully integrated with its neighbors under the banner of the Abraham Accords.

The United States will do its part to help create that future.

I thank you.

 

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