Statement by Ambassador Riyad H. Mansour, Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine to the UN, at a UNSC briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question

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November 22, 2023

Ambassador Riyad H. Mansour welcomed yesterday’s truce agreement, saying it will save hundreds of Palestinian children.  He called for a definitive end to the criminal assault on the Palestinian people, as well as a way forward that averts this aggression’s resumption to protect civilians and prevent regional spillover.  This cannot just be a pause before massacres start again.  Also, while Israel claims to respect the laws of war, its true intention is the destruction of the Palestinian nation and its legitimate aspirations.

Resolution 2712 (2023) rejected the forced displacement of civilians, but Israel’s true plans are the forced transfer of Palestinians.  By depriving 2.3 million people the means for survival, Israel is telling them they have a choice: “leave this land or leave this Earth”.

He pointed to Israeli officials calling Palestinians “human animals,” imposing a siege, calling for their annihilation, bombing indiscriminately and deploying brutal force.

While not denying the suffering of Israeli families on 7 October, he said Israel is not faced with an existential threat as Palestine is.  “Israel is not being destroyed; Palestine is.”

In the General Assembly, Israel’s Prime Minister presented his vision for the new Middle East, wiping Palestine off the map.  What is happening in Gaza and the West Bank is an attempt to make this map a reality; Netanyahu must be stopped, he said.

Despair, destruction, displacement and denial of Palestinian rights will never bring security to Israel.  The Palestinian people are entitled to freedom and dignity on their land and in their lifetime; the Nakba has to end.

He called for a different path where the Palestinian people are not deprived of their rights and no one denies the other’s existence.  With two States side by side in peace and security, in line with Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, no Palestinians or Israelis would be killed and would instead enjoy equal measures of freedom, peace and security.

The conflict has no military solution, only a political one.  There is no peace possible in the Middle East without resolving the question of Palestine, and there is no coexistence with supremacy or subjugation.

Unequivocally opposing the killing of civilians, his delegation remains committed to the rule of international law.

“We believe in justice, not vengeance”, he said. “We should not be blind to each other’s wounds, traumas or history, nor dismiss them”. Respect must be built on a common vision, where one’s life is not at the other’s expense.

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