25 February 2025
Mr. President,
We thank MS. Sigrid Kaag, Ad Interim Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, for her detailed briefing on the situation in the region. We have listened carefully to Daniel Levy and to the personal testimony of Noa Argamani.
What happened on October 7, 2023, and thereafter in Israel and the Gaza Strip has set a completely new “bar” for cruelty and disproportionate reaction to it. The deaths in captivity of two Israeli children, whose bodies were last week handed over to their families in Israel, leaves no one indifferent, if one believes that human life is priceless. Likewise, we cannot but be shocked by the deaths of 18,000 Palestinian children, who were killed in Gaza during the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In January, Russia initiated a special UN Security Council meeting on children’s issues in the light of what is happening in the Strip. Tens of thousands of children in Gaza were wounded or went missing. Children in Gaza continue suffering from the lack of humanitarian aid, hunger and disease. Behind each of these episodes, there is a huge human tragedy. We extend our condolences to the families and loved ones of all those children whose lives were lost in this terrible and completely unnecessary conflict. We mourn not only for them, but also for all those who have fallen in the course of the Israeli-Palestinian escalation. Cruelty must not beget cruelty. This endless and vicious cycle of violence must end.
Mr. President,
For the long 15 months of the conflict, many responsible members of the Council, including Russia, have been trying to stop it and achieve a ceasefire. However, because of the position taken by the Biden Administration, which played along with Israel in everything, we were unable to do so for a long time. It was not until January 19, 2025, that we saw a glimmer of hope when agreements between Israel and Hamas finally came into effect. American mediators had been telling us that these agreements were just about to be reached since the moment when the UNSC 2735 was passed last June. By doing so, they virtually kept Council members from adopting any product or signal that could have accelerated the process. The long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza resulted in the release of the first hostages, including Russian citizen Alexander Trufanov and Palestinians detained in Israel. The deal unblocked humanitarian access to all those affected by the conflict and those in need, and opened up opportunities to upscale the supplies to the enclave.
However, those were the only reasons for joy and optimism. As we are approaching the deadline for implementing the first phase of the agreements, concerns are growing about the prospects for their further implementation. From both sides, we increasingly hear mutual accusations of violations and bad faith implementation of the agreed steps. At the same time, monitoring mechanism is non-transparent, which unfortunately may lead to an obvious stalling of efforts and is fraught with risks of destabilization and fresh violence.
Mr. President,
We must not let the situation go with the flow, and by no means should we allow the “war parties” on both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation to escalate tensions. In that context, we also count on a consistent stance by the new US Administration, whose intervention at the final stage made it possible to achieve tangible results. It is important to avoid any provocative steps both by Israeli and Palestinian radicals, which could once again derail the hard-won peace process.
In this context, we are increasingly concerned about the ongoing crisis surrounding UNRWA, which entered a new acute phase following the entry into force of Knesset laws that violate UNSC resolutions and ban the Agency from operating on so-called “sovereign territory of Israel”. Given the key role that this Agency has played in humanitarian operations “on the ground” and comprehensive assistance to the Palestinians, undermining its work will aggravate the already dire situation of the people of Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank. UNRWA has no alternative, and if the Agency is dismantled, the occupying Power – Israel – will have to take up all its tasks. Nor should we forget the role that the Agency has played in the Middle East settlement, in particular in the context of resolving one of the key “final status” issues – namely, the issue of the Palestinian refugees.
Mr. President,
I think everyone understands that without relaunching a comprehensive peace settlement process on the basis of universally recognized international legal solutions, the region will continue teetering on the brink of a major war. We are in no way diminishing the significance of these fragile ad hoc agreements, but limiting ourselves just to them is not something that we should be doing. Nor should we be proposing solutions that are infringing on the interests of one side and prioritizing the concerns of the other. It is also of utmost importance to take into account the interests of all countries in the region and key players that can contribute to establishing a lasting, durable and sustainable peace in the Middle East region.
The UN Security Council, as the primary body for the maintenance of international peace and security, must not consider the situation in the region only through the prism of the most recent escalation around Gaza. We must not turn a blind eye to Israel’s military operation in the West Bank, which is being waged using heavy weaponry. Other extremely dangerous destabilizing steps here include the expansion of the occupation zone in the Syrian Golan Heights and Lebanon, bans on the movement and return of internally displaced persons, as well as such obvious provocations as the overflight of combat aircraft during the funeral of assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. Furthermore, we should not ignore the irresponsible statements by certain politicians of West Jerusalem who are trying to present the situation as if the deal was not about a permanent ceasefire and finding ways out of this unprecedented acute crisis, but rather only about the return of Israeli hostages.
For our part, we reaffirm our position of principle in support of a permanent and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, which would result in the release of all hostages and detainees. We also advocate a speediest possible return to the peace process on a universally recognized international legal basis of having two States. We are convinced that without a just and lasting settlement that ensures the legitimate rights and aspirations of Palestinians to have a State of their own, we will not be able to spare the Middle East from new outbreaks of violence. We do hope that this lesson has been learned by those who are currently working on further regional initiatives premised on this fragile but important truce in Gaza.
Thank you.