{"id":252437,"date":"2021-05-21T15:30:09","date_gmt":"2021-05-21T19:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=252437"},"modified":"2021-05-26T12:33:46","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T16:33:46","slug":"ceasefire-in-gaza-21-may-2021-daily-press-briefing-excerpts","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/ceasefire-in-gaza-21-may-2021-daily-press-briefing-excerpts\/","title":{"rendered":"Ceasefire in Gaza \u2013 21 May 2021 Daily Press Briefing \u2013 (Excerpts)"},"content":{"rendered":"

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC<\/strong><\/p>\n

SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANT\u00d3NIO GUTERRES<\/strong><\/p>\n

FRIDAY, 21 MAY 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

MIDDLE EAST<\/strong>
\nLast night, the Secretary-General welcomed the ceasefire that took place in Gaza and Israel, after 11 days of deadly hostilities. He extended his deepest condolences to the victims of the violence and their loved ones.
\nMr. Guterres commended Egypt and Qatar for the efforts carried out, in close coordination with the UN, to help restore calm in Gaza and Israel. He called on all sides to observe the ceasefire.<\/p>\n

The Secretary-General appealed to the international community to work with the Â鶹APP on developing an integrated, robust package of support for a swift, sustainable reconstruction and recovery that supports the Palestinian people and strengthens their institutions.<\/p>\n

He also stressed that Israeli and Palestinian leaders have a responsibility beyond the restoration of calm to start a serious dialogue to address the root causes of the conflict. Gaza is an integral part of the future Palestinian\u00a0state\u00a0and no effort should be spared to bring about a real national reconciliation that ends the division.<\/p>\n

Today, Mark Lowcock, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, allocated $4.5M from the Central Emergency Response Fund, towards the rising humanitarian needs in Gaza. This is in addition to the $14.1 million, announced earlier this week for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which comes from the central Pooled Funds for the OPT. So that total amount as of today, of money we have disbursed, is $18.6 million.<\/p>\n

A three-month inter-agency\u00a0Flash Appeal for the occupied Palestinian territory is expected next week. Strong financial support is crucial to meet needs especially in Gaza, and also the West Bank. It is also critical that the Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Fund is replenished. This is a flexible tool to quickly respond to urgent needs.<\/p>\n

Today, 13 humanitarian trucks with food, COVID-19 vaccines, medical disposables, and drugs, including emergency medicines and first aid kits, for multiple UN Agencies and NGO partners, crossed into Gaza following the partial reopening of the Kerem Shalom Crossing.<\/p>\n

The Erez crossing was also opened temporarily for senior humanitarian officials. Two of our most senior officials, Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General for UNRWA, and Lynn Hastings, the Head of the humanitarian operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Both traveled to Gaza this morning. Both Mr. Lazzarini and Ms. Hastings have been spending some time not only visiting with Gazans and examining what has happened. But they also thanked all the UN colleagues who have worked hard to help traumatized civilians under difficult and dangerous circumstances.<\/p>\n

And, following the ceasefire announcement, the number of people seeking protection in UNRWA schools has now decreased to less than 1,000. The peak was about 66,000.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Questions and Answers<\/u><\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Steph, I noticed that the Secretary\u2011General was one of many speakers to call for reviving negotiations through the Middle East Quartet for a two\u2011State solution in the Middle East, and I also noticed that the US Ambassador to the UN said that the US would work with the international community for a lasting peace, but she didn\u2019t mention the Quartet.\u00a0 So, I\u2019m wondering if you\u2019ve had any indication from the United States if they\u2019re willing to engage in that forum.<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 We continue to push to engage in that forum.\u00a0 Obviously, there are four parts to a Quartet.\u00a0 We represent one leg of that Quartet.\u00a0 Others have expressed support.\u00a0 We continue to be in touch with the Quartet envoys, and we do hope to be able to engage in that framework.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 So nothing yet from them\u2026<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Nothing to announce, no.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Can I just follow\u2011up\u2026?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Yes.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Also, you saw so much diplomacy happening here in the last week, and yesterday you mentioned it when you came in, culminating with the ceasefire agreement in the middle of this in\u2011person General Assembly meeting.\u00a0 Can you just give us some colour, maybe, in terms of the mood in the past week and the level of engagement and how\u2026\u00a0 I don\u2019t\u2026\u00a0 just what it felt like being behind the scenes here?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Look, I think you were all as behind the scenes as I was in a sense.\u00a0 I think there was certainly a buzz in the building yesterday, and I think the fact that we had both General Assembly meeting on the Middle East, we had a large number of Foreign Ministers who came, held bilaterals with the Secretary\u2011General.\u00a0 In parallel, we had these discussions going on in Doha.\u00a0 We had phone calls going on all over the world.\u00a0 Everything seemed to come together in a positive way.<\/p>\n

It also, I think, reinforces the UN in New\u00a0York as a meeting platform, right, where these conversations that are both public and private can take place.<\/p>\n

Edie?<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Thank you, Steph.\u00a0 Today, there were clashes in Jerusalem between Israeli police and Palestinians celebrating the ceasefire and worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.\u00a0 The largest Islamic Muslim organization in the United States has called for condemnation.\u00a0 What is the Secretary\u2011General\u2019s reaction to these clashes less than 24 hours after a ceasefire?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 I mean, we\u2019re, obviously, very concerned about the continuing tensions that we\u2019ve seen today in occupied East Jerusalem, particularly in and around the Old City.\u00a0 It\u2019s very important that, I think, everyone honour the sanctity of the Holy Sites in the Old City, refrain from any provocation that could escalate tensions.<\/p>\n

As you mentioned, this comes just a few hours after the ceasefire.\u00a0 So, it\u2019s important for everyone to show restraint and that the status quo at the Holy Sites must be respected.<\/p>\n

And I think\u2026\u00a0 in these situations, I think both political leaders, religious leaders have a responsibility to speak out against anyone who disrupts peace, and we should all stand firmly against incitement and violence, especially in such a tense environment.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Just a bit of a follow\u2011up to Kristen\u2019s question about the Quartet, does the Secretary\u2011General view the Quartet as sort of the best avenue to try and revive these talks?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Look, I think there are a lot of avenues.\u00a0 There are a lot of different tools.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to\u2026\u00a0 I\u2019m not a ranking person.\u00a0 There are other\u2026\u00a0 there are different formats.\u00a0 The Quartet, I think, is a critical entity in that it brings together these four important parties who have been involved in the process for a long time.\u00a0 It represents, in a sense, the large part of the international community.\u00a0 It has served\u2026\u00a0 I think it has served a positive purpose in the past, and it can continue to do that.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 And the Russian Foreign Minister was, last week, pushing for a ministerial meeting of the Quartet.\u00a0 Are there any dates under discussion?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Not that\u2026\u00a0 I mean, I\u2019m not aware\u2026\u00a0 I\u2019m not in a position to confirm any dates.\u00a0 Mr. Barada?<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 And just one\u2026\u00a0 One more quick one?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Go\u2026\u00a0 yeah.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 It\u2019s Friday.\u00a0 One more quick one.\u00a0 The US Ambassador, yesterday, in her statement, made a point of saying any aid that is given to help Gaza should go to the Palestinian people and not Hamas.\u00a0 Could you just sort of remind us of the UN\u2019s involvement, I guess, with Hamas and how they ensure that aid finds the right people?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Well, our aid is distributed by the UN entities who are working directly on the ground.\u00a0 Our main\u2026\u00a0 our interlocutor, for anything official, is, obviously, the Palestinian Authority, but we distribute aid, for the most part, directly.\u00a0 And I think what\u2019s important to note is that all the aid that goes out\u2026\u00a0 the monies and aid that goes out through the UN is clearly tracked and audited throughout the process.<\/p>\n

Abdelhamid?<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Thank you, St\u00e9phane.\u00a0 I have a couple of questions, as well, and one of the questions Edie took it from me, as always.<\/p>\n

Okay.\u00a0 In the past, St\u00e9phane, in the Israeli attack on Gaza in 2008\u20112009, the US did\u2026\u00a0 sorry.\u00a0 The UN did an internal investigation of attacks on new UNRWA schools.\u00a0 Similar happened in 2014 when the UN also conducted an internal investigation of the damage that [was] endured by new UNRWA schools.\u00a0 Is the UN doing similar investigation of the damage that could be inflicted on UN properties and UN schools this time?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 I mean, obviously, now that the dust has settled, as I told you, our senior officials are on the ground in\u2026\u00a0 [cell phone interruption]<\/p>\n

Correspondent<\/u>:\u00a0 Sorry.<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 It\u2019s okay.\u00a0 Now that the dust has settled, as I mentioned, our\u2026\u00a0 two of our senior\u2011most officials in the region are on the ground.\u00a0 We\u2019re, obviously, looking at what has happened, what has been\u2026\u00a0 what is damaged.\u00a0 When there is anything more official to share, and if there is, I will flag that to you.<\/p>\n

You had a second question?<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Yes, I do.\u00a0 During the Israeli aggression in Gaza, which lasted for 11 days, 30 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank.\u00a0 These 30 Palestinian killed had not been mentioned in any statement, or there was no separate focus on those civilians killed in the West Bank, including a young woman in Hebron.\u00a0 Why is that?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 I think we did\u2026\u00a0 first of all, I think we did refer to events in the West Bank, and I think we were very clear on condemning the loss of life of all civilians.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 And my last question\u2026\u00a0 The Europeans now are talking about maybe \u2014 that\u2019s what they said \u2014 dealing directly with Hamas in order to achieve maybe some comprehensive peace.\u00a0 Does the Secretary\u2011General share this view?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Well, I mean, we were very clear and we announced, I think, yesterday \u2014 I can\u2019t remember what day we are \u2014 I think, yesterday morning, I mentioned that Mr. [Tor] Wennesland had been in Doha and had been speaking to Hamas representatives, and that\u2019s part of his job in trying to be part of that group that help settle this\u2026\u00a0 the cessation of hostilities, the ceasefire.\u00a0 You need to talk to the people who are involved in the firing if you\u2019re going to get a ceasefire.<\/p>\n

Correspondent<\/u>:\u00a0 Thank you.<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Ali, I think I passed you over, Mr. Barada, and then we\u2019ll go to Mr. Sato.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Thank you, St\u00e9phane.\u00a0 So, there are a lot of calls now for cooperation with the Â鶹APP to provide aid to the Palestinians and to provide the construction assistance.\u00a0 Should that happen, as the Secretary\u2011General believes, through the Security Council? \u00a0Is there a need for a product from the Security Council?<\/p>\n

And I have a question, if you have any UN\u2011verified information about how many children were killed on both sides.<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 For your last question, I think I would refer you to our human rights colleagues, who may have some updated figures.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have\u2026\u00a0 sorry.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have that right in front of me, but I know our human rights colleagues have produced updates, as I think our humanitarian affairs colleagues have.<\/p>\n

On your first question, I think I need to kind of separate the two.\u00a0 We would always welcome a strong voice from the Security Council to help cement what has been achieved, which is a ceasefire and lay a vision for the road ahead, for renewed political dialogue, leading to a two\u2011state solution.<\/p>\n

On the humanitarian end, the ball is moving.\u00a0 As you saw, we released today some more funds, have a flash appeal in the middle of next week.\u00a0 Obviously, our OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) colleagues, UNRWA and all the others will be speaking to donors.\u00a0 So, that\u2019s part of our ongoing existing mandate.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Just if you\u2026\u00a0 if I may follow up, so, there are a lot of civilians who were killed in this conflict, and I wonder whether the SG would call for any kind of accountability, since he was always warning that there should be a respect\u2026\u00a0 full respect for international humanitarian law.\u00a0 And I want to ask specifically about that building which was housing our colleagues in AP and Al\u00a0Jazeera and other media outlets.\u00a0 It was targeted and whether anything should be done regarding that building.<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 When\u2026\u00a0 I mean, on that building, I think the Secretary\u2011General expressed his opinion even yesterday, again, in the General Assembly.\u00a0 Whenever civilians are killed, whenever civilian infrastructure is destroyed, there needs to be accountability.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Thank you, St\u00e9phane.\u00a0 Good to see you again.\u00a0 So, my question about Palestine and also Myanmar, which you just mentioned.\u00a0 So, first of all, as for the ceasefire, even though the ceasefire has just announced, but even in New\u00a0York, there are some conflict between the Israel supporters and Palestinian supporters last night, and there was some conflict.\u00a0 And also, there supposed to be some protests in\u2026\u00a0 scheduled in the\u2026\u00a0 this weekend.\u00a0 What can Secretary\u2011General say about these hostilities still going on between the two parties?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Well, we\u2019ve seen some reports of demonstrations in New\u00a0York.\u00a0 I think, first of all, people have a right to express themselves freely, but it is very important that there be no violence and extremely important that there be no hate speech in any way, shape or form, anything that would just make the situation worse.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Thank you, St\u00e9phane.\u00a0 Yes, going back to the Israeli\u2011Palestinian conflict.\u00a0 Well, we all know this is the oldest actually of the UN, you know? The partition resolutions, all this one.\u00a0 We are here looking at\u00a0deja\u00a0vu<\/em>,\u00a0deja\u00a0vu<\/em>,\u00a0deja\u00a0vu<\/em>.<\/p>\n

So, my question is, after this, we all happy a ceasefire, but what\u2026\u00a0 does the Secretary\u2011General that is looking for his second mandate, does he has\u2026\u00a0 does he have a plan, something, to change the history of this conflict that we having every three, four, five years?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 If he had a magical rabbit out of his hat, I don\u2019t think he would have waited for the second mandate to pull it out, should he even get it.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to prejudge anything.\u00a0 But I think what\u2019s important \u2014 and it\u2019s what the Secretary\u2011General himself said yesterday \u2014 is that we use this opportunity, yet again, to actually address the fundamental political issues that need to be addressed.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re right.\u00a0 We\u2019ve been dealing with this issue for quite some time.\u00a0 The end goal is laid out in various Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions.<\/p>\n

The international community needs to do whatever it can to support the parties in getting to that goal, to support the parties in getting in political discussions.\u00a0 The international community should do that and avoid any action or speech that would move us away from that goal.<\/p>\n

Okay.\u00a0 Mr. Varma?<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Sorry.\u00a0 And\u2026\u00a0 sorry, but\u2026\u00a0 can I do just a quick\u2026\u00a0 just a quick follow\u2011up?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Yes.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 I\u2019m just saying that\u2026\u00a0 what I was trying to say is, isn\u2019t it time for bold \u2014 bold \u2014 action by the Secretary\u2011General of the Â鶹APP?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 At the end of the day, the bold action will have to come from the parties themselves.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s fine.\u00a0 That\u2019s fine.\u00a0 Have a great weekend.\u00a0 See you Friday\u2026\u00a0 see you Monday. \u00a0Yeah.<\/p>\n

For information media. Not an official record.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANT\u00d3NIO GUTERRES FRIDAY, 21 MAY 2021 MIDDLE EAST Last night, the Secretary-General welcomed the ceasefire that took place in Gaza and Israel, after 11 days of deadly hostilities. He extended his deepest condolences to the victims of the violence and their loved ones. Mr. […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"template-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2573],"document-source":[5352,6169,1817,2609],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[2517,1769,1945,2265,2005,2533,5200,2613,2729],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[],"class_list":["post-252437","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-highlights-of-the-noon-briefing","document-source-secretary-general","document-source-united-nations-department-of-global-communications","document-source-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-unrwa","document-source-united-nations-resident-and-humanitarian-coordinator-for-the-opt","document-subject-access-and-movement","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-ceasefire","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-health","document-subject-humanitarian-relief","document-subject-internally-displaced-persons","document-subject-shelter","entity-united-nations-system"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/252437","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\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/252437\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=252437"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=252437"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=252437"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=252437"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=252437"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=252437"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=252437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}