{"id":254751,"date":"2021-06-24T11:09:13","date_gmt":"2021-06-24T15:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=254751"},"modified":"2021-06-29T11:13:36","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T15:13:36","slug":"security-council-briefing-death-of-palestinian-activist-in-detention-use-of-rubber-coated-bullets-restrictions-on-gaza-rebuilding-aid-24-june-2021-daily-press-briefing-excerpts","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/security-council-briefing-death-of-palestinian-activist-in-detention-use-of-rubber-coated-bullets-restrictions-on-gaza-rebuilding-aid-24-june-2021-daily-press-briefing-excerpts\/","title":{"rendered":"Security Council Briefing, Death of Palestinian Activist in Detention, Use of Rubber-coated Bullets, Restrictions on Gaza Rebuilding Aid \u2013 24 June 2021 Daily Press Briefing \u2013 (Excerpts)"},"content":{"rendered":"

24 JUNE 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today\u2019s noon briefing by St\u00e9phane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Middle East<\/u><\/p>\n

Back here, Tor Wennesland, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process,\u00a0told the Security Council today<\/a>\u00a0that the cessation of hostilities reached last month between Israel and Hamas remains very fragile.\u00a0 He said the UN is working closely with all concerned parties and partners, including Egypt, to solidify a ceasefire, allow the entry of urgent humanitarian assistance and stabilize the situation in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0Wennesland urged all sides to refrain from unilateral steps and provocations, to take steps to reduce tensions, and to allow these efforts to succeed.<\/p>\n

He also said that recent weeks have witnessed an alarming increase in the level of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, including hostilities between Israel and factions in Gaza at a scale and intensity not seen in years.\u00a0 He is especially concerned by the attempt to exploit the sensitive status of Jerusalem and to use it to justify a broader armed conflict.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

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

\/..<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Thanks, Steph.\u00a0 On the briefing today\u2026 so the UN Envoy talked about also that today or yesterday, a Palestinian activist and parliamentary candidate, Nizar Banat, was pronounced dead, hours after being arrested by Palestinian Security Forces.\u00a0 Do you\u2026 at house in Hebron.\u00a0 So Mr.\u00a0Banat\u2026 Banat was actually also very well-known to many Palestinians, because he also posted a lot of videos about corruption regarding the Palestinian Authority, and this is\u2026 that was not the first time that he was attacked.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t live in his house for the last two months, according to his wife in an interview with my colleagues on the ground.<\/p>\n

Do you have more to say on that?\u00a0 And do you believe that this should be investigated?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Yes, I think Mr.\u00a0Wennesland said it very clearly.\u00a0 He was deeply concerned by the death of Nizar Banat and called for, clearly for an independent and transparent investigation.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Now, a follow-up\u2026 the problem with such investigations, is that they are, whether\u2026 when such attack happens, whether by Israeli forces or by Palestinian Authority or anybody, that when such investigations happens, it happens from the same bodies that did these human rights violations.\u00a0 So, do you see a problem there, that these investigations could be not independent and not transparent, et cetera?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 I\u2026 you know, first of all, Governments have the primary responsibility for protecting civilians, for ensuring their respect for human rights.\u00a0 And they should have the capacity to run independent investigations, right, outside of those services which are\u2026 which may have been involved in the initial incident.\u00a0 It is their primary responsibility, and Governments everywhere have a responsibility to ensure that the results are made public.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 A follow-up on this report.\u00a0 In many of his statements and in many\u2026 a lot of times, when he talks about Palestinians being killed by Israeli forces, often, he uses the term \u201creportedly attempting to carry out an attack\u201d, or stabbing, etc., but we do not know actually if\u2026 I assume that this is the Israeli position, or this is how the Israelis are reporting about such attacks or incidents, in which Palestinians are killed.<\/p>\n

My question to you why\u2026 if you are not able to verify\u2026 first of all why don\u2019t you include also the position of the families, how their loved one were killed by Israeli forces?\u00a0 And why it\u2019s not clear whether you can verify or not verify such incidents?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Well, we try to verify things inasmuch as we\u2019re able to.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have\u2026 you know, whether it\u2019s there or in many other places, we don\u2019t actually have a mandate to actually run our own investigations, so we work with partners, with all interested parties and try to get as much information as we can and report back with the information that we feel that we have confidence is close enough to the reality.<\/p>\n

Correspondent<\/u>:\u00a0 That is very often in these cases that you are taking the Israeli official position and that\u2019s\u2026 [cross talk]<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 I think if you look at the body of reports, I think, that have been produced to the Security Council, we report back to the best of our ability on incidents wherever they occur.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Thank you, St\u00e9phane.\u00a0 Follow-up on Ibtisam\u2019s question.\u00a0 Mr.\u00a0Wennesland also said in his briefing today that the Israeli\u2026 or 66\u00a0Palestinians, including 12\u00a0children, were injured by rubber bullets, and we know, or at least many activists from the ground and Palestinians believe that there is nothing called \u201crubber bullets\u201d, because these are bullets, actual bullets, covered by rubber.\u00a0 So, what do you mean when you say, \u201crubber bullets\u201d?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 The term \u201crubber bullets\u201d is one that is commonly used as referring to\u2026 like you said, that are bullets coated in rubber.<\/p>\n

We have condemned the use of disproportionate force against children, against unarmed demonstrators, but I think the reports\u2026 you know, Mr.\u00a0Wennesland\u2019s report speaks for itself.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have anything else to add to it.<\/p>\n

Correspondent<\/u>:\u00a0 Because many people believe it\u2019s not an accurate term.<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 I hear you.\u00a0 It is a term that is used in referring to that type of ammunition commonly across the world.\u00a0 I can look to see if we can use another nomenclature, but I hear what you say.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 And also another question, if I may, also on this.\u00a0 The US Ambassador said in the Council today that we need a mechanism, which allows authorities to mitigate any risk of diversion\u2026 she means in Gaza.\u00a0 Is the UN working on such a mechanism?\u00a0 Mr.\u00a0Wennesland working on it?\u00a0 Are you part of it?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 If you\u2019ll recall, I think Lynne Hastings, when she briefed you, and I think it probably wouldn\u2019t be bad to get her back here, is that there is already a mechanism when it comes to aid provided by the UN of inspection and verification.\u00a0 This is something that had been put in, if I\u2019m not mistaken, after 2014\u2026 after the conflict in 2014, and that system still exists.\u00a0 Aid that comes through the UN is tracked in a very transparent manner.<\/p>\n

Okay, Abdelhamid.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Thank you.\u00a0 I might have missed the question of Ibtisam, and I want to ask again about Nizar Banat and to see if the SG was briefed about this heinous crime committed by the PA (Palestinian Authority).\u00a0 What you can tell me about this?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 I mean, I would refer\u2026 the Secretary-General is very much aware of the situation.\u00a0 He fully backs Mr.\u00a0Wennesland, who spoke on his behalf in the Security Council and spoke about it in his remarks to the Council.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Yeah, I have a question now about the statement given by Mr.\u00a0Wennesland to the Security Council.\u00a0 He mentioned that\u2026 he called for Hamas to release two Israeli soldiers after captive\u2026 captive in Hamas prisons and two bodies.\u00a0 And he also asked Israel to release the Palestinian bodies, for a long time.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t mention the number.\u00a0 Why is that?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 He didn\u2019t mention what?<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Why he didn\u2019t mention the number of bodies kept by Israeli forces?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 We can\u2026<\/p>\n

Correspondent<\/u>:\u00a0 [inaudible]<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Okay.\u00a0 I understand.\u00a0 I can\u2019t answer your question, because I don\u2019t have that knowledge.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Okay.\u00a0 My second question is\u2026 also said that Israel should observe international humanitarian law governing armed conflict.\u00a0 So, is he qualifying what happened in the last\u2026 in May as armed conflict between two equal groups?\u00a0 Armed conflict is between two armies, between two countries.\u00a0 Why he used this term, \u201carmed conflict\u201d?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Because there was an armed conflict.<\/p>\n

Correspondent<\/u>:\u00a0 But there wasn\u2019t aggression.\u00a0 There was\u2026 Gaza is under siege\u2026 [cross talk]<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 I mean\u2026 we\u2019re not\u2026 I\u2019m not\u2026 I mean, I\u2019m not going to start analysing the roots in how far you want to go back.\u00a0 It seems pretty obvious to me, as sitting here in New York, looking at a picture, that it was an armed conflict.<\/p>\n

Correspondent<\/u>:\u00a0 But that term means that two equal armies, two equal States, two equal\u2026 [cross talk]<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 That\u2019s what you infer from it.\u00a0 I infer from it that there were\u2026 there was a conflict and arms were used and violence [was] used and civilians suffered.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

For information media. Not an official record.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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