![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/UN-Security-Council.jpg\")
A wide view of the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.<\/p><\/div>\n
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<\/p>\n
9 January 2024<\/p>\n
…<\/p>\n
Middle East<\/u><\/p>\n
Question of Palestine<\/strong><\/p>\n Meetings:\u00a05 January<\/a>,\u00a018 January<\/a>,\u00a020 February<\/a>,\u00a022 March<\/a>,\u00a025 April<\/a>,\u00a024 May<\/a>,\u00a027 June<\/a>,\u00a027 July<\/a>,\u00a021 August<\/a>,\u00a027 September<\/a>,\u00a016 October<\/a>,\u00a018 October<\/a>,\u00a018 October<\/a>,\u00a024 October<\/a>,\u00a025 October<\/a>,\u00a030 October<\/a>,\u00a031 October<\/a>,\u00a010 November<\/a>,\u00a015 November<\/a>,\u00a022 November<\/a>,\u00a029 November<\/a>,\u00a08 December<\/a>,\u00a08 December<\/a>,\u00a019 December<\/a>,\u00a021 December<\/a>,\u00a029 December<\/a>.<\/p>\n Resolutions:\u00a02712<\/a>,\u00a02720<\/a>.\u00a0 Not adopted:\u00a0772<\/a>,\u00a0795<\/a>.\u00a0Vetoed:\u00a0773<\/a>,\u00a0792<\/a>,\u00a0970<\/a>.<\/p>\n Presidential Statements:\u00a0S\/PRST\/2023\/1<\/a>.<\/p>\n The year 2023 proved to be the deadliest for Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since the UN began recording fatalities in\u00a02005.\u00a0 With a new coalition Government in Israel accelerating settlement activity, the Council proceeded with monthly meetings on the Palestinian Question that managed rather than solve the intractable conflict.\u00a0 However, the events of 7\u00a0October, when Hamas fighters invaded Israel, killing 1,200\u00a0people and taking 240\u00a0hostages, disrupted that paradigm.\u00a0 As Israel commenced retaliatory military operations, with catastrophic results to civilians and civilian infrastructure, the 15-nation organ proved slow to react publicly and when it met to act, its efforts were stymied by a lack of consensus, as borne out by multiple vetoes and non-adoptions.<\/p>\n Following Israel\u2019s new Minister for National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir\u2019s visit on 3\u00a0January to holy sites in Jerusalem within days of his appointment, on\u00a05\u00a0January<\/strong>, the Council was briefed by Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, who said the visit was particularly inflammatory, given the Minister\u2019s past advocacy for changes to the status quo.\u00a0 The Palestinian Authority had condemned the visit, while Israel\u2019s Prime Minister, as well as senior Government officials, emphasized commitment to upholding the status quo, he noted.\u00a0 Still, he warned that any incident or tension at the holy sites could spill over and cause violence throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in Israel and elsewhere in the region.<\/p>\n Briefing the Council at a quarterly open debate on the Palestinian Question on\u00a018\u00a0January,\u00a0<\/strong>Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said that the dangerous cycle of violence that continued to persist amid increased political tensions and a long-stalled peace process, was extracting a \u201cdevastating toll\u201d.\u00a0 The global community must not lose sight of the ultimate goal:\u00a0to end the occupation, resolve the conflict and realize a two-State solution, he said, emphasizing:\u00a0\u201cPreventing more loss of life and reversing negative trends on the ground must be our collective priority.\u201d<\/p>\n On\u00a020 February<\/strong>\u00a0the Council adopted a presidential statement \u2014 its first on the issue in more than eight years \u2014 expressing its deep concern and dismay with Israel\u2019s 12\u00a0February announcement of further expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.\u00a0 It also reiterated that continuing Israeli settlement activities were dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-State solution based on the 1967\u00a0lines.\u00a0 Mr.\u00a0Wennesland told the Council that the recent surge in violence included some of the deadliest incidents in nearly 20\u00a0years and called for responsible leadership to match security efforts with political steps that could halt the negative slide.\u00a0 Leni Stenseth, Deputy Commissioner-General of the Â鶹APP Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East\u00a0(UNRWA), observed that competing global priorities and shifting regional dynamics had \u201calmost annihilated\u201d any remaining attention to the plight of Palestine refugees as the political, socioeconomic and security conditions surrounding them continued to deteriorate and violence in the West Bank hampered UNRWA operations.\u00a0 Moreso, although UNRWA remained one of the few standing pillars of stability in the Middle East, the lack of funding put it in an impossible situation.<\/p>\n Mr. Wennesland, returning to the Council on\u00a022\u00a0March<\/strong>\u00a0during the converging Ramadan, Easter and Passover holidays, called for the status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem to be respected at a \u201choly and sensitive time\u201d for the region\u2019s three major religions.\u00a0 He spotlighted two diplomatic meetings, including the first in Aqaba, Jordan, where senior officials from Jordan, Egypt, Israel, State of Palestine and the United States committed to de-escalating the situation on the ground and preventing further violence, including by upholding the status quo at the holy sites.\u00a0 \u201cIf implemented, the steps outlined in Aqaba would be an important start to reversing negative trends on the ground,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n On\u00a025\u00a0April<\/strong>, during a quarterly open debate, Mr.\u00a0Wennesland reported on events that began on 4\u00a0and 5\u00a0April, when Israeli security forces entered the al-Qibli prayer hall of the Aqsa Mosque compound and forcibly removed Palestinians who were barricaded inside.\u00a0Describing the incidents of violence that followed in the occupied West Bank, including the killing by Israeli security forces of 17\u00a0Palestinians, including 2\u00a0children, and the injuring of 4\u00a0women and 38\u00a0children, he expressed concern about the uptick in violence and inflammatory actions.\u00a0 He called for the status quo of holy sites to be respected and for security forces to exercise maximum restraint, adding:\u00a0 \u201cI am appalled that children continue to be the victims of violence.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Wennesland briefed the 15-nation organ on\u00a024\u00a0May<\/strong>, after another deadly surge in violence on 9\u00a0May following the death of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader from an 86-day hunger strike in an Israeli jail.\u00a0 In an exchange of air strikes and rocket launches, 10\u00a0Palestinian civilians were killed and more than 1,100\u00a0others were displaced.\u00a0 While a ceasefire \u2014 reached on 13\u00a0May \u2014 was holding, he said that both sides must engage to reset a trajectory out of the cycle of violence, adding:\u00a0 \u201cThis escalation compounded the already dire humanitarian situation in the Strip.\u201d<\/p>\n On\u00a027\u00a0June<\/strong>, Mr.\u00a0Wennesland warned the Council that deepening occupation, settlement-expansion, high levels of violence against civilians and the absence of a political horizon were rapidly eroding hope among Palestinians and Israelis.\u00a0 Citing the recent approval of amendments by the Israeli Government to its settlement-planning procedures that could expedite advancement of settlement plans, he expressed alarm over the \u201cextreme levels of settler violence\u201d, recalling that, as the occupying Power, Israel has an obligation to protect Palestinians and their property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.\u00a0 \u201cThe choice is clear:\u00a0 either continue along the downward spiral of violence and provocations leading to a political vacuum; or turn towards constructive dialogue linked to concrete actions that can create hope,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n Mr. Khiari returned to the Council on\u00a027\u00a0July<\/strong>, amid a deterioration in the situation in the occupied West Bank, following military operations by Israeli security forces in Jenin refugee camp on 3\u00a0and 4\u00a0July, in which 12\u00a0Palestinians, including 4\u00a0children, were killed and more than 140\u00a0injured \u2014 the most in a single operation in the West Bank since the Â鶹APP began tracking casualties in\u00a02005.\u00a0 Reporting that, from 27\u00a0June through 24\u00a0July, 25\u00a0Palestinians were killed, while, according to Israel, two Israeli security forces personnel were killed, he stressed:\u00a0 \u201cThis deterioration is taking place alongside ongoing unilateral steps that undermine a two-State solution, the absence of a peace process and the continuing economic challenges facing Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority.\u201d<\/p>\n On\u00a021\u00a0August<\/strong>, Mr.\u00a0Wennesland reported that Palestinians and Israelis were being killed and injured in incidents of near-daily violence, with the year\u2019s fatalities already surpassing 2022\u2019s annual figures.\u00a0The lack of progress towards a political horizon had left a dangerous, volatile vacuum filled with extremists on both sides, he warned.\u00a0 As well, he expressed concern over the Palestinian Authority\u2019s dire fiscal situation and the funding shortages faced by UN agencies, which threatened to worsen the plight of the most vulnerable Palestinians.\u00a0 Providing an update on settlement-expansion, which continued unabated, he called on Israeli authorities to end demolitions of Palestinian-owned property and the displacement and eviction of Palestinians, and to approve plans that would enable them to build legally and address their development needs.<\/p>\n Settlement-expansion took centre stage again on\u00a027\u00a0September,\u00a0<\/strong>with Mr.\u00a0Wenneslandreporting that such activities had been expedited, following plans advanced by Israeli authorities for 6,300\u00a0housing units in West Bank\u2019s Area\u00a0C \u2014 administered by Israel \u2014 and 3,580\u00a0housing units in East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel in\u00a01980.\u00a0 As a result, many Palestinians, including children, were leaving their communities, citing violence by settlers and shrinking grazing land.\u00a0 Stating that 68\u00a0Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces and 10\u00a0Israelis by Palestinians over the previous weeks, he echoed Â鶹APP Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u2019 call on the Government of Israel to cease settlement activity and the demolition and seizure of Palestinian structures.<\/p>\n On 7 October, fighters from Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups crossed over into southern Israel, launching \u201cOperation al-Aqsa Deluge\u201d, killing 1,200\u00a0Israelis and foreign nationals and returning to Gaza, taking 240\u00a0civilians and soldiers hostage.\u00a0On the same day, Israel\u2019s Security Cabinet declared a state of war, launching \u201cOperation Swords of Iron\u201d, targeting 5,000\u00a0locations across Gaza, which they said were Hamas sites.\u00a0 The Council met on 8\u00a0October in consultations, but it would take another eight days for them to hold the first public meeting.\u00a0 At that point, Israel had announced a complete siege of Gaza, blocking all entry of goods, including electricity, water, food and fuel.\u00a0 On 13\u00a0October, more than a million Gazans in the north of the Strip were told to leave their homes within 24\u00a0hours through paper notices that dropped from the sky.<\/p>\n Nine days into Israel\u2019s retaliatory bombardment of Gaza, the Council convened several times in a single week, to discuss the issue and attempt \u2014 unsuccessfully \u2014 to take action, including on\u00a016\u00a0October<\/strong>, when it failed to adopt a draft resolution put forth by the Russian Federation, which would have called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.\u00a0Receiving five votes in favour (China, Gabon, Mozambique, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates), four delegations \u2014 including those of two permanent members \u2014 voted against it (France, Japan, United Kingdom, United States), while the six remaining members (Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Malta, Switzerland) abstained.\u00a0 Following the vote, the United States\u2019 delegate stressed that it was the Council\u2019s responsibility to address the crisis, unequivocally condemn Hamas and support Israel\u2019s right to self-defence under the Charter of the Â鶹APP.\u00a0 The United Kingdom\u2019s delegate added she could not support a document that failed to\u00a0condemn\u00a0Hamas\u2019 attacks.\u00a0 Israel\u2019s delegate urged the Council to support his country\u2019s right to defend itself for its self-preservation.\u00a0 Meanwhile, the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine, pointing to Gaza\u2019s collapsed humanitarian and health system, as well as the displacement of 1\u00a0million people, called on the Council to be guided by international law, with no exception or exceptionalism.<\/p>\n On\u00a018\u00a0October<\/strong>, in the aftermath of an attack on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip that killed hundreds of people, including civilians and health-care workers, the Council, due to a veto cast by the United States, failed to adopt a resolution put forth by Brazil\u2019s delegation that would have called for humanitarian pauses to allow full, safe and unhindered access for Â鶹APP agencies.\u00a0 However, the text garnered the support of 12\u00a0Council members, including two permanent members (China, France), with two other permanent members (United Kingdom, Russian Federation) abstaining.\u00a0 Brazil\u2019s representative, voicing regret that the Council was yet again unable to adopt a resolution on the conflict, stressed that hundreds of thousands of civilians in Gaza, having waited for far too long to no avail, could not wait any longer.\u00a0 Meanwhile, the United States\u2019 delegate, pointing to President Joseph R. Biden\u2019s trip to the region, said that the Council needed to let her country\u2019s diplomacy \u201cplay out\u201d.<\/p>\n Meeting a second time on\u00a018\u00a0October<\/strong>, the Council heard from Mr.\u00a0Wennesland, who expressed fear that the world was at the brink of a dangerous abyss that could change the trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, if not the entire Middle East.\u00a0 Condemning the massacre by Hamas on 7\u00a0October and calling for efforts to end the ongoing hostilities, he warned that the risk of the conflict\u2019s expansion was very real and extremely dangerous.\u00a0 Highlighting his diplomatic engagements with leaders in Egypt to facilitate humanitarian assistance through Rafah crossing, he stressed the need for a long-term political solution as the only way to end the violence and reiterated that \u201cperpetual management of conflict without addressing underlying issues\u201d was not sustainable.\u00a0 The Council also heard from Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, who voiced horror at the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip and echoed calls for a fact-based inquiry on the incident.\u00a0 In the 11\u00a0days since 7\u00a0October, more than 3,000\u00a0people in Gaza had been killed, including 15\u00a0UNRWA staff and Red Cross and Red Crescent personnel, while 1\u00a0million people had fled their homes.\u00a0Essential supplies, including fuel, food, water and medical items were running low, he said, calling for safe humanitarian access and a ceasefire to ease \u201cepic human suffering\u201d.<\/p>\n During a day-long ministerial debate on\u00a024\u00a0October<\/strong>, Secretary-General Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire, for humanitarian aid without restrictions, for civilians and hospitals to be protected, and for the inviolability of UN facilities sheltering more than 600,000\u00a0Palestinians to be respected.\u00a0 \u201cEven war has rules,\u201d he declared, adding that no party to an armed conflict was above international humanitarian law.\u00a0 Mr.\u00a0Wennesland reported that the Israeli\u2019s ensuing air assault in the Strip had killed 5,000\u00a0Palestinians, including over 1,100\u00a0women, 2,000\u00a0children as well as journalists, medical workers and first responders; over 1\u00a0million Palestinians had been displaced.\u00a0 Lynn Hastings, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, cited figures that at least 42\u00a0per\u00a0cent of all housing units in the Strip had been destroyed or damaged.\u00a0 As well, hospitals were on the brink of collapse, with doctors operating without anaesthesia, while 16\u00a0health workers had been killed on duty.\u00a0 She called on Israel to bring back water and electricity supplies, to work with her team to bring fuel into Gaza and for the opening of crossings for the movement of goods and people.<\/p>\n The following day, on\u00a025\u00a0October<\/strong>, the Council met again to address the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, failing to adopt two competing draft resolutions.\u00a0 The first, from the United States, which would have condemned the terrorist attacks by Hamas on 7\u00a0October, called for the release of hostages, reaffirmed the rights of States to self-defence and called for humanitarian pauses, was defeated by a vote of 10\u00a0in favour to 3\u00a0against (China, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates), with 2\u00a0abstentions (Brazil, Mozambique).\u00a0 The second, by the Russian Federation, which would have called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, condemned all violence and hostilities against civilians, condemned Hamas\u2019 7\u00a0October attacks and the taking of civilian hostages, and urged the rescission of the order for civilians and UN staff to evacuate all northern Gaza and relocate to the south, was also defeated by a vote of 4\u00a0in favour (China, Gabon, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates) and 2\u00a0against (United Kingdom, United States), with 9\u00a0abstentions (Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Switzerland).<\/p>\n On\u00a030\u00a0October<\/strong>, the Council was briefed by Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, who described the Israel Defense Forces\u2019 bombardment of the Strip \u201cshocking\u201d and the unfolding human tragedy \u201cunbearable\u201d.\u00a0Pointing out that nearly 3,200\u00a0children had been killed in Gaza in just three weeks, he warned:\u00a0 \u201cAn entire population is being dehumanized.\u201d\u00a0Catherine Russell, Executive Director of the Â鶹APP Children\u2019s Fund\u00a0(UNICEF), reported that more than 420\u00a0children were being killed or injured in Gaza each day \u2014 \u201ca number which should shake each of us to our core\u201d.\u00a0 Lisa Doughten, Director of the Humanitarian Financing and Resource Mobilization Division, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, speaking on behalf of Mr.\u00a0Griffiths, voiced concern about allegations of military installations close to hospitals and Israel\u2019s request that hospitals be evacuated.\u00a0 However, she pointed out:\u00a0 \u201cThere is nowhere safe for patients to go, and for those on life support and babies in incubators, moving would almost certainly be a death sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n As bombardments intensified in northern Gaza and Israeli ground forces reportedly encircled four hospitals, including Al-Shifa hospital, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) on\u00a010\u00a0November<\/strong>\u00a0told the Council that the situation in hospitals in Gaza was \u201cimpossible to describe\u201d, with corridors crammed with the injured, the sick and the dying, morgues overflowing and surgical procedures conducted without anaesthesia.\u00a0 Since 7\u00a0October, WHO verified more than 250\u00a0attacks on health-care facilities in Gaza and the West Bank, in addition to 25\u00a0attacks on similar sites in Israel.\u00a0 The Council also heard from Marwan Jilani, Director General of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, who, citing attacks on four hospitals in Gaza over the previous 24\u00a0hours, said they were being deliberately targeted in a desperate attempt to force the civilian population out.\u00a0 \u201cDisplaced people at the hospital are getting shot at, as we speak,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n On\u00a015\u00a0November<\/strong>, the Council adopted resolution\u00a02712\u00a0(2023) by a vote of 12\u00a0in favour to none against, with 3\u00a0abstentions (Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States), by which it called for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors through the Gaza Strip to facilitate the provision of essential goods and services.\u00a0On the same day, the Israel Defense Forces stormed Al-Shifa hospital, in search of what it said were tunnels used by Hamas beneath the complex.\u00a0 It withdrew nine days later, stating that it had destroyed them.<\/p>\n Less than a week later, on\u00a022\u00a0November<\/strong>, the Council heard from several senior UN officials who described the disastrous impact of the ongoing war in Gaza on women and children.\u00a0 Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director of the Â鶹APP Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women\u00a0(UN-Women) pointed out that 67\u00a0per\u00a0cent of the more than 14,000\u00a0people killed in Gaza since 7\u00a0October were women and children.\u00a0 Describing the plight of pregnant women and mothers, she said:\u00a0\u201cWomen in Gaza have told us that they pray for peace, but that if peace does not come, they pray for a quick death, in their sleep, with their children in their arms.\u201d\u00a0 Meanwhile, Ms.\u00a0Russell called for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, stating that pauses were not enough for children to survive.\u00a0 The Council also heard from Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund\u00a0(UNFPA), who reported that 5,500\u00a0pregnant women were expected to give birth in December in Gaza amidst destruction and fear, as well as multiple health risks, due to overcrowded conditions and insufficient clean water and sanitation.<\/p>\n The Council held a ministerial-level meeting on\u00a029\u00a0November<\/strong>\u00a0that coincided with the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.\u00a0 Briefing the 15-nation organ, Secretary-General Guterres stated: \u00a0\u201cIn a matter of weeks, a far greater number of children have been killed by Israeli military operations in Gaza than the total number of children killed during any year, by any party to a conflict, since I have been Secretary-General.\u201d\u00a0 Recalling resolution\u00a02712\u00a0(2023), and its demand about international law obligations regarding the protection of civilians, especially children, he underscored the importance of a true humanitarian ceasefire, as well as the two-State solution.\u00a0 Mr.\u00a0Wennesland welcomed the agreement to pause the fighting and secure the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, while emphasizing the need for a political and security framework to end the fighting between Israel and Hamas.\u00a0He also emphasized the need to stabilize the situation in occupied West Bank, where intensified settler violence was inflaming tensions displacing more Palestinians, warning:\u00a0 \u201cThe situation is boiling and getting worse rapidly.\u201d<\/p>\n The Council met again on\u00a08\u00a0December<\/strong>, following Secretary-General Guterres\u2019 engagement of Article\u00a099 in Chapter\u00a0XV of the Charter \u2014 the first time he used this measure since taking office in\u00a02017 \u2014 to \u201cbring to attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion, may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security\u201d.\u00a0He informed the Council that the humanitarian support system in Gaza was at a high risk of total collapse.\u00a0 \u201cWe are at a breaking point [and] the situation is simply becoming untenable,\u201d he stressed.\u00a0 Citing information from the World Food Programme (WFP) that Gazans were at serious risk of starvation, he underscored that the international community must do everything it could to end their ordeal.\u00a0 He urged members of the Security Council to exert pressure to avert a humanitarian catastrophe” and reiterated his call for “an urgent humanitarian ceasefire”.<\/p>\n Meeting again on\u00a08\u00a0December,<\/strong>\u00a0the Council \u2014 due to a veto cast by the United States, a permanent member \u2014 failed to adopt a text put forth by the United Arab Emirates, which would have demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access.\u00a0 The text received the support of 13\u00a0Council members, including 3\u00a0permanent members \u2014 China, France and the Russian Federation\u00a0\u2014 with another permanent member, the United Kingdom, abstaining.<\/p>\n Meeting on\u00a022\u00a0December,<\/strong>\u00a0following several days\u2019 deliberations, deferrals and diplomatic engagements, the Council adopted resolution\u00a02720\u00a0(2023) by a recorded vote of 13\u00a0in favour to none against, with 2\u00a0abstentions (United States, Russian Federation), by which it requested the Secretary-General to appoint a Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for the Gaza Strip as it demanded the parties to the conflict to allow, facilitate and enable the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale to Palestinian civilians throughout that territory.\u00a0 By other terms, it determined that the Coordinator would be responsible for facilitating, coordinating, monitoring and verifying, in Gaza, the humanitarian nature of all humanitarian relief consignments provided through States which are not parties to the conflict.\u00a0 Ahead of the vote, members failed to adopt an amendment put forth by the Russian Federation, owing to a veto cast by the United States.\u00a0 The vote was 10\u00a0in favour (Brazil, China, Ecuador, France, Gabon, Ghana, Malta, Mozambique, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates) to 1\u00a0against (United States), with 4\u00a0abstentions (Albania, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom).\u00a0 Had it been adopted, the text would have had the Council call for an urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities.<\/p>\n The Council reconvened on\u00a029\u00a0December<\/strong>, with Mr.\u00a0Khiari reporting that, since 7\u00a0October, tensions in the West Bank between Israeli security forces and Palestinians were escalating, resulting in 304\u00a0Palestinians fatalities, including 79 children, and 4\u00a0Israeli fatalities.\u00a0 Israel was continuing its intense ground operations in Gaza, while Hamas was continuing to fire rockets from Gaza into Israel.\u00a0 Settler violence remained a grave concern as well.\u00a0 \u201cCivilians from both sides \u2014 particularly the Gaza Strip \u2014 continue to bear the brunt of this conflict,\u201d he said.\u00a0 Describing a slew of threats to regional\u00a0stability, including strikes\u00a0in Lebanon and Israel, he warned of a \u201chigh risk of regional spillover of\u00a0the conflict\u201d, given the\u00a0myriad actors involved. \u00a0The Council also heard from Marwan Muasher, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan, who outlined an eight-point political plan to end the occupation; and from Itay Epshtain, Special Advisor and Senior Humanitarian Law and Policy Consultant at the Norwegian Refugee Council, who, noting that all parties showed a reckless disregard for the peremptory norms of international law, stressed: \u00a0\u201cPeace is the only viable solution for civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n …<\/p>\n Cooperation with Regional Organizations<\/u><\/p>\n Meeting: \u00a08 June<\/a><\/p>\n Ms.\u00a0DiCarlo of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs on\u00a08 June<\/strong>\u00a0briefed the Council on the Organization\u2019s efforts to developing an Arab regional youth, peace and security strategy.\u00a0 Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, recalled the long-standing relationship between the Council and the League.\u00a0 Noting that Palestinians in the occupied territories were suffering from heightened violence by Israel, he called for renewed support to the two-State solution.\u00a0 He also warned the Council against allowing the Ukrainian crisis to dominate over other conflicts on the globe, stressing that the heightening tensions between major Powers has divided the international community at the expense of the collective action needed to tackle counter-terrorism and climate change.<\/p>\n …<\/p>\n Maintenance of International Peace and Security<\/u><\/p>\n Meeting: 31 October<\/a>,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Briefing the Council on 31 October<\/strong>, Filippo Grandi, Â鶹APP High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), urged Council members to overcome their divisions and exercise the 15-nation organ\u2019s authority in demanding a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 2 million Gazans were going through \u201ca hell on earth\u201d.\u00a0 He underscored that a humanitarian ceasefire, coupled, of course, with substantive delivery of humanitarian aid inside Gaza \u201ccan at least stop this spiral of death,\u201d warning that the Council\u2019s choices now would have repercussions for generations to come.\u00a0Surveying crises in many other parts of the world, including Syria and Ukraine, he said that UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations were struggling with funding shortfalls as they coped with 114 million refugees and displaced persons.\u00a0 The Â鶹APP Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) remained chronically underfunded, he added.<\/p>\n …<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 9 January 2024 … Middle East Question of Palestine Meetings:\u00a05 January,\u00a018 January,\u00a020 February,\u00a022 March,\u00a025 April,\u00a024 May,\u00a027 June,\u00a027 July,\u00a021 August,\u00a027 September,\u00a016 October,\u00a018 October,\u00a018 October,\u00a024 October,\u00a025 October,\u00a030 October,\u00a031 October,\u00a010 November,\u00a015 November,\u00a022 November,\u00a029 November,\u00a08 December,\u00a08 December,\u00a019 December,\u00a021 December,\u00a029 December. Resolutions:\u00a02712,\u00a02720.\u00a0 Not adopted:\u00a0772,\u00a0795.\u00a0Vetoed:\u00a0773,\u00a0792,\u00a0970. Presidential Statements:\u00a0S\/PRST\/2023\/1. The year 2023 proved to be the deadliest for Palestinians in […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[1362],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1769,1829,2265,2033,1813,6845,1745,6245,1841],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-292728","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-press-release","document-source-security-council","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-casualties","document-subject-ceasefire","document-subject-children","document-subject-middle-east-situation","document-subject-protection-of-civilians","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","document-subject-violence","document-subject-women","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/292728","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\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/292728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":292770,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/292728\/revisions\/292770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=292728"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=292728"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=292728"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=292728"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=292728"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=292728"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=292728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}