<\/p>\n
19 November 2024<\/p>\n
Seventy-ninth Session,
\n28th Meeting (PM)<\/p>\n
The report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices is a distortion of reality and promotes a particular political agenda aimed at \u201cdestroying Israel\u2019s image as a democratic State,\u201d that country\u2019s delegate told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today, while other speakers called for a permanent end to the Israeli settler activities, in keeping with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice.<\/p>\n
After 7 October, the Israeli delegate said, it is clear that Hamas used millions of dollars of support received from the Â鶹APP and Member States to arm themselves with every kind of weapon, dig tunnels under their schools, hospitals and humanitarian installations, and prepare to attack Israel.\u00a0 Recalling that day, he said that approximately 1,400 people were brutally massacred.\u00a0 \u201cWomen were raped as a weapon of war,\u201d he said, adding that a UN official who visited Israel in the aftermath said: \u201cIf there is a hell on earth, it is the lives of children under attack by Hamas\u201d.<\/p>\n
That organization was following its own covenant, according to which, he said, Israel will exist until Islam obliterates it.\u00a0 Yet there is no expectation that the Â鶹APP will establish a committee to investigate Hamas.\u00a0 Describing the Special Committee\u2019s reports and resolutions as one-sided, he said the support of the \u201canti-Israeli automatic majority at the UN\u201d permits this to continue.\u00a0\u00a0 Despite that, Israel will continue to fight to bring home the hostages held in Gaza and ensure that Hamas will never be able to repeat its attack on Israeli communities.\u00a0 On humanitarian aid, he added, more is entering Gaza, and Israel is opening new routes and humanitarian crossings.<\/p>\n
Canada\u2019s delegate, opposing all initiatives at the UN that single out Israel for criticism, said there are too many resolutions on this issue.\u00a0 Expressing concern about one-sided resolutions that politicize it, he condemned the Hamas attack and said nothing can justify its acts of terror.\u00a0 Calling for the immediate release of all hostages, he voiced concern about the \u201cwidening of the war,\u201d with attacks by Hizbullah and the internal displacement in Israel, as well as attacks by terrorist groups from Yemen and Iraq.\u00a0Reaffirming support for Israel\u2019s right to self-defence, he warned that it must be exercised in accordance with international law and the laws governing military conflict.<\/p>\n
Recalling that the leaders of Australia, New Zealand and his country have called on Israel to respond to the International Court of Justice\u2019s advisory opinion, ensure accountability for settler violence and reverse the record expansion of settlements in the West Bank, he said: \u201cWe have seen no evidence that this is taking place. Our votes will reflect these developments\u201d.<\/p>\n
The representative of the League of Arab States said that the 7 October attacks are a response to years of illegal Israeli oppression.\u00a0 Calling for accountability for the genocide, settlements and occupation of Arab territories, she stressed that the international community must not allow Israel to enjoy immunity.\u00a0 Israel has continued to flout the resolutions of the Security Council and General Assembly, the two bodies that granted it statehood.\u00a0 It is targeting holy sites and preventing Palestinians from accessing them.\u00a0 It is also attacking journalists to prevent them from covering its atrocities.\u00a0 \u201cWe must in the name of humanity come together\u201d to put an end to Israel\u2019s violations, she said.<\/p>\n
Also highlighting the lack of accountability for the crimes committed by Israel was Iran\u2019s delegate, who condemned the expansionist policies that Israelis have pursued for many decades, including the use of starvation of children as a weapon.\u00a0Calling for a full ceasefire, followed by Gaza\u2019s reconstruction, he said Israel and its allies must pay reparations.\u00a0 This regime is committing atrocities, not only against Palestinians and other peace-loving nations, but also against the Â鶹APP, he said.<\/p>\n
The representative of Namibia said that, despite accusations of the Special Committee\u2019s bias, no counter-evidence has been provided against the documented facts.\u00a0On the contrary, the Special Committee, like other UN bodies, faces restricted access to fulfil its mandate.\u00a0The precedent set by the acceptance of the ongoing Israeli practices and settlement activities as a norm \u201cwill forever be a blemish\u201d for which the international community will bear collective responsibility.\u00a0 Against this backdrop, he called on Israel to honour its obligations under international law, adding: \u201cThe practice of unabated continued annexation and expansion of settlements is untenable and must be stopped\u201d.<\/p>\n
Several delegates echoed these sentiments, including Guyana\u2019s representative, who called on Israel to permanently end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, in keeping with the court\u2019s advisory opinion of 19 July, and to cease all settlement activities, adding that Member States also have a responsibility to disincentivize the practice.\u00a0 Condemning the increasingly dangerous rhetoric by Israeli senior officials, promoting the idea of the Gaza Strip\u2019s occupation after the end of the war, she recalled that international law prohibits annexation of territory by an occupying Power, including acquisition of such territory by force.\u00a0 She further noted that the simplification of the approval process for Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank, coupled with other measures, point to Israel\u2019s application of sovereignty over the West Bank.<\/p>\n
Also warning of Israel\u2019s attempt to achieve long-term control of the West Bank, Egypt\u2019s delegate noted that Israeli settlements number in the tens of thousands in the Occupied Territory.\u00a0 Anyone who is trying to visit the Occupied Palestinian Territory must take very circuitous routes to avoid the Israeli settlements, he pointed out, adding that this is aimed at preventing a Palestinian State.\u00a0 Israel is also targeting the spirit of the Palestinian people, by depriving them of the right to return through its attempts to eliminate the Â鶹APP Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which consistently reaffirms that right.<\/p>\n
Turning to the situation in his country, Lebanon\u2019s delegate said that Israel, in the past 48 hours, has launched more than 300 aerial raids against Lebanon.\u00a0The number of victims exceeds 3,500.\u00a0 \u201cIsrael continues its incursion into our land, devastating our villages and rendering life unliveable there,\u201d he stressed.\u00a0 The target is not military.\u00a0 It is about genocide and annexation.\u00a0 \u201cIt is high time to put an end to the bombardment against Gaza in Lebanon and impose a ceasefire,\u201d he said.\u00a0 Israel must withdraw from the occupied Lebanese territories and put an end to its violations.<\/p>\n
The representative of Syria, spotlighting the Israeli occupation in the Syrian Golan, said that Israel seeks to \u201cdistort and falsify history,\u201d including the desecration of cemeteries, with three-quarters of the territory being confiscated.\u00a0 He detailed cases of turning agricultural lands into military outposts, establishing more than 40 settlements and disposing of toxic waste there, which has reportedly led to an increase in cancer.\u00a0Calling Israel\u2019s settlement expansion in the Golan Heights null and void under international law, he reaffirmed Syria\u2019s commitment to recover the entirety of the Golan Heights.<\/p>\n
Several speakers urged the Security Council to take a more active role in ending the conflict.\u00a0 Jordan\u2019s delegate urged it to assume its responsibilities by enforcing an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and in Lebanon.\u00a0Accusing\u00a0Israel of undermining the security and stability in the region through the crime of genocide,\u00a0he stated that Israel persists in seizing land, demolishing homes and attempting to forcibly displace Palestinians, while its officials escalate racist rhetoric to impose sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.\u00a0Emphasizing Jordan\u2019s commitment, he affirmed the continuation of its custodianship and protection of Jerusalem\u2019s holy sites, and pledged ongoing humanitarian assistance to Gaza.<\/p>\n
The representative of Cuba voiced regret over the Council\u2019s failure to put an end to the Israeli practices.\u00a0 He called on that body to end the \u201cbarbarity,\u201d highlighting that Israel acts with full impunity, due to support from the United States.\u00a0 Reaffirming his country\u2019s support for Palestine\u2019s full membership in the Â鶹APP, he urged the Council to take immediate action on this issue. \u201cEvery minute of silence or inactivity or any double standards leads to the loss of innocent lives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Speaking in exercise of the right of reply were representatives of Iran, Israel, Lebanon and Syria, as well as the observer for the State of Palestine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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