UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes that the UN Security Council resolution adopted on November 15, 2023 is only partially being implemented. The resolution, voted by 12 members of the Security Council, calls on the parties to the conflict between Israel and Hamas (recognized as a terrorist organization in the United States) to comply with international laws to protect civilians, create humanitarian corridors and pauses, Release immediately all hostages and provide the residents of the Gaza Strip with everything necessary for life.
“So far it is clear that this resolution is being implemented only partially, which is completely insufficient,” the UN chief said at a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday. “In the end, the measure of success will not be the number of trucks and tons of aid delivered, although this, of course, is also important. The measure of success will be the lives saved, the end of suffering and the restoration of a sense of human dignity.”
On Wednesday, November 29, International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, a regular meeting of the Security Council dedicated to the “Palestinian question” was held at UN headquarters. The UN chief welcomed the humanitarian pause and exchange of hostages and prisoners between Hamas and Israel, but said a longer truce was needed.
“The people of Gaza are experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions before the eyes of the entire world,” said António Guterres. “We must not turn our backs on them.” Intense negotiations are currently underway to extend the humanitarian pause, which we welcome. But we believe that a true humanitarian truce is necessary. And we must ensure that the people of the region finally have hope, to persevere towards an irreversible solution based on UN resolutions and international law for two States, Israel and Palestine, that can live side by side in peace and security. If we do not achieve this, we will condemn the Palestinians, the Israelis, the entire region and the entire world to an endless cycle of death and destruction.”
The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East, Thor Wennesland, spoke at the meeting. He expressed concern about the situation in the West Bank.
“This period marked the most intense Israeli operations in the West Bank since the second Intifada, the use of improvised explosive devices by Palestinian factions and drone strikes by Israeli security forces,” Wennesland said. — Israel is carrying out the largest-scale operations in Tulkarem and Jenin, including the territories of the refugee camps. Settler violence is also increasing, leading to increased tensions and forced displacement of Palestinians. In total, 154 Palestinians, including 37 children, were killed in the West Bank during the last period. Most died in the context of Israeli operations and as a result of shootings. Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli settlers. “Three Israelis were also killed, including two security officials.”
Security Council speakers welcomed the humanitarian pause, the temporary cessation of hostilities in Gaza and the exchange of hostages and prisoners, but many said only a longer-term truce would lead to more lasting peace.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority, Riyad al-Maliki, recalled the casualties among the Palestinian civilian population as a result of the Israeli bombings: almost 5 thousand dead, 30 thousand wounded, 1 million 700 thousand Palestinians were forced to abandon their homes. He accused the Israeli government of posing an existential threat to the existence of Palestinians.
“Netanyahu, from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly, announced a new Middle East, from which Palestine has disappeared,” said Riyad al-Maliki. “And it is no coincidence that in the map he presented for such an occasion, both the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip were designated as parts of Israel, as was the Golan Heights. We are being expelled from history and geography. Israel calls this “voluntary relocation.” They offer it supposedly for our benefit, using blockades and bombs; This has already led to the fact that one million 700 thousand Palestinians were forced to leave their homes. They use attacks by occupying forces and settlers. “They have turned Gaza into hell and the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank into hell.”
Israel’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Gilad Erdan, expressed outrage that no UN agency has expressed strong condemnation of Hamas’ actions: UNESCO is not outraged by the fact that Hamas terrorizes children in Gaza, UN Women does not condemn the rape of Israeli women by Hamas on October 7. Erdan recalled that on October 7, Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds hostage. According to an Israeli spokesperson, Hamas rejects peace and poses an existential threat to Jews and the State of Israel.
“How can you ask for a ceasefire and at the same time a resolution of the conflict? — the representative of Israel addressed the international community. — Those who support the ceasefire support the continuation of Hamas’ terror in Gaza. Hamas is an organization with a genocidal ideology, they do not hide it, they are not reliable partners to achieve peace. Don’t you see the contradiction here? Calling for both a ceasefire and peace is a paradox! Colleagues, humanitarian aid is very important. But more food, water and medicine will not solve the problem. Hamas is indifferent to the plight of Gazans. Nothing can change their genocidal ideology. It must be uprooted and destroyed.”
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield once again expressed support for Israel’s right to self-defense, but noted that Israel must remember its responsibility for civilian lives. Thomas-Greenfield said the United States is concerned about escalating tensions on the border between Israel and Lebanon; acts of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank; and, in general, a rise in Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in the world, and in the United States in particular.
The US representative emphasized that only the peaceful coexistence of the two states can break the vicious cycle of violence.
“To overcome the mistrust and trauma plaguing the region, Israelis and Palestinians must ensure a future without Hamas and terrorism,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “Because if Hamas remains in power in Gaza, it will deprive Palestinians of the opportunity to build something better for themselves and will make Israel vulnerable to future attacks.” We need a two-state solution to the conflict, with Gaza and the West Bank united under a single governing body, a renewed Palestinian Authority. This is the only guarantee of a secure and democratic Israel. This is the only guarantee for the Palestinians to realize their legitimate desire to create their own state.”
