Every month, the UN Security Council convenes for an exercise in bashing Israel. Here are what some of the delegates said at
April's session last week
ZEID RA’AD ZEID AL-HUSSEIN (Jordan) said that incursions by right-wing extremists into Al-Haram al-Sharif/Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which spiked during religious holidays and other occasions, threatened peace and security in the region and beyond. He recalled that during a recent meeting with a past Council President, a delegation of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation had outlined the essential features of the broader violations on the part of the Israeli authorities, including a blatant disregard for the decisions adopted by the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The mosque compound, together with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, had been under Jordanian custodianship and protection since 1924, he emphasized. East Jerusalem was occupied territory under international law, and Israel, as the occupying Power, was obliged under the 1907 Hague regulations to treat religious institutions as private property, even when it was State-owned. Unless threats to the compound ceased, such provocations would engender a massive crisis with the Muslim world, and even parts of the Christian world, while jeopardizing the region’s security, he warned. The incitements must therefore end, for it would be the one crisis to overwhelm all crises in a region that could ill afford yet another.
Given that Jordan didn't exist in 1924, that is a neat trick.
CAROLINE ZIADE (Lebanon) condemned Israel, saying that its practices in Jerusalem were only part of a wider scheme to create new realities on the ground and make a two-State solution more difficult to attain.
MOOTAZ AHMADEIN KHALIL (Egypt), associating himself with the Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab Group and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, urged Israel to review its decision to suspend its participation in the negotiations and impose additional sanctions on the Palestinians, saying its actions contravened Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, as well as international law and prior accords reached with the Palestinians and the United States mediator. He condemned restrictions on Palestinian Christians as an attempt to force the status quo on holy sites, emphasizing that Israel must end such action.
Mr. AL-ABDALLAH (Saudi Arabia), associating himself with the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement, said that Israel’s settlement policies, flouting of holy sites and apartheid practices contravened international law. He strongly condemned provocations at holy sites, which prevented people from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as all attempts to change the historic or religious nature of such sites. Welcoming the State of Palestine’s accession to various treaties and conventions, as well as the recent Palestinian reconciliation efforts, he recalled that Israel’s Foreign Minister had called for ethnic cleansing, while his fellow Cabinet members had cast doubt on a two-State solution. Israel was hiding behind a pretext of wanting agreement among Palestinian factions, while it had no interest in such a settlement, he said.
GHOLAMHOSSEIN DEHGHANI (Iran), speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, said that despite the clarity of international law, including demands made by the Security Council, little progress had been made towards a just and peaceful solution to the question of Palestine. That failure undermined the rule of law, compounding the conflict and human suffering. He urged the Council to uphold its Charter responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and to contribute tangibly to a settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. As a result of the illegal policies pursued by Israel against the Palestinian people, their land and holy sites, tensions had risen and there remained a vast gap between hope and expectations for the political process and the reality on the ground, he said. Rather than negotiating in good faith and abiding by its legal obligations, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel had intensified all its illegal activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including, by continuing and escalating its settlement construction, confiscation of land and forced displacement of Palestinian civilians.
Turning to the increasing acts of aggression in occupied East Jerusalem resulting from provocations by Israeli extremists, he said Israeli Government officials continued to “recklessly fuel” tensions by encouraging the extremists to carry out acts of provocation which threatened to ignite a religious conflict, with far-reaching consequences for the region and beyond. The Non-Aligned Movement was also gravely concerned about the continuing illegal Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, which had resulted in severe hardship for Palestinians. If Israel persisted in its contempt for the law, the international community must act to uphold the law and to ensure accountability, he stressed.
Speaking in his national capacity, he challenged accusations levelled by Israel against his country during the debate, saying they distracted attention from the matter before the Council.
AHMED FATHALLA, Permanent Observer of the League of Arab States, said the League had worked to establish a genuine vision for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and endeavoured to find a fair solution in efforts to complement Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. However, Israel continued its occupation of the Golan Heights and to ignore United Nations resolutions over the years. It was therefore important that the Council tackle Israel’s aims on the ground, including its settlement plans, which it had been carrying out with peace negotiations under way. Israel seemed to be seeking a strategy to end the negations, as demonstrated after the recent Palestinian reconciliation, he noted, emphasizing that Palestinian unity was an important component of a Palestinian State and of a two-State solution. The success of national reconciliation would be the only way to ensure the unity and integrity of Palestinian territory, he said, stressing the importance of recognizing that instead of using it as an excuse to leave the negotiations.
There was also a need to change methodology and end the occupation, he continued, emphasizing that the Security Council’s limited action had previously been disappointing to the League. Furthermore, it was necessary to condemn Israel’s seizing of territory and natural resources in the Golan Heights, he said, calling for international law to be upheld in that regard.
