Force Will Not Secure Middle East Peace: UN General Assembly President

3 December 2024

Addressing the 193-member Assembly, President Philémon Yang reiterated the importance of the two-State solution, calling it the only path to lasting peace.

“After more than a year of war and suffering, the realization of this vision is more urgent than ever before,” he said.

Mr. Yang added that the two-State solution, first envisioned in General Assembly resolution 181, adopted 77 years ago, remains out of reach.

He described the ongoing denial of Palestinian statehood as a perpetuator of violence and despair, while asserting that the two-State solution is both a political framework and a moral imperative.

“It ensures the right of Palestinians to self-determination while safeguarding Israel’s long-term security,” he said. “In this way, it offers both peoples the chance to live with equal rights and human dignity.”

Lebanon ceasefire, a critical step

Turning to the broader region, he welcomed the recent ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, following a year of hostilities that caused thousands of deaths, widespread destruction, and massive displacement along the Blue Line.

He commended the efforts of those who brokered the agreement and urged all parties to uphold the ceasefire and fully implement Security Council resolution 1701 (2006).

“This ceasefire represents a critical step towards de-escalation and a return to stability,” he noted.

“Civilians in the Middle East deserve better.”

Urgent call for ceasefire in Gaza

Turning to the dire situation in Gaza, Mr. Yang called for an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of all remaining hostages.

He highlighted the devastating toll of the conflict, with thousands of lives lost, millions displaced and civilian infrastructure reduced to ruins.

“It is urgent that we end this situation. It is in our hands and it cannot be postponed any longer.,” he said, urging all parties to grant immediate and unhindered access for humanitarian aid to address the catastrophic conditions in Gaza.

Palestine: Failure to stop a genocide is not an option

In the ensuing debate on the agenda item, Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine said that the Palestinian people have been faced with incessant attempts at their destruction for over a year.

“Every single day, from the sunrise to sunset, from sunset to sunrise, has been a journey of struggle and survival, of pain and agony, of loss and death,” he said. Israel has spared no means in its destruction of the Palestinian people.

The Question of Palestine has been on the UN agenda since the UN came into being and remains the most critical test to the very existence of an international law-based order.

“It is the question of a people denied the very rights that lie at the heart of the UN Charter,” he said, adding that solidarity with the Palestinian people must be translated into this decisive action to uphold international law.

He said Israel’s obvious plan, was to destroy and displace the people to annex the land.

“This illegal occupation must end,” he stated. “Supremacist ideologies” must be defeated, and the vision of two States living side-by-side on the pre-1967 lines must be realized.

“Failure to stop a genocide is not an option,” he said.

Israel: When will terrorists be held accountable?

Reut Shapir Ben Naftaly, Political Coordinator at the Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN, said that in the upcoming week the Assembly will convene three meetings to discuss the Middle East and debate resolutions based on a “reckless disregard for the truth”.

“In the wake of Hamas’ 7 October massacre, now over more than a year ago, the UN’s entrenched anti-Israeli bias has been laid bare for all to see.”

Hamas’ murder, rape, and torture of 1,200 people, and the kidnapping of 240 remain insufficiently addressed by the UN, she said, adding that instead, the General Assembly fixates on resolutions which are sponsored by Cuba, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Venezuela and the Syrian regime.

If these actors “were truly interested in bringing solutions to the war-torn region, they would abandon their obsessive efforts to delegitimize Israel”, she said.

They would focus on how to bring upon the immediate release of all hostages, how to dismantle Hamas, how to stop looting of aid by Hamas terrorists, and how to stop hatred in the Palestinian education system.

“Hamas abuses UN funds to sustain their terrorist activities, a fact that goes unmentioned in the reports and resolutions debated this week in these halls,” she added.

“Is it not time to hold Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations accountable for the blood they have spilled, for the lives they have destroyed?”, she asked.

Another call for just and lasting peace

Later in the day, the General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution reiterating its call for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

The resolution (A/79/L.23) passed with 157 votes in favour and 8 against (Argentina, Hungary, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, and the United States), with 7 abstentions (Cameroon, Czechia, Ecuador, Georgia, Paraguay, Ukraine, and Uruguay).

The resolution also called for an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967, including East Jerusalem, and reaffirmed its unwavering support for the two-State solution with two states living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders, based on pre-1967 lines.

In the resolution, the Assembly also laid the ground for a High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, to be held in June 2025, in New York.

In addition, the Assembly adopted a second resolution concerning the UN Division for Palestinian Rights, which serves as the secretariat of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP).

This resolution (A/79/L.24) was adopted with 101 votes in favour, 27 against and 42 abstentions.

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