Security Council resolution 1435 (2002) [on cessation of all acts of violence and withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian cities]
Symbol: S/RES/1435(2002)
Date: 2002-09-24
Meeting record: S/PV.4614
Subjects: Palestinian Authority|Arab Summit Conference (14th : 2002 : Beirut)|CEASEFIRES|TROOP WITHDRAWAL|RAMALLAH (WEST BANK)|ISRAEL|TERRITORIES OCCUPIED BY ISRAEL|PALESTINE QUESTION|MIDDLE EAST SITUATION|VIOLENCE|TERRORISM|DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY|MEDIATION
Notes: Issued in: Resolutions and decisions of the Security Council, 1 August 2002-31 July 2003 - S/INF/58 - (SCOR, 57th year).
Summary: Reiterates its demand for the complete cessation of all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction; demands that Israel immediately cease measures in and around Ramallah including destruction of Palestinian civilian and security infrastructure; demands also expeditious withdrawal of Israeli occupying forces from Palestinian cities towards the return to the positions held prior to Sept. 2000; calls on Palestinian Authority to meet its commitment to ensure that those responsible for terrorist acts are brought to justice by it.

United Nations                                                                S/RES/1435 (2002)
               Security Council                                              Distr.: General
                                                                             24 September 2002




               Resolution 1435 (2002)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 4614th meeting,
               on 24 September 2002

                    The Security Council,
                    Reaffirming its resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967, 338 (1973) of 22
               October 1973, 1397 (2002) of 12 March 2002, 1402 (2002) of 30 March 2002 and
               1403 (2002) of 4 April 2002, as well as the statements of its President, of 10 April
               2002 and 18 July 2002,
                    Reiterating its grave concern at the tragic and violent events that have taken
               place since September 2000 and the continuous deterioration of the situation,
                   Condemning all terrorist attacks against any civilians, including the terrorist
               bombings in Israel on 18 and 19 September 2002 and in a Palestinian school in
               Hebron on 17 September 2002,
                    Gravely concerned at the reoccupation of the headquarters of the President of
               the Palestinian Authority in the City of Ramallah that took place on 19 September
               2002 and demanding its immediate end,
                     Alarmed at the reoccupation of Palestinian cities as well as the severe
               restrictions imposed on the freedom of movement of persons and goods, and gravely
               concerned at the humanitarian crisis being faced by the Palestinian people,
                    Reiterating the need for respect in all circumstances of international
               humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection
               of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,
                    1.    Reiterates its demand for the complete cessation of all acts of violence,
               including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction;
                    2.    Demands that Israel immediately cease measures in and around Ramallah
               including the destruction of Palestinian civilian and security infrastructure;
                    3.   Demands also the expeditious withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces
               from Palestinian cities towards the return to the positions held prior to September
               2000;
                    4.    Calls on the Palestinian Authority to meet its expressed commitment to
               ensure that those responsible for terrorist acts are brought to justice by it;



02-60158 (E)
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S/RES/1435 (2002)


                     5.    Expresses its full support for the efforts of the Quartet and calls upon the
               Government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and all States in the region to
               cooperate with these efforts and recognizes in this context the continuing importance
               of the initiative endorsed at the Arab League Beirut Summit;
                    6.    Decides to remain seized of the matter.




2

Texto español (official Spanish version): Naciones Unidas                                                                S/RES/1435 (2002)
               Consejo de Seguridad                                           Distr. general
                                                                              24 de septiembre de 2002




               Resolución 1435 (2002)
               Aprobada por el Consejo de Seguridad en su 4614ª sesión,
               celebrada el 24 de septiembre de 2002

                    El Consejo de Seguridad,
                     Reafirmando sus resoluciones 242 (1967) de 22 de noviembre de 1967,
               338 (1973) de 22 de octubre de 1973, 1397 (2002) de 12 de marzo de 2002,
               1402 (2002) de 30 de marzo de 2002 y 1403 (2002) de 4 de abril de 2002, así como
               las declaraciones de su Presidente de 10 de abril de 2002 y 18 de julio de 2002,
                     Reiterando su grave preocupación por los trágicos y violentos acontecimientos que han tenido lugar desde septiembre de 2000 y por el continuo deterioro de la
               situación,
                    Condenando todos los ataques terroristas contra todos los civiles, incluidos los
               ataques terroristas con bombas en Israel del 18 y 19 de septiembre de 2002 y en una
               escuela palestina en Hebrón del 17 de septiembre de 2002,
                    Gravemente preocupado por la reocupación de las oficinas centrales del Presidente de la Autoridad Palestina en la ciudad de Ramallah ocurrida el 19 de septiembre
               de 2002 y exigiendo que se le ponga fin de inmediato,
                     Alarmado por la reocupación de ciudades palestinas, así como por las graves
               restricciones impuestas a la libertad de circulación de personas y bienes y profundamente preocupado por la crisis humanitaria a que hace frente el pueblo palestino,
                     Reiterando la necesidad de respetar en todas las circunstancias el derecho
               humanitario internacional, incluido el Cuarto Convenio de Ginebra relativo a la protección de personas civiles en tiempo de guerra, de 12 de agosto de 1949,
                     1.    Reitera su exigencia de que cesen completamente todos los actos de violencia, incluidos todos los actos de terror, provocación, incitación y destrucción;
                    2.    Exige que Israel ponga fin de inmediato a las medidas que está aplicando
               en Ramallah y alrededores, incluida la destrucción de la infraestructura civil y de
               seguridad palestina;
                    3.   Exige también el rápido retiro de las fuerzas de ocupación israelíes de las
               ciudades palestinas y el retorno a las posiciones que mantenían antes de septiembre
               de 2000;



02-60161 (S)   240902   240902
*0260161*

S/RES/1435 (2002)


                     4.   Pide a la Autoridad Palestina que cumpla su compromiso explícito de garantizar que enjuiciará a los responsables de actos terroristas;
                     5.    Expresa su pleno apoyo a los esfuerzos del Cuarteto y pide al Gobierno
               de Israel, a la Autoridad Palestina y a todos los Estados de la región que cooperen
               con esos esfuerzos y, en este contexto, reconoce la importancia que sigue teniendo
               la iniciativa apoyada en la Cumbre de Beirut de la Liga de los Estados Árabes;
                    6.   Decide seguir ocupándose de la cuestión.




2                                                                                             und_gen_n0260161_docu_n

Texte français (official French version): Nations Unies                                                                     S/RES/1435 (2002)
               Conseil de sécurité                                              Distr. générale
                                                                                24 septembre 2002
                                                                                Français
                                                                                Original:




               Résolution 1435 (2002)
               Adoptée par le Conseil de sécurité à sa 4614e séance,
               le 24 septembre 2002

                    Le Conseil de sécurité,
                    Réaffirmant ses résolutions 242 (1967) du 22 novembre 1967, 338 (1973) du
               22 octobre 1973, 1397 (2002) du 12 mars 2002, 1402 (2002) du 30 mars 2002 et
               1403 (2002) du 4 avril 2002, ainsi que les déclarations de son président du 10 avril
               2002 et du 18 juillet 2002,
                     Réitérant sa grave préoccupation face aux événements tragiques et violents qui
               se déroulent depuis le mois de septembre 2000 et à la détérioration continue de la
               situation,
                    Condamnant toutes les attaques terroristes contre tout civil, y compris les
               bombardements terroristes dirigés contre Israël les 18 et 19 septembre 2002, et
               contre une école palestinienne à Hébron le 17 septembre 2002,
                     Gravement préoccupé par la réoccupation du quartier général du Président de
               l’Autorité palestinienne dans la ville de Ramallah, le 19 septembre 2002, et exigeant
               qu’il y soit mis fin immédiatement,
                     Alarmé par la réoccupation de villes palestiniennes ainsi que par les
               restrictions sévères imposées à la liberté de circulation des personnes et des biens, et
               gravement préoccupé par la situation humanitaire à laquelle est confronté le peuple
               palestinien,
                    Réitérant la nécessité de respecter en toutes circonstances le droit international
               humanitaire, y compris la quatrième Convention de Genève relative à la protection
               des personnes civiles en temps de guerre du 12 août 1949,
                     1.   Exige à nouveau la cessation complète de tous les actes de violence, y
               compris de tous les actes de terreur, de provocation, d’incitation à la violence et de
               destruction;
                     2.    Exige qu’Israël mette fin immédiatement aux mesures qu’il a prises à
               Ramallah et aux alentours, y compris la destruction des infrastructures civiles et des
               installations de sécurité palestiniennes;
                     3.    Exige également le retrait rapide des forces d’occupation israéliennes des
               villes palestiniennes et le retour aux positions tenues avant septembre 2000;


02-60159 (F)
*0260159*

S/RES/1435 (2002)


                    4.    Demande à l’Autorité palestinienne d’honorer l’engagement qu’elle a
              pris et de faire traduire en justice les auteurs d’actes terroristes;
                   5.     Appuie sans réserve les efforts déployés par le Quatuor et prie le
              Gouvernement israélien, l’Autorité palestinienne et tous les États de la région de
              coopérer au succès de ces efforts et reconnaît à cet égard l’importance que revêt
              toujours l’initiative approuvée lors du Sommet de la Ligue arabe tenu à Beyrouth;
                    6.   Décide de demeurer saisi de la question.




2                                                                                                  0260159f

Русский текст (official Russian version): Организация Объединенных Наций                                                            S/RES/1435(2002)
               Совет Безопасности                                         Distr.: General
                                                                          24 September 2002
                                                                          Russian
                                                                          Original: English




               Резолюция 1435 (2002),
               принятая Советом Безопасности на его 4614-м заседании
               24 сентября 2002 года

                    Совет Безопасности,
                    вновь подтверждая свои резолюции 242 (1967) от 22 ноября 1967 года,
               338 (1973) от 22 октября 1973 года, 1397 (2002) от 12 марта 2002 года, 1402
               (2002) от 30 марта 2002 года и 1403 (2002) от 4 апреля 2002 года, а также заяв-
               ления своего Председателя от 10 апреля 2002 года и 18 июля 2002 года,
                   вновь заявляя о своей глубокой обеспокоенности по поводу трагических
               событий и насилия, происходящих с сентября 2000 года, и продолжающегося
               ухудшения ситуации,
                    осуждая все террористические нападения на любых гражданских лиц,
               включая взрывы террористами бомб в Израиле 18 и 19 сентября 2002 года и в
               палестинской школе в Хевроне 17 сентября 2002 года,
                    будучи глубоко обеспокоен тем, что штаб-квартира Председателя Пале-
               стинского органа в городе Рамаллахе была вновь захвачена 19 сентября
               2002 года, и требуя незамедлительно освободить ее,
                     будучи встревожен новой оккупацией палестинских городов, а также
               серьезными ограничениями, введенными в отношении свободы передвижения
               лиц и товаров, и будучи глубоко обеспокоен гуманитарной кризисной ситуаци-
               ей, с которой сталкивается палестинский народ,
                   вновь заявляя о необходимости уважения при всех обстоятельствах норм
               международного гуманитарного права, включая четвертую Женевскую конвен-
               цию о защите гражданского населения во время войны от 12 августа 1949 года,
                    1.   вновь заявляет о своем требовании полностью прекратить все акты
               насилия, включая все акты террора, провокации, подстрекательство и разруше-
               ние;
                    2.  требует, чтобы Израиль немедленно прекратил осуществление мер
               в Рамаллахе и прилегающих районах, включая разрушение палестинской граж-
               данской инфраструктуры и инфраструктуры безопасности;




02-60160 (R)   230902   230902
*0260160*

S/RES/1435(2002)


                    3.    требует также срочного вывода израильских оккупационных сил
               из палестинских городов на позиции, которые они занимали до сентября
               2000 года;
                   4.   призывает Палестинский орган реализовать выраженную им реши-
               мость обеспечить привлечение к ответственности виновных в совершении тер-
               рористических актов;
                    5.   заявляет о своей полной поддержке усилий «четверки», призывает
               правительство Израиля, Палестинский орган и все государства в регионе со-
               действовать этим усилиям и признает в этом контексте сохраняющееся значе-
               ние инициативы, одобренной на Бейрутской встрече на высшем уровне Лиги
               арабских государств;
                   6.   постановляет продолжать заниматься этим вопросом.




2

中文文本 (official Chinese version): 联合国                                                           S/RES/1435 (2002)*
                安全理事会                                           Distr.: General
                                                                24 September 2002




                第 1435（2002）号决议

                2002 年 9 月 24 日安全理事会第 4614 次会议通过

                     安全理事会，

                     重申其 1967 年 11 月 22 日第 242（1967）号、1973 年 10 月 22 日第 338（1973）
                号、2002 年 3 月 12 日第 1397（2002）号、2002 年 3 月 30 日第 1402（2002）号
                和 2002 年 4 月 4 日第 1403（2002）号决议，以及 2002 年 4 月 10 日和 2002 年 7
                月 18 日的主席声明，

                     重申严重关切自 2000 年 9 月以来发生的悲惨暴力事件和局势的持续恶化，

                     谴责针对任何平民的一切恐怖主义袭击，包括 2002 年 9 月 18 和 19 日在以
                色列和 2002 年 9 月 17 日在希布伦一所巴勒斯坦学校发生的恐怖主义爆炸，

                     严重关切 2002 年 9 月 19 日在拉马拉市的巴勒斯坦权力机构主席总部再次被
                占领，并要求立即结束占领，

                     对巴勒斯坦城镇再次被占领以及人员和货物的流通自由受到严格限制感到
                震惊，并严重关切巴勒斯坦人民所面临的人道主义危机，

                     重申在所有情况下都必须尊重国际人道主义法，包括 1949 年 8 月 12 日《关
                于战时保护平民的日内瓦第四公约》
                               ，

                     1.   重申要求完全停止一切暴力行为，包括一切恐怖、挑衅、煽动和破坏行
                为；

                     2.   要求以色列立即停止在拉马拉市内及其周围的措施，包括摧毁巴勒斯坦
                民用和保安基础结构；




            *
                由于技术上的理由重新印发。



02-60157 * (C)

S/RES/1435 (2002)


                    3.   还要求以色列占领军迅速撤出巴勒斯坦城镇，回到 2000 年 9 月以前所
               在阵地；

                    4.   呼吁巴勒斯坦权力机构履行其明确承诺，确保自行将应对恐怖主义行为
               负责者绳之以法；

                    5.   表示充分支持四方的努力，呼吁以色列政府、巴勒斯坦权力机构和该区
               域所有国家与这些努力合作，在这方面并确认阿拉伯联盟贝鲁特首脑会议认可的
               倡议仍然重要；

                    6.   决定继续处理此案。




2

النص العربي (official Arabic version): ‫)‪S/RES/1435 (2002‬‬                                                                      ‫اﻷﻣــﻢ اﳌﺘﺤـﺪة‬
‫‪Distr.: General‬‬
‫‪24 September 2002‬‬                                                                ‫ﳎﻠﺲ اﻷﻣﻦ‬



                                                                           ‫اﻟﻘﺮار ‪(٢٠٠٢) ١٤٣٥‬‬
                                                            ‫اﻟﺬي اﲣﺬه ﳎﻠﺲ اﻷﻣﻦ ﰲ ﺟﻠﺴﺘﻪ ‪٤٦١٤‬‬
                                                              ‫اﳌﻌﻘﻮدة ﰲ ‪ ٢٤‬أﻳﻠﻮل‪/‬ﺳﺒﺘﻤﱪ ‪٢٠٠٢‬‬

                                                                                ‫إن ﳎﻠﺲ اﻷﻣﻦ‪،‬‬
             ‫إذ ﻳﻌﻴـﺪ ﺗـﺄﻛﻴﺪ ﻗﺮاراﺗـﻪ ‪ (١٩٦٧) ٢٤٢‬اﳌـﺆرخ ‪ ٢٢‬ﺗﺸـــﺮﻳﻦ اﻟﺜــﺎﱐ‪/‬ﻧﻮﻓﻤــﱪ ‪،١٩٦٧‬‬
             ‫و ‪ (١٩٧٣) ٣٣٨‬اﳌــﺆرخ ‪ ٢٢‬ﺗﺸــﺮﻳﻦ اﻷول‪/‬أﻛﺘﻮﺑــﺮ ‪ ،١٩٧٣‬و ‪ (٢٠٠٢) ١٣٩٧‬اﳌــــﺆرخ‬
             ‫‪ ١٢‬آذار‪/‬ﻣـــﺎرس ‪ ،٢٠٠٢‬و ‪ (٢٠٠٢) ١٤٠٢‬اﳌـــﺆرخ ‪ ٣٠‬آذار‪/‬ﻣــــﺎرس ‪ ،٢٠٠٢‬و ‪١٤٠٣‬‬
             ‫)‪ (٢٠٠٢‬اﳌﺆرخ ‪ ٤‬ﻧﻴﺴــﺎن‪/‬أﺑﺮﻳـﻞ ‪ ،٢٠٠٢‬وﺑﻴـﺎﱐ رﺋﻴﺴـﻪ اﳌﺆرﺧـﲔ ‪١٠‬ﻧﻴﺴـﺎن‪/‬أﺑﺮﻳـﻞ ‪٢٠٠٢‬‬
                                                                        ‫و ‪ ١٨‬ﲤﻮز‪/‬ﻳﻮﻟﻴﻪ ‪،٢٠٠٢‬‬
             ‫وإذ ﻳﻌﻴــﺪ ﺗــﺄﻛﻴﺪ ﻗﻠﻘــﻪ اﻟﺒــﺎﻟﻎ إزاء اﻷﺣــﺪاث اﳌﺄﺳــﺎوﻳﺔ واﻟﻌﻨﻴﻔــﺔ اﻟــﱵ وﻗﻌــــﺖ ﻣﻨـــﺬ‬
                                                               ‫أﻳﻠﻮل‪/‬ﺳﺒﺘﻤﱪ ‪ ٢٠٠٠‬واﺳﺘﻤﺮار ﺗﺪﻫﻮر اﳊﺎﻟﺔ‪،‬‬
             ‫وإذ ﻳﺪﻳﻦ ﲨﻴﻊ اﳍﺠﻤﺎت اﻹرﻫﺎﺑﻴﺔ ﺿﺪ اﳌﺪﻧﻴﲔ‪ ،‬ﲟﺎ ﻓﻴﻬﺎ اﳍﺠﻤﺎت اﻹرﻫﺎﺑﻴـﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﻘﻨـﺎﺑﻞ‬
             ‫اﻟـﱵ ﺷـﻬﺪ‪‬ﺎ إﺳـﺮاﺋﻴﻞ ﻳﻮﻣـــﻲ ‪ ١٨‬و ‪ ١٩‬أﻳﻠــﻮل‪/‬ﺳــﺒﺘﻤﱪ ‪ ٢٠٠٢‬واﻟــﱵ ﺗﻌﺮﺿــﺖ ﳍــﺎ ﻣﺪرﺳــﺔ‬
                                                      ‫ﻓﻠﺴﻄﻴﻨﻴﺔ ﰲ اﳋﻠﻴﻞ ﰲ ‪ ١٧‬أﻳﻠﻮل‪/‬ﺳﺒﺘﻤﱪ ‪،٢٠٠٢‬‬
             ‫وإذ ﻳﺴﺎوره ﺑﺎﻟﻎ اﻟﻘﻠﻖ إزاء إﻋـﺎدة اﺣﺘـﻼل ﻣﻘـﺮ رﺋﻴـﺲ اﻟﺴـﻠﻄﺔ اﻟﻔﻠﺴـﻄﻴﻨﻴﺔ ﰲ ﻣﺪﻳﻨـﺔ‬
                                               ‫رام اﷲ ﰲ ‪ ١٩‬أﻳﻠﻮل‪/‬ﺳﺒﺘﻤﱪ ‪ ٢٠٠٢‬وﻳﻄﺎﻟﺐ ﺑﺈ‪‬ﺎﺋﻪ ﻓﻮرا؛‬
             ‫وإذ ﻳﺜﲑ ﺟﺰﻋﻪ إﻋﺎدة اﺣﺘﻼل اﳌﺪن اﻟﻔﻠﺴﻄﻴﻨﻴﺔ واﻟﻘﻴﻮد اﻟﺼﺎرﻣﺔ اﳌﻔﺮوﺿﺔ ﻋﻠـﻰ ﺣﺮﻳـﺔ‬
             ‫ﺣﺮﻛﺔ اﻷﺷﺨﺎص واﻟﺴﻠﻊ‪ ،‬وإذ ﻳﺴﺎوره ﺑﺎﻟﻎ اﻟﻘﻠﻖ إزاء اﻷزﻣﺔ اﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ اﻟـﱵ ﻳﻮاﺟﻬـﻬﺎ اﻟﺸـﻌﺐ‬
                                                                                       ‫اﻟﻔﻠﺴﻄﻴﲏ‪،‬‬




                                                                                                            ‫)‪02-60156 (A‬‬
                                                                                                            ‫*‪*0260156‬‬

                                                                                                     ‫)‪S/RES/1435 (2002‬‬


           ‫وإذ ﻳﻌﻴـﺪ اﻟﺘـﺄﻛﻴﺪ ﻋﻠـﻰ ﺿـﺮورة اﺣـﺘﺮام اﻟﻘـﺎﻧﻮن اﻹﻧﺴـﺎﱐ اﻟـﺪوﱄ ﰲ ﲨﻴـﻊ اﻷﺣــﻮال‪،‬‬
           ‫ﲟـﺎ ﻓﻴـﻪ اﺗﻔﺎﻗﻴـﺔ ﺟﻨﻴـﻒ اﻟﺮاﺑﻌــﺔ ﺑﺸــﺄن ﲪﺎﻳــﺔ اﻷﺷــﺨﺎص اﳌﺪﻧﻴــﲔ ﰲ وﻗــﺖ اﳊــﺮب‪ ،‬اﳌﺆرﺧــﺔ‬
                                                                       ‫‪ ١٢‬آب‪/‬أﻏﺴﻄﺲ ‪،١٩٤٩‬‬
           ‫‪ - ١‬ﻳﻌﻴـﺪ ﺗـﺄﻛﻴﺪ ﻣﻄﺎﻟﺒﺘـﻪ ﺑﻮﻗـﻒ ﲨﻴـﻊ أﻋﻤـﺎل اﻟﻌﻨـﻒ وﻗﻔـﺎ ﺗﺎﻣـﺎ‪ ،‬ﲟـــﺎ ﻓﻴــﻬﺎ ﲨﻴــﻊ‬
                                                           ‫أﻋﻤﺎل اﻹرﻫﺎب واﻻﺳﺘﻔﺰاز واﻟﺘﺤﺮﻳﺾ واﻟﺘﺪﻣﲑ؛‬
           ‫‪ - ٢‬ﻳﻄﺎﻟﺐ إﺳﺮاﺋﻴﻞ ﺑـﺄن ﺗﻮﻗـﻒ ﻋﻠـﻰ اﻟﻔـﻮر اﻟﺘﺪاﺑـﲑ اﻟـﱵ ﺗﺘﺨﺬﻫـﺎ ﰲ رام اﷲ وﰲ‬
                      ‫اﳌﻨﺎﻃﻖ اﶈﻴﻄﺔ ‪‬ﺎ‪ ،‬ﲟﺎ ﰲ ذﻟﻚ ﺗﺪﻣﲑ اﳍﻴﺎﻛﻞ اﻷﺳﺎﺳﻴﺔ اﳌﺪﻧﻴﺔ واﻷﻣﻨﻴﺔ اﻟﻔﻠﺴﻄﻴﻨﻴﺔ؛‬
           ‫‪ - ٣‬ﻳﻄﺎﻟﺐ أﻳﻀﺎ ﺑﺎﻧﺴﺤﺎب ﻗﻮات اﻻﺣﺘـﻼل اﻹﺳـﺮاﺋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﻋﻠـﻰ وﺟـﻪ اﻟﺴـﺮﻋﺔ ﻣـﻦ‬
              ‫اﳌﺪن اﻟﻔﻠﺴﻄﻴﻨﻴﺔ ‪‬ﺪف اﻟﻌﻮدة إﱃ اﳌﻮاﻗﻊ اﻟﱵ ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﺗﺮاﺑﻂ ﻓﻴﻬﺎ ﻗﺒﻞ أﻳﻠﻮل‪/‬ﺳﺒﺘﻤﱪ ‪٢٠٠٠‬؛‬
           ‫‪ - ٤‬ﻳــﻬﻴﺐ ﺑﺎﻟﺴــﻠﻄﺔ اﻟﻔﻠﺴــﻄﻴﻨﻴﺔ أن ﺗﻔــــﻲ ﺑﺎﻟﺘﺰاﻣـــﻬﺎ اﻟﺼﺮﻳـــﺢ ﺑﻜﻔﺎﻟـــﺔ ﺗﻘﺪﳝـــﻬﺎ‬
                                                         ‫اﳌﺴﺆوﻟﲔ ﻋﻦ ارﺗﻜﺎب اﻷﻋﻤﺎل اﻹرﻫﺎﺑﻴﺔ إﱃ اﻟﻌﺪاﻟﺔ؛‬
           ‫‪ - ٥‬ﻳ‪‬ﻌـﺮب ﻋـﻦ دﻋﻤـــﻪ اﻟﻜــﺎﻣﻞ ﻟﻠﺠــﻬﻮد اﻟــﱵ ﺗﺒﺬﳍــﺎ ا‪‬ﻤﻮﻋــﺔ اﻟﺮﺑﺎﻋﻴــﺔ وﻳﺪﻋــﻮ‬
           ‫ﺣﻜﻮﻣﺔ إﺳﺮاﺋﻴﻞ واﻟﺴﻠﻄﺔ اﻟﻔﻠﺴـﻄﻴﻨﻴﺔ وﲨﻴـﻊ اﻟـﺪول ﰲ اﳌﻨﻄﻘـﺔ إﱃ اﻟﺘﻌـﺎون ﻣـﻊ ﻫـﺬه اﳉـﻬﻮد‪،‬‬
           ‫وﻳﻌﺘﺮف ﰲ ﻫﺬا اﻟﺴﻴﺎق ﺑﺎﺳﺘﻤﺮار اﻷﳘﻴﺔ اﻟﱵ ﺗﺘﺴﻢ ‪‬ـﺎ اﳌﺒـﺎدرة اﻟـﱵ أﻗﺮﻫـﺎ ﻣﺆﲤـﺮ اﻟﻘﻤـﺔ اﻟـﺬي‬
                                                                           ‫ﻋﻘﺪﺗﻪ اﳉﺎﻣﻌﺔ اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ ﰲ ﺑﲑوت؛‬
                                                          ‫ﻳﻘﺮر إﺑﻘﺎء اﳌﺴﺄﻟﺔ ﻗﻴﺪ ﻧﻈﺮه‪.‬‬     ‫‪-٦‬‬




‫‪02-60156‬‬                                                                                                            ‫‪2‬‬

Draft resolution (S/2002/1063):
United Nations                                                                         S/2002/1063
               Security Council                                              Distr.: General
                                                                             24 September 2002

                                                                             Original: English




               Bulgaria, France, Ireland, Norway, United Kingdom of Great
               Britain and Northern Ireland: draft resolution

                    The Security Council,
                    Reaffirming its resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967, 338 (1973) of 22
               October 1973, 1397 (2002) of 12 March 2002, 1402 (2002) of 30 March 2002 and
               1403 (2002) of 4 April 2002, as well as the statements of its President, of 10 April
               2002 and 18 July 2002,
                    Reiterating its grave concern at the tragic and violent events that have taken
               place since September 2000 and the continuous deterioration of the situation,
                   Condemning all terrorist attacks against any civilians, including the terrorist
               bombings in Israel on 18 and 19 September 2002 and in a Palestinian school in
               Hebron on 17 September 2002,
                    Gravely concerned at the reoccupation of the headquarters of the President of
               the Palestinian Authority in the City of Ramallah that took place on 19 September
               2002 and demanding its immediate end,
                     Alarmed at the reoccupation of Palestinian cities as well as the severe
               restrictions imposed on the freedom of movement of persons and goods, and gravely
               concerned at the humanitarian crisis being faced by the Palestinian people,
                    Reiterating the need for respect in all circumstances of international
               humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection
               of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,
                    1.    Reiterates its demand for the complete cessation of all acts of violence,
               including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction;
                    2.    Demands that Israel immediately cease measures in and around Ramallah
               including the destruction of Palestinian civilian and security infrastructure;
                    3.   Demands also the expeditious withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces
               from Palestinian cities towards the return to the positions held prior to September
               2000;
                    4.    Calls on the Palestinian Authority to meet its expressed commitment to
               ensure that those responsible for terrorist acts are brought to justice by it;




02-60152 (E)   230902
*0260152*

S/2002/1063


                    5.    Expresses its full support for the efforts of the Quartet and calls upon the
              Government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and all States in the region to
              cooperate with these efforts and recognizes in this context the continuing importance
              of the initiative endorsed at the Arab League Beirut Summit;
                   6.    Decides to remain seized of the matter.




2

Meeting record:
United Nations                                                                                                        S/PV.4614
               Security Council                                                                                                      Provisional
               Fifty-seventh year


               4614    th meeting
               Monday, 23 September 2002, 10 a.m.
               New York




President:     Mr. Tafrov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Bulgaria)

Members:       Cameroon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      Mr. Belinga-Eboutou
               China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   Mr. Wang Yingfan
               Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      Mr. Valdivieso
               France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    Mr. Levitte
               Guinea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    Mr. Traoré
               Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   Mr. Ryan
               Mauritius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     Mr. Koonjul
               Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    Mr. Aguilar Zinser
               Norway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      Mr. Kolby
               Russian Federation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .          Mr. Lavrov
               Singapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     Mr. Mahbubani
               Syrian Arab Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .            Mr. Wehbe
               United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . . . . .                                Sir Jeremy Greenstock
               United States of America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              Mr. Negroponte


Agenda

               The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question
                       Letter dated 20 September 2002 from the Permanent Observer of Palestine to
                       the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council
                       (S/2002/1055)
                       Note verbale dated 20 September 2002 from the Permanent Representative of
                       the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations addressed to the President of
                       the Security Council (S/2002/1056)




               This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the interpretation of
               speeches delivered in the other languages. The final text will be printed in the Official Records
               of the Security Council. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They
               should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the
               delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room C-178.

02-59939 (E)
*0259939*

S/PV.4614


     The meeting was called to order at 10.10 a.m.         20 September 2002 from the Permanent Observer of
                                                           Palestine to the United Nations, which will be issued as
Adoption of the agenda                                     document S/2002/1058 and which reads as follows:
     The agenda was adopted.                                          “I have the honour to request that, in
                                                                accordance with its previous practice, the
The situation in the Middle East, including the                 Security Council invite the Permanent Observer
Palestinian question                                            of Palestine to the United Nations to participate
                                                                in the meeting of the Security Council to be held
     Letter dated 20 September 2002 from the                    on Monday, 23 September 2002, regarding the
     Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United              situation in the occupied Palestinian territory,
     Nations addressed to the President of the                  including Jerusalem.”
     Security Council (S/2002/1055)
                                                                 I propose, with the consent of the Council, to
                                                           invite the Permanent Observer of Palestine to
     Note verbale dated 20 September 2002 from the
                                                           participate in the meeting, in accordance with the
     Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab
                                                           Council’s provisional rules of procedure and with
     Republic addressed to the President of the
                                                           previous practice in this regard.
     Security Council (S/2002/1056)
                                                                There being no objection, it is so decided.
      The President (spoke in French): I should like to
inform the Council that I have received letters from the        At the invitation of the President, Mr. Al-Kidwa
representatives of Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cuba,          (Palestine) took a seat at the Council table.
Denmark, Egypt, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran,
                                                                 The President (spoke in French): The Security
Israel, Jordan, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malaysia,
                                                           Council will now begin its consideration of the item on
Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sudan,
                                                           its agenda. The Council is meeting today in response to
Tunisia and Turkey, in which they request to be invited
                                                           the requests contained in a letter dated 20 September
to participate in the discussion of the item on the
                                                           2002 from the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the
Council’s agenda. In conformity with the usual
                                                           United Nations and Chairman of the Arab Group,
practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to
                                                           document S/2002/1055, and a note verbale dated 20
invite those representatives to participate in the
                                                           September 2002 from the Permanent Representative of
discussion, without the right to vote, in accordance
                                                           the Syrian Arab Republic, document S/2002/1056.
with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37
of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.                 Members of the Council also have before them a
                                                           letter dated 19 September 2002 from the Permanent
     There being no objection, it is so decided.
                                                           Representative of Israel to the United Nations
     At the invitation of the President, Mr. Lancry        addressed to the Secretary-General (S/2002/1049) and
     (Israel) took a seat at the Council table;            a letter dated 20 September 2002 from the Permanent
     Mr. Baali (Algeria), Mr. Buallay (Bahrain),           Observer of Palestine to the United Nations addressed
     Mr. Chowdhury (Bangladesh), Mr. Rodgríguez            to the President of the Security Council (S/2002/1052).
     Parrilla (Cuba), Ms. Løj (Denmark), Mr. Aboul
                                                               I welcome the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi
     Gheit (Egypt), Mr. Nambiar (India), Mr. Zarif
                                                           Annan, and I invite him to take the floor.
     (Islamic Republic of Iran), Prince Zeid Ra’ad
     Zeid Al-Hussein (Jordan), Mr. Dorda (Libyan                 The Secretary-General: Less than a week ago,
     Arab Jamahiriya), Mr. Hasmy (Malaysia),               the Quartet met in this building and agreed on the need
     Mr. Khalid (Pakistan), Mr. Al-Nasser (Qatar),         for a road map to achieve a permanent settlement of the
     Mr. Shobokshi (Saudi Arabia), Mr. Kumalo (South       Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We agreed that it was
     Africa), Mr. Erwa (Sudan), Mr. Mejdoub (Tunisia)      essential and urgent for the Palestinians to take all
     and Mr. Pamir (Turkey) took the seats reserved        possible steps to improve security by bringing an
     for them at the side of the Council Chamber.          immediate end to violence and terror. But we also
                                                           agreed that it had to be done within the context of an
     The President (spoke in French): I should like to
                                                           overall plan, which must address the political,
inform the Council that I have received a letter dated


2

                                                                                                                 S/PV.4614


economic, humanitarian and institutional dimensions of        weakened, is now in the process of being destroyed?
the problem.                                                  Surely, such destruction will only set back even further
                                                              the prospects for implementing necessary reforms and
      We agreed that the plan must spell out reciprocal
                                                              ensuring real improvements in the Authority’s security
steps to be taken by the parties in each of three phases,
                                                              performance.
with a Quartet mechanism to monitor and assess each
party’s progress against specific benchmarks,                       Similarly, the continuing destruction of the
culminating in the negotiation of a final and                 capacity of ministries and municipalities to provide
comprehensive settlement by 2005.                             basic services such as water, electricity and education
                                                              will hamper and even undermine efforts to meet
      We agreed, in short, on the need for a process
                                                              humanitarian needs, whether by Palestinian or by
driven both by performance and by hope. That linkage
                                                              international organizations. Further misery is hardly a
is essential, and I cannot emphasize it too strongly.
                                                              basis for progress, whether political, security or
Yes, we need performance. But there must be hope,
                                                              economic.
too. For without hope there will be no performance.
                                                                    The Quartet and our Arab partners in the region
      So, far from seeing the first steps towards
                                                              are working intensively with the Palestinian Authority
implementing the Quartet’s vision, the events of the
                                                              to see that security and institutional reforms are
past few days represent a tragic step in the opposite
                                                              implemented. But we can succeed only if the
direction. Until last week, there had been six weeks of
                                                              Government of Israel actively supports the process
relative calm in Israel itself, but during the same period
                                                              rather than hindering it. The systematic and literal
in the occupied territory at least 54 Palestinians were
                                                              grinding down of the Authority’s headquarters in
killed in Israeli military operations. Then, in the space
                                                              Ramallah, in which a further 10 Palestinians have been
of three days, 17 to 19 September, we saw a bomb
                                                              killed, is also likely to cause greater political instability
explode in a Palestinian school and two new suicide
                                                              in the West Bank and Gaza. Despite the re-imposition
attacks perpetrated against Israeli civilians inside
                                                              of curfews in most West Bank towns, it has already
Israel.
                                                              prompted mass demonstrations in a number of
      I have said over and over again that such acts are      Palestinian cities, including Ramallah, and efforts to
morally repugnant, and I say it again today. Each time        address key reform issues have been postponed as a
those words have to be repeated, they become even             result.
more grimly apt. These acts are to be condemned both
                                                                    This too will set back the prospects for resuming
for the utterly unjustifiable loss of life, the pain and
                                                              the peace process. Once again, I appeal to Israel to take
misery that they cause to innocent people and because
                                                              greater care to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians
they set back even further the prospect of a just and
                                                              and to refrain from policies and actions that are in
lasting settlement. They strike directly at that very
                                                              violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
hope which, as the Quartet agreed, is an essential
driver of political progress.                                      My Special Envoy is in constant contact with
                                                              both parties and has repeatedly spoken to Chairman
      Once again, I urge all Palestinians, especially the
                                                              Arafat and other senior Palestinian officials in
leaders of all political factions, to renounce this wicked
                                                              Ramallah. He met this morning with Foreign Minister
instrument of terror, clearly and irrevocably, now and
                                                              Peres and is now in Ramallah with the Secretaryforever.
                                                              General of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Abu
      Last week, the Quartet recognized Israel’s              Mazen. He is working in close coordination with the
legitimate security concerns and repeated its demand          other members of the Quartet and key actors in the
that terrorist attacks be stopped once and for all. It also   region.
repeated its call on the Palestinian Authority to work
                                                                    The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not going to be
with the United States and regional partners to reform
                                                              resolved by military might alone, or by violent means
security services and combat terrorism.
                                                              of any kind. A policy based on forcing the other side to
     But how can the Palestinians respond to that call        capitulate is a bankrupt policy. It is not working, and it
if what is left of the civil and security infrastructure of   will never work. It only encourages desperation. It
the Palestinian Authority, which is already gravely           weakens moderates and strengthens extremists. In the


                                                                                                                         3

S/PV.4614


end there will have to be a political settlement,                  Alas, those words have been true of many times
negotiated between the two peoples on an equal               and many places since, and they seem all too true of
basis — a settlement in which, as this Council has said,     the situation between Israelis and Palestinians today.
two States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within
                                                                   But let us not resign ourselves to that state of
secure and recognized borders.
                                                             affairs. Let us help the best on both sides, Palestinian
     Why not reach that end sooner rather than later?        and Israeli, to regain their passion for peace and the
How many hundreds or thousands more have to die,             conviction that brought them so close to agreement two
how much more pain and misery must be endured                years ago.
before leaders on both sides find the vision and the
                                                                  Let us resist the downward spiral into anarchy.
courage to accept the inevitable?
                                                             Let us rebuild a centre that can hold.
      Only a settlement on that basis can bring real
                                                                  The President (spoke in French): I thank the
peace and security to both peoples, and only a
                                                             Secretary-General for his participation in the work of
comprehensive approach can bring a settlement on that
                                                             the Council today and for his statement.
basis nearer.
                                                                  The next speaker is the Permanent Observer of
      The so-called sequential approach, which insists
                                                             Palestine. I now call on him to take the floor.
on full security as a precondition for progress on the
political, humanitarian and institutional fronts, has              Mr. Al-Kidwa (Palestine) (spoke in Arabic): I
clearly failed. Israel needs to understand that there will   congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the
be no lasting security without a political settlement.       presidency of the Security Council for the current
And therefore, even while defending itself against           month. I also thank your predecessor, the Permanent
terrorist attacks, Israel should cooperate actively with     Representative of the United States of America, for his
the Quartet’s efforts to reach such a settlement within      stewardship of the Council last month. In addition, I
the next three years.                                        should like to join you in welcoming the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and I thank him for his
      The Palestinians, on their side, need to
                                                             tireless efforts to bring about peace in the region. We
understand that there will be no settlement without
                                                             urge him to pursue those efforts, including his work
lasting security for Israel.
                                                             with the Quartet.
      Both sides must be urged by all who have any
                                                                   Last Thursday, 19 September 2002, Israel, the
influence over them to accept and act on those
                                                             occupying Power, sent its forces and tanks to reoccupy
understandings so that at last there can be peace and
                                                             the compound of President Yasser Arafat in the city of
security for both peoples, as part of a just, lasting and
                                                             Ramallah. The forces of occupation razed some
comprehensive settlement in the Middle East.
                                                             buildings within the compound and blew up others,
      But I fear this vision will remain a distant mirage    digging a trench around the only remaining and now
so long as our television screens — and the minds of         damaged building, in which President Arafat and other
all those involved — are filled with ugly scenes of          officials and security officers remained. Israeli forces
death and destruction, whether in the streets of Tel         also built a barbed wire fence around that building.
Aviv or at the Muqata’a in Ramallah.                         Meanwhile, the Israeli occupying forces opened fire on
                                                             the area, resulting in at least one death and an unknown
     More than 80 years ago, the great Irish poet
                                                             number of injuries and, of course, directly threatening
William Butler Yeats wrote of a time in his country
                                                             the lives of President Arafat and those with him. The
when
                                                             explosions, the razing and other forms of threat and
     “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;             coercion have continued for days.
     Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world ...
                                                                   Those grave and illegal criminal acts, which are
     The best lack all conviction, while the worst           yet another assault on the entire Palestinian people,
     Are full of passionate intensity.”                      were accompanied by announcements from Israeli
                                                             officials that the Palestinian President would be
                                                             deported from Palestinian territory and that he would
                                                             be harmed, along with other statements concerning the


4

                                                                                                                 S/PV.4614


wish of Israel, the occupying Power, to arrest a number         civilians and the infliction of maximum injury,
of the officials who remained with the President.               continuing its abductions and arrests and causing
Needless to say, those announcements are absolutely             widespread, deliberate destruction to property and
unacceptable, as they represent an escalation of the            farmland. Israel has continued to severely restrict the
aggression and an attempt to further humiliate our              movement of persons and goods, including those of
leadership and our officials. Israel’s repetition of such       United Nations agencies and other humanitarian
lies will amount to an encouragement of aggression.             organizations, imposing closures and, most recently,
                                                                imposing a curfew on hundred of thousands of people.
      After those events, the population of Ramallah
and of many other Palestinian cities defied the curfew                In brief, Israel, the occupying Power — even
imposed upon them and took to the streets to express            during periods of calm on the Palestinian side,
their rejection of the new Israeli criminal aggression.         including over the past six weeks — has continued to
The reaction of the Israeli occupying forces was                destroy the Palestinian Authority and its institutions
typical: they fired directly on the demonstrators,              and to destroy the entire life of the Palestinian people.
resulting in the martyrdom of five civilians and the            Israel has reoccupied the areas under Palestinian
injury of scores of others.                                     control, as if to return the situation to what it had been
                                                                before the peace process.
     Clearly, there is no limit to the crimes committed
by Mr. Sharon, by his Government and by his army in                   The political objectives of the Israeli side, in
the series of war crimes and acts of State terrorism            particular those of Mr. Sharon, are very clear: to
committed      against     the     Palestinian   people.        destroy the Palestinian Authority and to break up the
Unfortunately, it is all being carried out with total           Palestinian leadership in order to create a situation of
impunity    while     the    international    community,        vacuum and anarchy with a view to subjugating the
represented by the Security Council, fails to fulfil its        entire Palestinian population.
obligations because of the position of a permanent
                                                                      Its purpose is not only to prevent permanent
Council member.
                                                                settlement that would ensure Israel’s withdrawal from
      Despite everything, we officially call on the             occupied Palestinian territory, but to ensure the
Council to adopt a clear resolution demanding that              continuation of occupation and colonial settlement. In
Israel withdraw immediately from the headquarters of            fact, Mr. Sharon, and unfortunately some of his
President Arafat, in addition to whatever other action          supporters, do not want a different Palestinian
the Council might deem appropriate in order to put an           leadership, but total absence of any leadership. He does
end to the humanitarian crisis being endured by our             not want a solution with the Palestinian people, but
people and to the tragic confrontation between the two          wants to force it to abandon its rights.
sides. It is not too late to do that, despite the regrettable
                                                                      What I have just said is not an analysis.
and unwarranted delay of this Council meeting from
                                                                Mr. Sharon has been very clear in his public statements
last Friday until today. I express that position not only
                                                                for those who want to listen and understand.
in my national capacity, but also as this month’s
                                                                Mr. Sharon has repeatedly said that he rejects any final
Chairman of the Arab Group, which had requested an
                                                                settlement and that he wants long-term interim
immediate Council meeting to consider this grave
                                                                arrangements. Mr. Sharon has repeatedly said that
situation.
                                                                Palestinians had to be harmed and totally defeated. He
      Throughout the years, the Palestinian people have         objected to the Mitchell recommendations until he
been subjected to uprooting, displacement, denial of            managed to bury them. Mr. Sharon said that he had
their existence, destruction, murder and confiscation of        hoped to have killed President Arafat in Beirut.
their land and property. They have been the target of           Mr. Sharon rewrote resolution 242 (1967) in open
massacres, from those at Deir Yassin and Kafr Qassem            defiance of the Security Council and all those who
to that at the Jenin refugee camp. During the past two          supported the peace process, and he was categorically
years in particular, since Mr. Sharon assumed power,            clear when he recently said that the Oslo Accords no
Israel, the occupying Power, has not stopped its                longer exist. This is the very same Mr. Sharon who is
extrajudicial executions, its collective punishments            the hero of the massacres of Sabra and Shatila, Qibya
such as home demolitions, the deliberate murder of              and Khan Yunis. He is the person responsible for all



                                                                                                                        5

S/PV.4614


kinds of war crimes and State-sponsored terrorism               own civilians through ferocious and destructive attacks
committed by the Israeli occupation forces during his           against an entire other population?
premiership of the Israeli Government. He is the person
                                                                      If Mr. Sharon wanted a solution, he should have
who is pushing the entire region towards catastrophe.
                                                                known by this time that there was no military solution.
       For its part, Israel is trying to deny these political   He is pursuing a military solution through suppression
objectives and is waging psychological warfare against          and brutality, because he does not want a political
our people and leadership, in addition to a systematic          solution.
global campaign of falsehoods and misleading lies.
                                                                      If we examine all of Israel’s actions in the context
One major component of this is an attempt by Israel to
                                                                of international law and Security Council resolutions,
project that all of the atrocities committed against our
                                                                we find a clear case. It is a case of three decades of
people are a reaction against suicide bombings,
                                                                defiance of Security Council resolutions. Three
projecting the entire conflict as having started with all
                                                                decades and more. Twenty-eight resolutions have been
these explosions. Nothing could be further from the
                                                                adopted by the Council with regard to Israeli practices
truth.
                                                                and measures in our occupied territory. All were
      For our part, our position has been clear. We             rejected by the occupying Power; it did not comply
condemn these bombings against civilians in Israel. We          with even one of them. These include resolutions on
condemn them as acts of terrorism that are harmful to           Israeli violations and breaches of the Fourth Geneva
the Palestinian national interests. In any case they are        Convention of 1949; resolutions on illegal Israeli
being committed by groups that oppose the peace                 measures in Jerusalem; resolutions on the settlements;
process and the accords signed between the two sides.           resolutions on deportations; resolutions on providing
However, I would like to state here that the first suicide      protection to the Palestinian civilians; and resolutions
bombings took place towards the end of 1994. That is            on dispatching envoys and fact-finding missions. All
27 years after the gruesome Israeli occupation began,           have been rejected and, in fact, defied through
and after Israel, the occupying Power, had already              continued Israeli occupation.
transferred about 350,000 Israeli settlers to occupy
                                                                      Israel is the only State in the world that is
Palestinian land in order to settle there, colonize it and
                                                                officially recognized as an occupying Power by the
take it over.
                                                                Security Council. Israel is the only State engaged in
      No, the Israeli occupation and its reprehensible          settlement colonialism in the post-colonization era. It is
practices have not resulted from the suicide                    the only State that has systematically violated and
bombings — it actually created them. When the Israeli           breached provisions of international law and
political position favoured the continuation of the             international humanitarian law. It is the only country in
peace process and efforts to achieve a final solution,          the world that has openly rejected all relevant Security
those acts were not allowed to derail the peace process         Council resolutions. As if that is not enough, Israel is
but rather were used to strengthen cooperation with the         the only State in the region that has illegally acquired
Palestinian Authority.                                          nuclear weapons, in addition to other weapons of mass
                                                                destruction. What has the Security Council done?
      When the political position became Sharon’s
                                                                Unfortunately, not much. What does the Council intend
political position, the peace process was halted and the
                                                                to do now? We hope that the Council will show the
suicide bombings were used as a pretext to hit the
                                                                necessary seriousness in shouldering its responsibilities
Palestinian Authority and to revert to the pre-Oslo
                                                                towards the implementation of its own resolutions.
situation.
                                                                      Another classic component of Israeli campaigns
      Why is the Palestinian Authority being targeted
                                                                is the attempt to divert attention to issues other than the
instead of assaulting the perpetrators of the suicide
                                                                main issue at hand and to shift the onus onto the
bombings? Why are the lives of the entire Palestinian
                                                                Palestinian side. We see this clearly in focusing on the
people being destroyed instead of convincing them that
                                                                question of reform. It is true that this is a very
there is a viable path to peace to fulfil their rights.
                                                                important issue for us, but it remains a Palestinian
Even if we accept the Israeli version of the story, how
                                                                matter and is not part of the international agenda that
can a State be allowed to prevent attacks against its
                                                                deals with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



6

                                                                                                              S/PV.4614


      Unfortunately, some appear to want to implement             This border is, of course, the armistice line that is
Mr. Sharon’s plans through this approach. They are          now commonly known as the 1967 border. On this
trying to give democracy a new meaning that does not        basis, there would be specific stages and steps that
recognize free elections and are trying to impose a         would lead us from here to our final destination, the
political system, even an electoral system, on our          final settlement. This is the only approach that would
people. This crude intervention in the affairs of our       create a different dynamic on the two sides and
people is unacceptable. In any case, this issue cannot      inevitably lead to support by the overwhelming
substitute for addressing the main issue — namely, the      majority of both sides for this settlement.
continuation of the Israeli occupation and the need to
                                                                  This approach also requires a genuine and
end this occupation.
                                                            effective international presence on the ground. This
      Yes, we will proceed with our second round of         could be in the form of official observers in sufficient
national elections, and we will do our best to rebuild      numbers and having a clear mandate, or, even better, in
our institutions and reform them. We welcome any            the form that was proposed by Secretary-General Kofi
international assistance in this regard. But at the same    Annan: the establishment of a multinational force
time, we understand the limitations of this process, and    under Chapter VII of the Charter.
we know that no true, full democracy can exist under
                                                                  The parameters of the final settlement are widely
foreign occupation, and we know that we cannot build
                                                            known, and our direct experience has taught us that the
and maintain stable and effective institutions while
                                                            only possible and available way to achieve peace is
killing, destruction and aggression continue.
                                                            that just described. What, then, is the obstacle to this
      Demanding that the Palestinian side fulfil its        settlement? I do not want to get into that from my
duties in the area of security following the destruction    official position of responsibility, because, like every
of its security apparatus, expecting it to complete         Palestinian, I am angry and furious at everything that is
reforms and establish true democracy while under            happening in our country and in our region. But we, the
occupation and continued oppression is ludicrous and        Palestinian people, have not lost hope, and we await
impossible to achieve. Either intentionally or              your measures.
unintentionally, this for all practical purposes provides
                                                                 The President (spoke in French): I thank the
a new cover for Mr. Sharon and his policies, while
                                                            Permanent     Observer      of   Palestine for the
blaming the Palestinian side for failure.
                                                            congratulations that he extended to me.
      All this is happening while the peace process is
                                                                  Mr. Lancry (Israel): Mr. President, at the outset I
being marginalized and extremist forces are rising.
                                                            would like to congratulate you on your assumption of
This hysteria must come to and end and the moment of
                                                            the presidency for this month and to extend my
truth must be faced, namely the truth of Mr. Sharon, his
                                                            congratulations to Ambassador John Negroponte on the
Government, his army and their policies. Otherwise,
                                                            outstanding manner in which he guided the
we are drifting to a course that will drag the entire
                                                            deliberations of the Council last month. I would also
region into a worse situation.
                                                            like to thank the Secretary-General, His Excellency
      The only viable way to end the current tragedy        Mr. Kofi Annan, for his permanent contribution and
and to return to the peace track is to pursue a             concerted efforts to bring an end to the Israelicomprehensive approach along with an effective              Palestinian conflict and to anchor peaceful coexistence
international presence on the ground. What is meant by      in the Middle East.
a comprehensive approach is not only how to deal with
                                                                  The Security Council is meeting just days after a
political, economic and security dimensions all at once,
                                                            Palestinian suicide bomber turned an ordinary Tel Aviv
although these are important; but also to have a prior
                                                            street into a scene of horrific carnage. As workers and
declaration of the form of the final settlement, not only
                                                            shoppers were going about their business, a Palestinian
on the basis of two States — Israel and Palestine — but
                                                            terrorist boarded a public city bus and detonated a
also by identifying the borders between the two States,
                                                            powerful explosive charge that ripped through the
with the possibility of the two sides agreeing to some
                                                            crowded downtown district. When the dust settled, five
specific amendments thereto.
                                                            Israeli civilians lay dead and more than sixty others
                                                            were wounded, several of them seriously.


                                                                                                                     7

S/PV.4614


      The Tel Aviv bombing followed a day of hell in         the clearest affirmation of what we have constantly
which three Israelis were killed and three wounded in        asserted: that the only thing which stands between
three separate incidents. Early in the morning, security     Palestinian terrorists and their Israeli victims is the
forces discovered the charred body of David Buhbut.          preventive actions of the Israeli military.
Buhbut, who was reported missing on Tuesday night,
                                                                    These attacks have also affirmed the terrorists’
had gone shopping in an Arab village near his home.
                                                             violent rejection of any efforts at reconciliation
He was abducted and tortured for several hours, and his
                                                             between the parties, as they come amidst resurgent
body was discarded in a dumpster where it was later
                                                             efforts of responsible parties to help stop the violence
found.
                                                             and bring the parties back to the negotiating table.
      In the afternoon, Palestinian terrorists shot and      Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Defence
killed Yosef Ajami, an Israeli civilian who was driving      Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer have met a number of
his car to Baka al-Gharbiya. And in the evening, Israeli     times with Palestinian officials and the meetings
policeman Moshe Hizkiyahu was killed as he                   appeared promising. The Quartet met in New York in
responded to a report of a suspicious individual near        still another effort to revive the peace process. And yet,
the Umm el-Fahm Junction. As Officer Hizkiyahu               with every hopeful step forward, terrorism forces us to
approached, the man blew himself up. Two others were         take an even greater step backward.
wounded in the attack, for which Islamic Jihad claimed
                                                                  As Foreign Minister Peres observed in his recent
responsibility.
                                                             speech before the General Assembly, despite the
      These attacks come after a six-week period of          complexity of the conflicts in the Middle East, if it
relative quiet resulting from the extraordinary efforts of   were not for terror we could have already resolved
Israeli security forces. In recent weeks, Israeli forces     them. Terror, however, does not solve conflicts, it
have intercepted or thwarted scores of attempted             entrenches them.
attacks, including one in which a truck filled with
                                                                  Time and again Palestinian terrorist groups have
hundreds of kilograms of explosives was seized, more
                                                             shown their eagerness to scuttle any attempts to
than enough to bring a skyscraper crashing to the
                                                             energize the peace process and restore hope to the
ground.
                                                             people of the region. If the Palestinian leadership is
      During this same period there have been some           unwilling to confront these demonstrated enemies of
encouraging signs of internal Palestinian dialogue,          peace, then it undermines its claim to be a partner for
including the voices of those who are beginning to           peace.
question the value of the Palestinian campaign of
                                                                   The responsibility of the Palestinian leadership is
terrorism and suicide bombings. Israel is following
                                                             clear. It must act decisively and resolutely to combat
these discussions with great interest, and we are
                                                             Palestinian terrorism. It must end the financial,
cautiously optimistic that they may signal a new
                                                             logistical and moral support it has provided to terrorist
direction for the Palestinian people.
                                                             organizations. It must dismantle the infrastructure upon
     As a result of this period of quiet, and out of         which Palestinian terrorists depend. It must confiscate
genuine concern for the plight of the Palestinian            their weapons, arrest their leaders, shut down their
population, Israel had begun to scale back some of the       offices and cut off their sources of funding. It must end
security precautions it had implemented. Various steps       the relentless incitement to violence in the official
were taken to ease the freedom of movement of                Palestinian Authority-controlled media. It must stop
Palestinians, particularly the suspension of curfews.        the glorification of violence and martyrdom in
                                                             Palestinian schools. It must stop hanging portraits of
      It is no coincidence that terrorist attacks have
                                                             terrorists from buildings, naming streets after them and
resumed at precisely the moment that Israel has relaxed
                                                             holding them up as role models for other Palestinians
some of its security precautions. Steps that were taken
                                                             to follow. In short, it must completely de-legitimize
to improve the humanitarian conditions of the
                                                             terrorism and suicide bombing in the eyes of its people.
Palestinian population have been cynically viewed by
                                                             Every one of these obligations stem from specific
terrorists as opportunities. Any relaxation in Israeli
                                                             Security Council resolutions, signed commitments and
security policy is seized upon, and in the past few days
we have all witnessed the catastrophic result. This is


8

                                                                                                            S/PV.4614


the requirements of international law, which the                  As we know from history, achieving a vision of
Palestinian leadership has repeatedly flouted.              two States living in peace and security depends not on
                                                            entertaining partisan initiatives, but on genuine and
      Instead of respecting its legal obligations, the
                                                            meaningful dialogue. But if violence and terror
Palestinian leadership, even to this day, continues to
                                                            continue, it will be impossible to arrive at a political
harbour terrorists and refuses to arrest them and bring
                                                            settlement.
them to justice. Inside the leadership compound in
Ramallah are 50 individuals who have planned, funded               Ending the terror, incitement and hatred, and
and orchestrated scores of terrorist attacks and who are    engaging in genuine face-to-face negotiations, in a
responsible for countless deaths of innocent civilians.     spirit of good faith and partnership, is the only way we
Rather than take action against those it knows are          can achieve the vision the Council has endorsed and
complicit in acts of terrorism, the Palestinian Authority   pave the way for a brighter future for all the peoples of
grants them immunity within its headquarters and            the region.
protects them.
                                                                  I would like to conclude by drawing the Council’s
      The Palestinian leadership must establish itself as   attention to a story that I believe should serve not only
the only party with the authority to exercise the use of    as an inspiration, but also as a reminder that, even in
force. It can no longer tolerate the existence of           the face of the devastating reality Palestinians and
numerous armed groups, each with its own agenda,            Israelis face each day, there remains among the peoples
methods and doctrine, acting independently of one           of this troubled region the basic need for coexistence.
another. The monopoly of the use of force is one of the
                                                                  Jonathan Jesner was a teenage student who was
most basic responsibilities of national leadership. A
                                                            among those killed in Tel Aviv on Thursday. The
leadership that fails to exercise that responsibility has
                                                            Jesner family donated his kidney to a 7-year-old
also lost its legitimate right to lead.
                                                            Palestinian girl, Yasmin Abu Ramila, who was
      These steps, which are expected by the                suffering from a debilitating disease. This act provided
international community, are more than within the           her with a life-saving transplant.
power of the Palestinian leadership to undertake. That
                                                                  In the past, the families of Palestinians who have
it has utterly refused to do so, even after more than two
                                                            lost their lives in the conflict with Israel have made
years of hostilities, is a most telling indication of the
                                                            similarly life-affirming and courageous gestures,
status of its commitment to ending violence and
                                                            donating their organs to Israelis suffering from illness
returning to a political process.
                                                            and disease. These contributions are the very antithesis
     The only enduring solution to the conflict in the      of terror. They provide a glimmer of hope that, despite
region is the one articulated by President Bush and         the bitterness, death and mourning, we can still
endorsed by the Council, one in which two States live       recognize common humanity and common destiny.
side by side in peace, security and coexistence. The
                                                                  Mr. Negroponte (United States of America): Last
Foreign Minister of Israel, addressing the General
                                                            Friday morning, the Security Council members
Assembly just a few days ago, again expressed Israel’s
                                                            gathered in this Chamber for a briefing by the United
enduring commitment to that vision.
                                                            Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace
      Additional    Security    Council    resolutions,     Process to brief us on the recent meeting of the Quartet
particularly one-sided ones, are more than unhelpful;       at United Nations Headquarters last week. Members of
they are counterproductive. Resolutions that fail to        the Council expressed their support for the statement
address the context of terrorism, specifically demand       issued by the Quartet on 17 September 2002. That
the dismantling of terrorist organizations such as          statement described some of the concrete, practical and
Islamic Jihad, Hamas and the Fatah Al-Aqsa Brigades         forward-looking steps Quartet members, including
and condemn suicide bombing in the strongest possible       United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Russian
terms are simply a further incentive for the                Foreign Minister Ivanov, European Union High
continuation of the Palestinian terrorist campaign. If      Representative Solana and Secretary of State Powell,
international support can be garnered for one-sided         are taking with the parties to end violence and to
resolutions, why should compromise be sought at the         advance political negotiations aimed at realizing
negotiating table?                                          President Bush’s vision of two States, Israel and an


                                                                                                                    9

S/PV.4614


independent, viable and democratic Palestine, living         working towards a resumption of a political dialogue
side by side in peace and security. The parties and key      that leads to a lasting peace. Progress on these
regional Arab States also participated in the Quartet        objectives is critical to restoring trust and confidence
meetings, which contributed to restoring confidence          between the two sides. A common front, exemplified
and trust in the Middle East. The Quartet meeting            by the Quartet and those that support its efforts, can
coincided with what appeared to be a terrorist bombing       make a real difference in resolving the Israeliat a Palestinian school near Hebron that wounded five        Palestinian conflict. I call on all members of the
Palestinian children. The Quartet deplored and               international community to support and encourage
condemned morally repugnant violence and terror.             steps on the ground that will contribute concretely and
                                                             objectively to meeting these objectives.
      Palestinian extremists reacted immediately to the
Quartet’s efforts with more devastating acts of terror:            We will not support the adoption of a one-sided
Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad competed in          text that fails to recognize that this conflict has two
their claims of responsibility for two suicide bombing       sides, that fails to condemn acts of terror and the
attacks in Israel on 18 and 19 September 2002. The           groups that perpetrate them and that fails to call for the
second, in Tel Aviv, killed six Israelis and one Scottish    dismantling of the networks that threaten all the people
national on a civilian bus. Sixty people were injured,       of the Middle East, both Arab and Israeli.
many of whom were mutilated by the blast. Nearly all
                                                                   Mr. Kolby (Norway): After six weeks, innocent
Security Council members condemned these attacks
                                                             Israelis again became the victims of terrorist acts.
publicly, and privately within the Security Council
                                                             Terrorism builds nothing, destroys everything and must
consultations room. Most of the Governments
                                                             be fought vigorously. Terrorism works against the
represented in this Chamber have also made timely
                                                             interests of the Palestinian people. President Arafat and
statements condemning these attacks and the groups
                                                             the Palestinian Authority must do everything they can
that continue to perpetrate them. We encourage others
                                                             to stop Palestinian terrorism and eliminate terrorist
to join us in condemning these acts of terror in the
                                                             structures. Those responsible must be brought to
strongest possible terms.
                                                             justice.
      The United States is intensively engaged in
                                                                  During the same period, dozens of Palestinians
efforts to calm the situation in the Middle East. Israel’s
                                                             have been killed by Israeli military action, among them
recent actions in the Ramallah Muqata’a are not
                                                             many innocent civilians. Norway has appealed to Israel
helpful, either in achieving a lasting end to violence or
                                                             to stop the ongoing military operation against the
in promoting vital reforms. The United States has made
                                                             headquarters of President Arafat. We do not think that
this clear at the highest levels of the Israeli
                                                             the military actions against him will stop terrorism; nor
Government. It is essential that Israel consider
                                                             do we think that they will further Israel’s long-term
carefully the consequences of its actions and avoid
                                                             security needs.
further measures that escalate rather than reduce
tension and violence. The further destruction by Israel            Norway supports the conclusions of the Quartet
of the Palestinian Authority’s remaining civilian and        meeting held on 17 September. We support the work
security infrastructure will not improve Israel’s            done to formulate a road map that can identify a way
security situation; on the contrary, it will only set back   out of the present crisis. Security for both Israelis and
further the prospects for implementing the reforms           Palestinians has to be restored. But equally important is
necessary to ensure real improvements in the                 the need to restore the political dialogue. The Middle
Palestinian Authority’s security performance. It is also     East conflict cannot be solved through the use of arms.
likely to have serious negative consequences for             The solution has to be political.
political stability in the West Bank and Gaza, and
                                                                   Norway fully supports the Palestinian reform
therefore for the prospects of resuming the political
                                                             process. It is now more important than ever to create an
process.
                                                             accountable and efficient Palestinian Authority.
      The United States objectives are clear: ending         Progress has been made despite the very difficult
terrorism, promoting Palestinian civil reform, restoring     circumstances in which the reform efforts are being
active    security   cooperation,     alleviating    the     carried out.
humanitarian situation inside Palestinian areas and


10

                                                                                                             S/PV.4614


      However, reforms cannot be implemented in a            representative of Denmark on behalf of the European
vacuum. The present security situation undermines the        Union.
reform efforts. The renewed attacks on President
                                                                    The situation in Israel and the Palestinian
Arafat’s compound have jeopardized these efforts. The
                                                             territories has tragically deteriorated in recent days.
success of the reforms also depends on Palestinians
                                                             Given the responsibilities conferred upon the Security
seeing improvements both in living conditions and in
                                                             Council by the Charter, the gravity of the situation
political prospects. The Palestinians must be given
                                                             fully justifies the Council’s meeting today to hear the
hope. Norway therefore urges Israel to stop actions that
                                                             views of the parties and to carefully review the
undermine the Palestinian reform efforts and to assist
                                                             situation and respond to it accordingly.
in creating an environment that is conducive to
supporting the reform efforts.                                     Renewed hopes of returning to the path of
                                                             dialogue and peace negotiations have been dashed by
      Norway is deeply alarmed by the deteriorating
                                                             the recent terrorist attacks against Israel in Jerusalem
humanitarian situation of the Palestinians. We were
                                                             and in Tel Aviv, which have claimed many innocent
pleased to hear high-level assurances from Israel of
                                                             victims, as well as by the terrorist act last week that
increased cooperation with humanitarian agencies, but
                                                             deliberately targeted Palestinian schoolchildren in
we have to note that officials of those agencies are
                                                             Hebron. France condemned in the strongest possible
reporting only marginal improvements on the ground.
                                                             terms these heinous and unjustifiable acts. They
Norway recognizes Israel’s legitimate security needs,
                                                             discredit the cause they claim to serve. I reiterate here
but the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian
                                                             in the Council France’s solidarity with and condolences
population must also be safeguarded.
                                                             to the families of the victims of these barbaric acts.
      The humanitarian plight of the Palestinian people
                                                                   Hope was destroyed also by those who, blindly or
is now quickly deteriorating. The curfews continue to
                                                             deliberately, were unable, or did not wish, to put to
confine to their homes, on average, almost half a
                                                             good use the relative calm that had prevailed for almost
million Palestinians in more than 20 cities and towns,
                                                             six weeks. By continuing its military operations during
sometimes for days at a time. The business sector is
                                                             that period — when no attacks took place against
paralysed. Malnutrition among children is increasing to
                                                             civilians in Israel — and in so doing killing many
unacceptable levels, and unemployment rates are above
                                                             Palestinian civilians, the Israeli army played right into
50 per cent. Norway therefore supports the
                                                             the hands of the most extremist Palestinian factions.
recommendation of the Bertini report to dispatch a
mission to develop a detailed plan on how to deal with              Ongoing military operations aimed at the offices
humanitarian needs. Norway urges Israel to fully             of the President of the Palestinian Authority in
cooperate with aid agencies and to lift the harsh            Ramallah are unacceptable. France demands that they
restrictions imposed on the Palestinians. The                cease immediately, and it has said so to the Israeli
humanitarian situation should continue to be followed        authorities. Meeting violence with more violence,
closely by the international community. We therefore         laying siege to the Palestinian Authority and destroying
welcome the decision by the Quartet to hold a                its infrastructures can in no way contribute to the fight
ministerial meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee          against terrorism or to meeting Israel’s legitimate
in December, in parallel with the holding of a new           security concerns. Rather, these acts further impede the
Quartet meeting.                                             Authority’s ability to combat the terrorist scourge.
                                                             They prevent the implementation of the reforms
      The present situation is deeply tragic for all those
                                                             entered into with the unanimous support of the
who wish for peace and who are held hostage by
                                                             international community and which are essential to
extremist and brutal action. Norway urges maximum
                                                             establishing a new partnership for peace. Reforms must
restraint and calls upon the parties to allow the Quartet
                                                             be encouraged, not slowed down. The current operation
to continue to work out a road map that can bring about
                                                             against the Palestinian presidency can only delay them.
new positive momentum in the efforts to establish
security, peace and a lasting political solution.                  It is, of course, essential that the Palestinian
                                                             Authority use every means at its disposal to prevent
      Mr. Levitte (France) (spoke in French): France
                                                             terrorists from acting and to arrest and bring to justice
fully endorses the statement to be made shortly by the
                                                             the perpetrators of, and masterminds behind, terrorist


                                                                                                                   11

S/PV.4614


acts, and punish them as severely as possible. France’s      to the families of the recent victims, which on this
message in this regard is unambiguous.                       occasion included a 19-year-old British national,
                                                             Jonathan    Jesner,    to    whom       the   Permanent
      It is equally essential that Israel realize that the
                                                             Representative of Israel referred just now. There can be
security imperative — which is entirely legitimate —
                                                             no valid excuse for the indiscriminate and deliberate
cannot serve as its only strategy. I would echo the
                                                             taking of civilian lives, of any nationality, under
words of the Secretary-General, as well as the
                                                             whatever circumstances.
statement made by his Special Envoy to the Council
last Friday, in saying that the approach taken, which is           Both Palestinians and Israelis must take action to
based on security alone — the so-called sequential           break the cycle of violence and to help the other party
approach — has failed. We must rekindle hope. This           to do likewise. We should be clear that such attacks are
will require not only an improvement in the security         aimed at the search for peace itself. We should not let
situation but also a commitment to, and the                  rejectionists succeed in derailing what progress has
implementation of, parallel progress in other areas and      been achieved and what we want to achieve in the
in the political area in particular.                         future. If the logic of peace were the priority, the Israeli
                                                             Government and the Palestinian Authority would be
      From this perspective, the most recent meeting of
                                                             working together to deal with the threat to the peace
the Quartet made it possible to chart a course towards
                                                             which they both claim to seek.
the resumption of the peace process. France, like many
other countries, welcomed this positive development.               We are seriously concerned by the worsening
The general framework for a three-phase plan leading         humanitarian situation. The desperation of the
to the settlement of the conflict has been defined. The      Palestinian population fuels the extremists and stifles
framework sets out the stages of the plan and the            hopes of a political process. While the Palestinian
measures that are expected of the parties as well as a       Authority needs to take concrete steps against
timetable for their implementation. It gives the Quartet     terrorists, Israel should do more to ease restrictions on
a key monitoring role.                                       Palestinians and to enable economic life to recover and
                                                             the humanitarian situation to improve. We are working
       In the current context of mutual defiance between
                                                             with others to help alleviate the suffering and to agree a
the parties, we deem essential the creation of a thirdlong-term resolution to this crisis.
party mechanism to assess and monitor the
implementation by each party of the measures expected              The United Kingdom’s diplomacy in all its forms
of it. The early holding of an international conference      is aimed at achieving an end to the violence and at
could also make a useful contribution to defining            restoring the political process. But we have learnt by
parameters as well as the role of each party, thereby        now that the international community cannot impose
enhancing the chances of success of future peace             peace. We are all now close to disgust that the parties
negotiations.                                                continue to fail to appreciate that there can be no
                                                             military solution. Only a return to the negotiating table
      The course set by the Quartet must be maintained
                                                             will provide the peaceful solution which we are
and its various elements further defined. The members
                                                             convinced both peoples want and deserve.
of the Quartet are committed to doing so, and they will
continue to work towards that end in the coming                    Israel has a right to exist in security. It is entitled
weeks. But it is the parties themselves which must           to take steps to protect itself from terrorist attack, but
demonstrate in the field, above and beyond words and         these should be neither disproportionate nor excessive.
professions of faith, their dedication to the goals set by   Deployment of Israeli tanks in Ramallah and Gaza, and
the international community. This will require, among        further destruction of President Arafat’s compound, are
other things, implementation of the relevant Security        not the answer. The blockade is unjustified and should
Council resolutions, all of which are equally binding,       end. Not only is it counterproductive for the search for
in their entirety, upon all parties.                         long-term security for Israel; it also flies in the face of
                                                             the Security Council’s sensible and widely supported
     Sir Jeremy Greenstock (United Kingdom): Let
                                                             prescriptions for eventual peace, most recently
me first make very clear the strength of the United
                                                             expressed in resolution 1397 (2002).
Kingdom condemnation of all terrorist attacks. We
deeply regret the loss of life and extend our sympathies


12

                                                                                                              S/PV.4614


      The Palestinians have a right to establish a                 We have seen in recent months a strong and
sovereign, viable and independent Palestinian State.         encouraging movement towards reform in Palestinian
The Palestinian Authority must do all in its power to        political life. This movement holds great promise for
prevent terrorist attacks. We welcome its condemnation       the establishment of a democratic and accountable
of the latest bombings and recent pleas to the               Government in a future Palestine. The demand for this
Palestinian population to renounce violence. We stand        movement arose from within Palestinian society itself,
ready to help it rebuild and reform itself so that it can    and it has attracted the deserved support of the
regain the confidence of the international community in      international community.
its work to clamp down on violence.
                                                                   We have seen a gathering consensus in large parts
      The Quartet set out on 17 September its                of Palestinian society and political life against
commitment to a concrete three-phase implementation          terrorism, not only as a self-defeating tactic but as
road map. It did this after consultation with Israel, the    wrong in itself and as a danger to prospects for the
Palestinian Authority and representatives of the Arab        early achievement of a Palestinian State and a region
League follow-up committee. We fully support the             truly at peace.
Quartet in its efforts because they represent the hope of
                                                                   We have seen over recent weeks a clear lull in
which the Secretary-General spoke so eloquently to us
                                                             terrorist actions and tentative moves towards a broad
this morning. Our focus now should be on agreement to
                                                             ceasefire. If such a ceasefire had been allowed to take
a detailed road map and its implementation. Bad
                                                             root, it would have done more for the security of Israel
decisions and extremist action are standing in the way.
                                                             and Israelis and for the security of Palestinians than
      Mr. Ryan (Ireland): Ireland is fully associated        any number of security measures, closures, curfews,
with the statement that will be made later in the debate     security structures or withdrawals. Further suicide
by the Permanent Representative of Denmark on behalf         bombings, attempted suicide bombings and the reaction
of the European Union.                                       by Israeli forces against President Arafat’s
                                                             headquarters have dealt those hopes a severe blow.
      At a time when prospects for political progress in
the Middle East appeared on the increase and when the              The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ireland
international community has been actively engaged in         deplored the despicable attacks against Israeli civilians,
nurturing these tentative hopes, the events of recent        saying that they were clearly intended to wreck
days — suicide bombings that have again taken Israeli        progress towards restoring the peace process.
lives, a terrorist attack on Palestinian schoolchildren      Mr. Cowen pointed out that those attacks had been
and the attack on President Arafat’s compound in             carried out against the express wishes of the Palestinian
Ramallah — have come as a bitter disappointment.             Authority and despite its efforts to prevent such
                                                             attacks. They came after a period of six weeks during
       The Secretary-General recalled earlier that only
                                                             which there were no Israeli civilian casualties inside
last Tuesday, the Quartet, here in New York, committed
                                                             Israel, while, as we heard from Special Coordinator
itself to the early completion of a road map that would
                                                             Roed-Larsen last Friday, more than 50 Palestinians,
guide the parties to a settlement that would secure the
                                                             mostly innocent people — men, women and
legitimate rights of both parties. Israel would gain full
                                                             children — died in Israeli military operations,
recognition by its neighbours and guarantees of its
                                                             including extrajudicial killings.
national security, and the Palestinian people would see
an end to occupation and the realization of their right            The actions of the Israeli armed forces in
to sovereignty.                                              Ramallah in the past three days have also dealt hopes
                                                             for peace a severe blow. The almost complete
     Such a road map would be the beginning of a
                                                             destruction of the centre and symbol of Palestinian
process, not its conclusion, but it offers a real hope for
                                                             national life can only convey the message that the
progress towards the implementation of Security
                                                             Israeli Government is not interested in any renewal of
Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and
                                                             Palestinian political life that comes from within
towards realizing the vision enshrined in the
                                                             Palestinian society but is intent on imposing its own
declaration of the Beirut Arab Summit, in statements
                                                             terms on any such renewal.
by world leaders, including President Bush, and in
Security Council resolution 1397 (2002).


                                                                                                                    13

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      My Foreign Minister has called on Israel to                   And we here in the Security Council must meet
withdraw its forces from President Arafat’s                   our responsibility in helping to achieve these goals.
headquarters and to exercise the greatest restraint. He
                                                                    Mr. Belinga-Eboutou (Cameroon) (spoke in
said that terrorist attacks on innocent Israeli civilians,
                                                              French): First, Mr. President, I would like to thank you
for which there can be no justification, must not be
                                                              sincerely for agreeing to the Arab Group’s request for
allowed to provoke a reaction that in turn causes
                                                              this public meeting because of the renewed violence in
civilian casualties and is totally counterproductive and
                                                              the Middle East and the extremely grave situation in
damages the prospects for resolving the conflict.
                                                              Ramallah. The delegation of Cameroon is deeply
Ireland considers that these actions by the Israeli
                                                              concerned. We would like to reaffirm the need to
security forces are completely unacceptable. They must
                                                              respect the physical integrity and the political survival
end immediately.
                                                              of Palestinian institutions. Two sides are needed to
      Ms. Catherine Bertini’s recent report on the            build peace and to have dialogue.
humanitarian situation in the occupied territories and
                                                                    Three days ago, I unambiguously condemned the
the latest socio-economic report by the Office of the
                                                              escalation of violence and the recent attacks in the
United Nations Special Coordinator in the Occupied
                                                              Middle East. Today, given the tragic and terrifying
Terroritories paint a truly grim picture. The Palestinian
                                                              increase in bloodshed, there is a serious danger that we
economy has, according to Ms. Bertini, by and large
                                                              and our peoples will be overwhelmed by despair. It
collapsed. Most of the Palestinian population is now
                                                              seems that the chance for peace is yet again drifting
living at levels of severe poverty, with increasing
                                                              further and further away and that the region may yet
malnutrition and serious interruptions in children’s
                                                              again be caught up in madness and confrontation.
education.
                                                              Despite all this, however, we have to hope, for, as the
       The international community also has a                 Secretary-General just said, we need hope. His words
responsibility to act to redress the situation, and Ireland   sound even more tragic today.
looks forward to the detailed plan that United Nations
                                                                    Just three days ago, Cameroon was hopeful about
agencies will submit to the ministerial-level meeting of
                                                              the peace plan offered by the Quartet, which takes the
the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee in December. Above
                                                              Council’s concerns and the requirements for a lasting
all, however, Israel itself has a clear responsibility to
                                                              settlement into account. It seemed to us then, as it
address immediately, in a manner consistent with its
                                                              seems to us today, to be capable of restoring peace to
security, the effects of its closures and curfews. The
                                                              Palestine, the land of peace. At that time, Cameroon
impact of Israeli measures has had severe
                                                              drew attention to the difficulties that would inevitably
consequences for the daily lives of Palestinians. And
                                                              arise. More specifically, I called on the sides to adhere
this is no small point. Hope abandoned is no basis for a
                                                              fully to the peace plan prepared by the Quartet. We
lasting peace. And the presence of hope is surely an
                                                              insisted that neither party, on the basis of some
indispensable basis for building the peace that both
                                                              contingency or other, should be able to call the plan
peoples want and deserve.
                                                              into question.
      Israel also has a responsibility to halt the process
                                                                    Unfortunately, this was at a time of relative calm
of settlement expansion and consolidation, which
                                                              that had lasted several weeks. Now, just when real hope
undermines hope among Palestinians that Israel will
                                                              seemed to be emerging, further violence is jeopardizing
ever agree to a sovereign Palestine.
                                                              the new momentum. I would recall Tolstoy’s words to
      Grievance, bitterness, insecurity, victimhood,          the effect that no reform imposed by violence will set
manifest injustice: these are the great enemies of            the wrong to rights. Wisdom has no need of violence.
achieving peace in the Middle East. Israel wants and
                                                                    Thus, I call on the parties once again to respect
deserves the security and peace its people need.
                                                              human life, to act with moderation and to exercise
Palestinians want and deserve a sense of hope, a sense
                                                              restraint. We still believe in the virtues of dialogue and
of belonging and a home that is fully theirs and that
                                                              negotiation. Only dialogue and negotiation can bring a
will allow Palestine and its people an honourable place
                                                              just and lasting peace to the Middle East. We call on
in the world.
                                                              the Palestinians and Israelis to demonstrate more
                                                              courage and a greater sense of history by deciding


14

                                                                                                              S/PV.4614


resolutely to return to the path of dialogue towards a         The Quartet’s plan, put forward about a week ago, is
lasting peace.                                                 comprehensive and includes various aspects that will
                                                               have to be developed in parallel with one another. As
      Is there any need to point out that a legal
                                                               we have said previously in this Chamber, the political,
framework already exists that could ease tension and
                                                               security, economic and humanitarian aspects must be
lead to a comprehensive settlement? I refer to the
                                                               addressed simultaneously. While the first phase of the
relevant resolutions of the Security Council —
                                                               Quartet’s plan touches on all these aspects, we must
resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 1397 (2002) —
                                                               ensure that one will not prevail as a precondition for
which are the bases of the Quartet’s road map. We
                                                               the others.
believe that action undertaken in respect for
international law would help to bring about a real, just             The Quartet, with the participation of other
and lasting peace. It is only through a political              States, has also established some working groups to
settlement that the legitimate aspirations of both sides       assist the Palestinian Authority in making reforms in
to live in peace, within secure and recognized borders,        various areas. There can be no doubt that acts of
can actually be realized. Let us therefore give the            violence and terror impede this process, as do actions
Quartet’s peace plan a chance. It offers a methodical          taken to undermine the Palestinian Authority, which fly
and comprehensive settlement that takes account of the         in the face of the forces for change supported by the
political, security, economic and humanitarian aspects         international community.
to be addressed in parallel, not in sequence.
                                                                     The elections in Palestine scheduled for early
      History is what men and women make it. It is up          next year will be a decisive moment. The leadership
to the men and women of Israel and Palestine to write          chosen in those elections should enjoy the international
and to make their history together. To that end, as            community’s support, as it will be responsible for
Cameroon has said before and will say again, it is             implementing the next phase of the plan — the
essential for the men, women and young people of the           establishment of the Palestinian State.
Middle East to launch the process of developing and
                                                                     The establishment of the Palestinian State is not
transforming their ways of thinking and acting so as to
                                                               just an option, it is a necessity. It means recognizing
stem this mindless tide of violence and to prime the
                                                               the right of the Palestinian people to selfwell of love.
                                                               determination, as acknowledged in many United
      Mr. Valdivieso (Colombia) (spoke in Spanish):            Nations resolutions.
We are meeting in this Chamber once again to lament
                                                                     The last phase of the Quartet’s plan provides for
and reject the recent escalation of violence in the
                                                               direct negotiations between the parties with a view to
Middle East. Following a few weeks of relative calm,
                                                               reaching a definitive solution. Both the reforms and the
the enemies of peace have once again achieved their
                                                               political process must be accompanied by measures
aim. There has been new bloodshed and renewed
                                                               implemented by Israel to improve the living standards
terrorist acts, leading to scenes of horror. The Israel
                                                               of the Palestinian people, thereby making it possible
Defence Forces are again laying siege to the
                                                               for economic activities to resume, facilitating the
headquarters of President Arafat and imperilling not
                                                               movement of goods and peoples and lifting blockades
only his life, but the very possibility of reform in the
                                                               and curfews. Both parties must make a great effort to
various components of the Palestinian Authority.
                                                               avoid being overwhelmed by the violence, or, rather,
      Let there be no doubt that Colombia rejects              not to give way to the extremists who see violence as
terrorist attacks in Israeli territory and the recent attack   the only course of action.
against a school in Palestine. Israel’s excessive use of
                                                                      A few days ago we received a report from Mrs.
force and the siege of Arafat’s headquarters do not
                                                               Catherine Bertini, the Personal Envoy of the Secretarycontribute to establishing the political climate
                                                               General, assessing the humanitarian situation in the
necessary to overcome the stalemate in a process that
                                                               territories. That report is worrying and confirms what
began two years ago.
                                                               we all feared. The lack of mobility is having an impact
     The members of the Security Council have                  on the people, as they are unable to get to work. Their
supported the diplomatic activities of the Quartet, of         health has deteriorated, in addition to the fact that in
which the United Nations is a participating member.            some emergency situations ambulances have been


                                                                                                                     15

S/PV.4614


denied access. Education has also been affected, as          groups, such as Hamas, which resort to and glorify
neither teachers nor children can get to the schools.        terrorism. The Palestinian Authority must dissociate
The lack of income is causing a food crisis, and             itself, actively and definitively, from terrorism. It must
approximately 300 localities have no regular water           make a genuine and sincere effort to prevent the
supply. In the words of the report, there is a serious and   continuing dissemination of hatred. We should ask
growing humanitarian crisis in the West Bank and             ourselves, however, how the Palestinian Authority can
Gaza.                                                        do so if it is being subjected, as it clearly is, to constant
                                                             harassment and destruction.
      The report contains a series of recommendations
that must be taken into account by both the Palestinian            Time and again my delegation has expressed my
Authority and Israel, including the obligation to respect    country’s conviction that reprisals and efforts to
international humanitarian law and the applicability to      destroy the Palestinian Authority simply encourage
the occupied territories of the provisions of the Fourth     violence and escalate hatred. Israel should be betting
Geneva Convention.                                           on peace and assuming all the risks of such a wager.
      Mr. Aguilar Zinser (Mexico) (spoke in Spanish):               My country appeals to Israel to act in such a way
Over the past few days, the efforts of the Quartet to        as to help build confidence. This would include
draw up a plan of action leading finally to peace in the     facilitating and supporting humanitarian assistance to
Middle East has borne fruit. A time frame was                alleviate tension in the occupied Palestinian territories
prepared, with a three-phase plan designed to obtain a       so that acceptable living conditions could gradually be
lasting peace built on the vision of two States, Israel      established there. It is imperative that we face up to the
and Palestine, living side by side in peace within secure    economic and humanitarian situation, which has been
borders and with normal, productive working relations        deteriorating in an unacceptable manner because of the
with all their neighbours.                                   actions of Israel.
      The Quartet’s efforts also led to the search for a           Mexico once again reaffirms its support for the
mechanism to implement, monitor and verify                   efforts being made by the Quartet. We will be
agreements to be arrived at on the basis of the three-       considering the draft resolution that is before Council
phase plan. Agreement was reached on considering the         members with a view to seeking consensus and, indeed,
idea of setting up a monitoring system, to be carried        demonstrating the clear will of the Council and
out by parties from outside the region who could             reiterating our desire for peace.
confirm that the commitments entered into by the
                                                                   Mr. Koonjul (Mauritius): The Council is meeting
parties were being implemented.
                                                             today to discuss once again the situation in the Middle
      Under those circumstances, the international           East following the escalation of the violence in the past
community began to feel that the peace effort might          few days. We have seen such violence before, but
bear fruit. Those expectations have been once again          today, if the current situation is not brought under
thwarted, however, by the violent developments of the        control, we run the risk of completely compromising
past few days. The resumption of suicide attacks and         the peace process, and we even face the possibility of
reprisals by Israel are two elements that show clearly       wide-scale conflict.
the endless vicious cycle. The terrorists who carried
                                                                   Mauritius condemns all violence, be it in the form
out those acts did so with the clear intention of
                                                             of reprehensible terrorist attacks and suicide bombings
undermining the peace process that could have been
                                                             or in the form of the unchecked and disproportionate
under way. But it is also clear that the reprisals carried
                                                             use of military force. Mauritius condemns, in the
out by Israel, whatever their objective, also represent
                                                             strongest terms, the continued siege and the systematic
an obvious movement backwards and a means to thwart
                                                             destruction of Chairman Arafat’s compound in total
hopes for peace.
                                                             defiance of resolution 1402 (2002), and we demand an
      Mexico condemns and repudiates the terrorist           immediate end to the blockade as well as the
acts that have claimed Israeli victims in the past few       withdrawal of the Israeli Defence Forces from
days. Nothing could be more effective in preventing          Ramallah.
the recurrence of such acts than resolute action by the
Palestinian Authority to isolate and neutralize armed


16

                                                                                                             S/PV.4614


      We fully understand and support Israel’s need to            In that respect, we support the efforts of the
provide security to its people, and we deplore and          Quartet for a solution to the Middle East crisis based
condemn the attacks on its civilians. What we cannot        on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973)
understand is the unwarranted and unjustified siege on      and 1397 (2002), as well as the road map outlined at its
the Palestinian Authority, which still represents the       meeting last week. We equally support the Quartet’s
only authority with which any peace agreement can be        vision of a three-phase plan of action for achieving a
contemplated. The surgical destruction of the buildings     two-State solution. But we believe that the first priority
around Chairman Arafat’s compound, aimed at                 after the elections of January 2003 should be a
isolating and humiliating him, constitutes a serious act    declaration of statehood for the Palestinians, with
of provocation that, in the mildest terms, not only is      provisional borders. Such a step will be the single most
most unhelpful and will not stop the cycle of violence,     effective confidence-building measure, which, in our
but in fact will lead to more uncontrolled violence and     view, will go a long way in curbing the violence, as the
more terrorist attacks. Mauritius recognizes Chairman       people of Palestine will thus be given a real ray of
Arafat as the elected and legitimate leader of the          hope.
Palestinian people; subjugating the latter will only
                                                                  In order to make that happen, however, there
incite hatred and violence and will therefore serve only
                                                            must be strong commitments on both sides to achieve
the motives of the extremist groups.
                                                            those goals. Israel should immediately stop the siege of
      Mauritius is convinced that Israel’s legitimate       the Palestinian Authority, withdraw its forces from the
concerns will be met only through cooperation and           occupied areas and return to positions held prior to
dialogue, rather than by destroying the Palestinian         September 2000. It should also stop the illegal
Authority. The continued siege on the Palestinian           settlements. We call on the Palestinians, on their side,
headquarters will also seriously undermine and slow         to honour their commitment to renounce violence and
the reform process, the importance of which we all          terrorist attacks.
underscore. The need to build a new and efficient
                                                                  The chilling briefing by Mr. Roed-Larsen on the
Palestinian security capability on a sound basis of
                                                            humanitarian situation in the occupied territories last
unified command, transparency and accountability
                                                            Friday highlighted the need for urgent action by the
should be the number-one priority. We call on Israel to
                                                            international community. It is important that we take a
review its conduct and strategy in dealing with the
                                                            fresh look at the recommendations contained in the
Palestinian Authority. Israel must realize that an
                                                            Bertini report and that we harness all efforts towards
improvement in the security situation can come about
                                                            the alleviation of the sufferings of the innocent
only if the Palestinian security institutions are not
                                                            Palestinians. The statistics showing 50 per cent of the
undermined and if they are allowed to operate freely
                                                            population living on food hand-outs, a 50-per-cent
and effectively.
                                                            unemployment rate, 70-per-cent poverty levels and an
      A few months before the January elections, it is      acute shortage in the food supply should not go
all the more important that all necessary precautions be    unheeded. We call on the international community to
taken to create an atmosphere conducive to the              assist the Palestinian people by implementing without
organization of those elections, in respect of which we     delay the recommendations of Ms. Bertini, the Personal
call on all parties to ensure that they are free and fair   Humanitarian Envoy of the Secretary-General. We also
and that nothing is done that could potentially             call on Israel to lift the restrictions imposed on the
predetermine their outcome.                                 Palestinian people and to continue releasing funds —
                                                            collected as tax revenues — that are due to the
     As long as we do not address the root cause of the
                                                            Palestinians, in order to relieve their economic
Middle East problem, we will not be able to find a
                                                            hardships.
long-term, durable solution. The problem of occupation
and the need for the Palestinians to have their own               Six weeks of calm in the Middle East has not
homeland must be seriously considered. While we fully       helped in making any significant headway in the peace
support the vision of the two States living in peace        process. It proves that a sequential approach is not
with secure borders, it is imperative that that vision be   going to work. Mauritius therefore supports the
given some material shape.                                  strategy outlined by the Secretary-General for a
                                                            parallel approach, rather than a sequential one, to deal


                                                                                                                   17

S/PV.4614


with the Middle East situation in a comprehensive           of the Israeli and Palestinian leaders — the
manner. The diplomatic and political process should         international community in general and the Security
continue, along with discussions on the security and        Council in particular must continue their efforts to
economic dimensions.                                        reach a rapprochement between the two parties. In that
                                                            context, let me mention the recent meeting of the
      Mauritius believes that the Council must send a
                                                            Quartet, held in New York on 17 September, which laid
clear message to both sides that violence will not help
                                                            down a road map that we find reasonable and that we
to bring peace; it must be stopped, and negotiations
                                                            support. That three-phase plan, if followed consistently
must continue. At a time when so much importance is
                                                            and implemented with conviction, will be one of the
being given to the need for Members to respect and
                                                            surest ways of restoring confidence and leading the
comply with all Security Council resolutions, it is
                                                            Palestinian and Israeli peoples towards a way of
essential that the centrality and the credibility of the
                                                            extricating themselves from the crisis, in a way that is
Council be made to be unreservedly and
                                                            honourable, just and lasting.
indiscriminately respected by one and all.
                                                                  My delegation does not doubt for a single minute
      Mr. Traoré (Guinea) (spoke in French): After a
                                                            that with the joint efforts of the international
brief period of calm that gave rise to hope for a return
                                                            community, whose praiseworthy initiatives and
to peace in the Middle East, the region, sadly, is again
                                                            commitment are not lacking, we will together attain our
plunging into a cycle of violence. For several days, we
                                                            objective and contribute to the strengthening of
have witnessed a resumption of suicide bomb attacks
                                                            international peace and security.
and a disproportionate reaction by the Israeli
authorities. Those reprehensible acts, which are                  Mr. Wehbe (Syria) (spoke in Arabic): Allow me
contrary to the spirit of international legality,           at the outset, Mr. President, to thank you for convening
encourage the extremists on both sides and lead to a        this meeting of the Security Council, although it was
resurgence of the old demons of intolerance.                somewhat delayed, since we had requested it on Friday.
                                                            We do not understand the delay, in view of the fact that
      It is obvious that the Palestinian groups targeting
                                                            the situation in the region is boiling.
Israelis are harming the cause of self-determination and
the creation of an independent Palestinian State. In the           All of us have stated our views about the grave
same manner, the prolonged siege on the headquarters        danger in the region, noting especially that recent days
of President Arafat and the near-destruction of existing    have witnessed catastrophic developments on the
infrastructure are part of a process of weakening the       Palestinian scene, developments without precedent
Palestinian Authority, which, under such conditions,        since the war crimes of the Second World War. Many
cannot meet Israel’s security demands.                      of us thought that, especially with the advent of the
                                                            new millennium, we had seen the last of the deliberate
      My delegation vigorously condemns the suicide
                                                            destruction of buildings with their residents —
attacks that are killing innocent Israeli civilians, as
                                                            including children, women and old people — still
well as the continued siege and destruction of
                                                            inside and the wide-scale destruction of infrastructure.
Palestinian infrastructure. Such policies serve neither
                                                            But that is the reality in the occupied Palestinian
the interests of the Palestinian people nor those of the
                                                            territories, where the Israeli occupying forces commit
Israeli people. The only solution for putting an end to
                                                            the most heinous and atrocious crimes against
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — and we will never
                                                            Palestinian civilians, without being deterred by any
stop repeating it — is the cessation of hostilities and
                                                            party, and without even the minimum of respect for
the return to the negotiating table, in accordance with
                                                            international law and international humanitarian
the relevant Security Council resolutions.
                                                            values. In addition, they have no respect for standards
      Such negotiations must be part of a                   on which the peoples of the world have agreed, as
comprehensive framework that takes account of both          embodied in conventions that have become symbols of
the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people and    human values and civilization.
of Israel’s right to security. They must also take into
                                                                 Israel is armed to the teeth with all kinds of
account, simultaneously and equally, the political,
                                                            nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, which
humanitarian and security aspects of the question. To
                                                            constitute an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction
do so — above and beyond the necessary political will


18

                                                                                                            S/PV.4614


and murder; in full view, its bulldozers demolish the       put an end to its machine of death and vengeance. No
homes of the children and the dispossessed among the        one made a move, even though the world knows that
Palestinian people. Israel is pursuing its daily hobby:     the Israeli pretext of fighting Palestinian violence no
killing and destruction. This represents the worst kind     longer holds. Does this silence indicate a new
of defiance and contempt for international legality and     international law in progress? One based on condoning
ethical norms and values.                                   war crimes and violations of human rights to satisfy
                                                            Israel and accommodate the whims of its leaders in
      We have heard that the Security Council has
                                                            shedding more Palestinian blood? Is this a new
adopted 28 resolutions on this matter. Israel has paid
                                                            international law that has replaced existing
no heed to those resolutions. Can there be any greater
                                                            international law, international humanitarian law and
defiance of international legality? If another State had
                                                            the Geneva Conventions?
failed to comply with only one resolution, the world
would have been up in arms.                                       The Arabs and the international community
                                                            agreed on the conditions for the establishment of a just
      Syria has warned over and over again that what is
                                                            and comprehensive peace in the region on the basis of
currently taking place in the occupied Arab territories
                                                            Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338
is part of a strategy pursued by the Israeli Government,
                                                            (1973), as well as on the principle of land for peace. At
which has made its defiance of international law and of
                                                            the recent Beirut Summit, the Arab leaders adopted a
Council resolutions a regular policy. We have stated
                                                            comprehensive peace initiative based on international
before, and we state again here that the Israeli
                                                            law and relevant Security Council resolutions.
Government has no peace strategy. Its strategy does not
                                                            Nonetheless, Israel insists on occupation and daily acts
require in-depth analysis: it is built on waging wars,
                                                            of aggression against the Arabs. Against this
perpetuating      occupation   and     suppressing   the
                                                            background, the Arabs are more determined than ever
aspirations of our people in the occupied territories to
                                                            to uphold their inalienable rights and continue to
realize their hope for freedom, dignity and an end to
                                                            believe in international legitimacy as the road leading
the occupation.
                                                            to a just and comprehensive peace.
      A case in point with regard to the anti-peace
                                                                  Before Council members is a draft resolution that
Israeli policy is the statement made by the Israeli Prime
                                                            the Arab Group has endorsed unanimously. It expresses
Minister a few days ago. He said that Arabs have no
                                                            grave concern over the tragic and violent events
right to the territories occupied in 1967. He added that
                                                            engulfing the Palestinian territories since the year
Israel has sovereignty over those territories. Do we
                                                            2000, including the re-occupation of the Palestinian
really need further proof that the Israeli Government
                                                            Authority’s headquarters. The draft resolution reiterates
does not want peace, that it insists on occupation and
                                                            the need to respect international humanitarian law,
that it resorts to military force, which is nothing but a
                                                            including the Geneva Convention relative to the
bankrupt policy, as His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan
                                                            Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949.
said this morning?
                                                            The draft resolution demands that Israel withdraw its
      Today the Palestinian people is facing the worst      forces from the Palestinian cities. Syria supports this
kind of unjust occupation, siege and systematic             draft resolution and believes that it is the lowest
assassinations, without seeing any serious initiative to    common denominator on which Council members can
put an end to the atrocious modern-day massacre that        agree. Would our Council then open a window of hope
Israel is committing before the eyes and ears of the        to the Palestinian people who have been living under
world. More than 70 days have gone since the                an unjust siege and unacceptable practices?
beginning of the monstrous siege of Nablus, without
                                                                  This is what we urge the Council to do. We hope
the international community doing anything to save
                                                            that we will be able to open this window of
those hundreds of thousands of women, children and
                                                            opportunity, and we urge the Council members to
other innocent civilians. This applies also to other
                                                            support the minimum requirements included in this
cities in the territories.
                                                            draft resolution.
     We are talking about the destruction of
                                                                 Mr. Wang Yingfan (China) (spoke in Chinese):
Palestinian institutions. Israel has killed over 80
                                                            In recent days, violent clashes once again have
Palestinians in a month and a half. It was not asked to


                                                                                                                  19

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exploded between Israel and Palestine. We condemn           and make unremitting efforts for the realization of
the fact that the Israeli army once again besieged          peace in the Middle East.
Ramallah and has destroyed Chairman Arafat’s
                                                                   Mr. Lavrov (Russian Federation) (spoke in
headquarters, thus directly endangering his safety and
                                                            Russian): The situation around the Palestinian
security.
                                                            territories continues to deteriorate and is threatening to
      We demand that the Israeli side put an immediate      get out of control. The large-scale terrorist acts in
end to this siege of Chairman Arafat and ensure his         Israel were followed by harsh action by the Israeli
dignity, as well as his safety and security. We also        army against the residence of the head of the
condemn the incidence of suicide bombings within            Palestinian National Authority, Yasser Arafat, in
Israel. We call on both Israel and Palestine to exercise    Ramallah. Now, in response to that, currently there are
restraint, stop responding to violence with more            mass protest demonstrations under way in the
violence and collaborate with the mediation efforts of      Palestinian territories. In clashes with the Israeli troops
the international community.                                in Ramallah, Tulkarem and Nablus, there are dead and
                                                            wounded.
      During the recent vicious cycle of violence, both
Israel and Palestine suffered terrible losses, especially         All of this happened at the very moment when a
Palestine, where the humanitarian situation has become      drop in the level of violence in the Palestinian-Israeli
extremely serious. The Israeli authorities put blind        conflict was being noted. It happened when there were
faith in force. However, their excessive, violent           prospects for emerging from the crisis on the basis of
retaliation has not obtained peace and security for         the proposals agreed by the Quartet of international
Israel.    The    Israeli-Palestinian    conflict    also   mediators in New York on 17 September. Their
demonstrates that to put an end to violence and to          proposals had been supported by the Security Council.
promote the peace process in the Middle East, the
                                                                  The extremist forces are not interested in a
active participation of international community is
                                                            settlement of the conflict in the Middle East. They
indispensable.
                                                            want to undermine the situation again and thrust the
      Not long ago the Arab League Summit adopted           Palestinians and the Israelis into another spiral of
and endorsed a peace proposal for the Middle East put       bloodshed and confrontation. It is extremely important
forward by Saudi Arabia. Recently the Quartet put           not to let the opponents of the peace process achieve
forward a three-phase, three-stage plan. The reform and     their goals. We would strongly urge both sides not to
election in Palestine have also been put on the agenda.     yield to the emotions and provocations of the
All of these developments are positive, but we also see     extremists, not to allow the unfolding of this scenario
that the vicious cycle of violence between Israel and       of violence.
Palestine has not been broken.
                                                                  Last weekend the Minister for Foreign Affairs of
      Without an end to violence, the reform in             the Russian Federation, Igor Ivanov, had telephone
Palestine cannot continue, and all the road maps and        conversations with the head of the Palestinian National
programmes for the settlement of the problem between        Authority, Yasser Arafat; Shimon Peres, the Deputy
Israel and Palestine will become mere dead letters.         Prime Minister of Israel; Amre Moussa, the Secretary-Therefore, the international community must exert           General of the League of Arab States; the United States
greater efforts, and the Security Council should            Secretary of State; the Foreign Ministers of Saudi
shoulder its responsibilities all the more.                 Arabia, Egypt and Denmark; the United Nations
                                                            Secretary-General; and Mr. Javier Solana, the High
     The Chinese Government attaches importance to
                                                            Representative of the European Union. They
peace and stability in the Middle East and hopes to see
                                                            exchanged views about what steps should be taken to
an early easing of the conflict between Israel and
                                                            resolve this crisis.
Palestine. In order further to participate in and promote
the peace process in the Middle East, the Chinese                 Russia is convinced that it is now extremely
Government has already designated a special envoy on        important to do everything possible to achieve an
the question of the Middle East. We will strengthen         immediate halt to the violence. It is important to end
contacts and consultations with all parties concerned       the blockade and the destruction of the headquarters of
                                                            the head of the Palestinian National Authority, and to


20

                                                                                                             S/PV.4614


give the Palestinian Authority some real possibility of      target civilians, and it calls for an end to extreme acts
introducing order into the territory, first of all by        by both sides. The Israeli forces must stop their
halting extremist attacks and arresting persons guilty of    frequent military incursions into Palestinian cities and,
terrorist acts.                                              as virtually every other speaker has said, its siege of
                                                             Ramallah. At the same time, the Palestinian Authority
      At this critical moment, it is important to make
                                                             must undertake resolute efforts to put a stop to the
use of all existing mechanisms to swiftly stabilize the
                                                             suicide bombings and other acts of terror against the
situation. It is necessary to make use of the potential of
                                                             Israeli population. In this regard, we welcome the
the Security Council, of international mediators and of
                                                             categorical condemnation by the Palestinian Authority
key Middle Eastern countries in order to halt this
                                                             of the recent spate of suicide bombings.
escalation of the conflict and clear the way for
negotiations on the basis of what the Quartet has                  The second point we would like to make is that,
agreed upon, which opens the way to a comprehensive          like several other speakers, we would like to strongly
settlement based on the resolutions of the Security          support the efforts of the Quartet. Indeed, it is hard to
Council. Today, those resolutions are not being              believe it was only three days ago that Mr. Terje Roedimplemented.                                                 Larsen came here and briefed us on the significant
                                                             progress made by the Quartet.
      The Security Council must respond to this
challenge to its authority. We must actively and firmly            It is also noteworthy that the latest Quartet
seek to achieve an immediate halt to this absolutely         meeting included consultations with the Foreign
unacceptable development of the situation in the             Ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and
Palestinian territories, which is a real threat to peace     Syria, as representatives of the Arab League follow-up
and security.                                                committee, as well as representatives of Israel and the
                                                             Palestinian Authority. At the same time, the Quartet
      Russia, as a permanent member of the Security
                                                             spelled out detailed and specific time lines and targets
Council, will be guided by those principles in
                                                             within the three-phase road map. It is also significant
considering the draft resolution that will be introduced
                                                             that the Quartet has decided to set up a third-party
in the Council.
                                                             mechanism to monitor and assess progress in the three
      Mr. Mahbubani (Singapore): When the                    phases; the assessments will be strictly based on the
Secretary-General spoke to us earlier this morning, he       parties’ compliance with specific performance
ended with this sentence: “Let us rebuild a centre that      benchmarks. We look forward to receiving more details
can hold” (supra). I think he was referring to the           as the Quartet develops its monitoring and assessment
rebuilding of a centre in the Middle East, but his           mechanism.
remarks might apply to the Security Council as well,
                                                                   One point we wanted to make to the Quartet was
which, as we know, has not often been united on the
                                                             that we hope that as the Quartet carries out its work it
Middle East question. We also need to rebuild a centre
                                                             will bear in mind that it must also deliver results,
within the Security Council.
                                                             because if the Quartet describes its plan of action
      One practical suggestion we have is that it might      without delivering results, our fear is that this process
be useful to review the many thoughtful statements the       too may be damaged.
Secretary-General has made on the Middle East
                                                                   Our third point is that we hope the international
question, including the one he made today. If we use
                                                             community, as well as the Quartet, will not be held
his statements as a basis for action, then I think we can
                                                             hostage by the actions of extremists on both sides who
rebuild the centre we need in this Council.
                                                             are clearly determined to disrupt the peace process. In
      Speaking now in my national capacity, I note that,     this difficult moment we should not lose sight of the
as the fourteenth speaker, we will probably repeat or        larger process, which, as Mr. Roed-Larsen pointed out
endorse many of the points that have been made so far,       to us, must be based on the parallel pursuit of the
but some of them are worth repeating. We will make           various humanitarian, security, political tracks, as well
five points.                                                 as on reciprocity.
     The first point is that Singapore deplores in the            The fourth point we would like to raise relates to
strongest terms all acts of violence and terror that         the humanitarian dimension, which, as several speakers


                                                                                                                   21

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have said, is extremely important. Mr. Roed-Larsen          the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. We insist that those
gave us statistics on how bad the humanitarian              acts of violence, including the killing of innocent
situation is currently. We support immediate relief         civilians, cease immediately. Bulgaria appeals to the
efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, including     Palestinian Authority to redouble its efforts to stop all
implementation of the recommendations made by Ms.           terrorist acts and suicide bombings. They are directed
Catherine Bertini, the Secretary-General’s Personal         against the national interests of the Palestinian people,
Humanitarian Envoy. Israel’s obligations under              the establishment of the Palestinian State and peace.
international law are clear: it must allow and facilitate   The fight against terrorism and security measures must
immediate access by humanitarian agencies to mount          be aimed at establishing lasting peace, rather than at
emergency rescue operations in the affected areas.          encouraging another cycle in this conflict.
      My fifth and final point is that we continue to             What the Israeli army is doing in Ramallah and at
believe that the situation demands the continued and        President Arafat’s headquarters is unacceptable. Those
sustained engagement of the Security Council. Again,        acts and policies do not help put an end to terrorism. In
as virtually every speaker has said, the best way of        fact, they encourage extremists and impede reform of
addressing the situation is through implementation of       the Palestinian Authority and the establishment of
relevant Security Council resolutions, including            lasting peace in the Middle East. Therefore, we call
resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002),            upon Israel to end the siege immediately. What is
1402 (2002) and 1403 (2002). Each of those                  important now is to create a true atmosphere of
resolutions came about through painful negotiations.        security in the region that could promote direct
Their words were carefully chosen, and we have them         contacts between the parties. From that standpoint, we
before us. Our challenge is to implement them.              are encouraged by information we have received in the
                                                            past few hours reporting direct contact between Israelis
      Again, as other speakers have said, long term
                                                            and Palestinians.
progress depends on the political will of both sides to
move beyond short-term security measures to the broad             Bulgaria welcomes in particular the statement
vision set out in resolution 1397 (2002) where two          made by Mr. Hani al-Hasan, a member of the Fatah
States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within      Central Committee, stating that Palestine is seeking
secure and recognized borders.                              peace with Israel and that “the Palestinians seek
                                                            peaceful coexistence and partnership and are prepared
     We also believe that the Arab peace initiative
                                                            to create mutual security”.
adopted at the Beirut Arab Summit offers a historic
opportunity that should not be squandered.                        We welcome with satisfaction the Fatah pledge to
                                                            prevent attacks against Israeli civilians and we call on
    The President (spoke in French): I shall now
                                                            the other Palestinian groups to speak out in favour of
make a statement in my national capacity.
                                                            that initiative. At the same time, we believe that
      Bulgaria supports the statement that will be          Fatah’s appeal for a strike in Gaza to show solidarity
delivered by the representative of Denmark on behalf        with the besieged does not foster a climate of
of the European Union. I would like to make a few           partnership to help create a climate of security. This is
additional comments. Bulgaria stands up indignantly         the right time to emphasize the importance Bulgaria
against this new cycle of violence in the Middle East.      attaches to resolving the humanitarian crisis that the
We unambiguously condemn the acts of terror and             Palestinian people are experiencing. We support
violence that have caused the death of innocent             unreservedly the conclusions reached by Ms. Bertini in
civilians and the destruction of homes and other            her report and consider it a matter of urgency that the
property.                                                   right balance be struck between Israel’s security
                                                            requirements, on one hand, and, on the other hand, the
      Bulgaria condemns terrorist acts in Israel, in
                                                            need to put an end to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in
particular those that took place in Jerusalem and Tel
                                                            the occupied territories.
Aviv. At the same time, we deplore the decision taken
by the Israeli Government to isolate President Arafat.           My country calls on both parties to sit down at
These acts are causing a crisis in the Middle East and      the negotiating table, in accordance with Security
leading to a new vicious circle whose hostages are both     Council resolution 1397 (2002), which envisages



22

                                                                                                              S/PV.4614


peaceful coexistence between two States, Israel and          repetitions of their visions of the coming full victory
Palestine.                                                   over all Palestinians, breaking their will and
                                                             extinguishing the torch of Palestinian resistance.
      This morning, the Secretary-General, Kofi
Annan, has rightly spoken of the absence of hope in the            Unfortunately, there are trends in Israel that
Middle East. The absence of hope is real on the Israeli      envisage that military action, the use of force, killing,
side, where the Israelis feel their security continuously    siege, starvation and destruction of the human and
threatened, and on the Palestinian side, where the           economic infrastructures of the Palestinian society will
Palestinians do not see an end to occupation. In that        achieve their objective through domination and
context, the Quartet and its adopted road map, a real        continuation of the occupation.
peace plan, provides a real hope. Bulgaria supports
                                                                   However, we would like to tell them very clearly
unreservedly the Quartet’s New York statement of 17
                                                             that they will fail. We reject their policies and actions
September 2002, and we insist that both parties work
                                                             and advise them to learn from the lessons of history
together to achieve a lasting and peaceful solution
                                                             and of resistance against occupation and colonialism.
before 2005.
                                                             This resistance cannot be broken. Violence can only
      I conclude by reiterating my country’s appeal for      lead to violence.
greater political judgement and greater compromise by
                                                                   Here we would like to say clearly to the people of
both sides. We reaffirm our determination to give our
                                                             Israel that they cannot overcome the will of the
full support to all those who seek peace and security in
                                                             Palestinians to resist occupation, regardless of Israel’s
the Middle East.
                                                             military might or equipment or its oppressive policies.
     I now resume my function as President of the            On the contrary, Israel’s actions will only lead to more
Security Council.                                            pain and suffering for both parties. This state of affairs
                                                             will continue until Israel recognizes that goodwill,
      The next speaker on my list is the representative
                                                             negotiations, a return to trust and an end to the
of Egypt. I invite him to take a seat at the Council table
                                                             occupation are the key to stability, peace and security.
and to make his statement.
                                                                   A hand covered in Palestinian blood has raised
      Mr. Aboul Gheit (Egypt) (spoke in Arabic): In a
                                                             the Israeli flag over the headquarters of the Palestinian
few days, the third year of the intifada of the
                                                             leader, thereby challenging not only the will of the
Palestinian people will begin. This week, the occupied
                                                             Palestinian people but that of the international
Palestinian territories witnessed an escalation in the
                                                             community as a whole and the norms of international
brutal violence being perpetrated by the Israeli
                                                             law. The Palestinian people will take this flag down.
occupation forces. It witnessed the destruction and
siege of the headquarters of the Palestinian President,            Egypt, which along with the rest of the
Yasser Arafat. That violence, which has gone on for the      international community has condemned all forms of
past six weeks, comes at a time when the Palestinian         violence against civilians on both sides, cannot but
people, in all their groupings and factions, have            condemn Israel’s actions against the headquarters of
exercised self-restraint, hoping to achieve real détente,    President Arafat. We call on Israel to put an end to all
leading to a quieting of the situation in general, thus      oppressive practices that harm the Palestinian people
opening the way to serious negotiations for the two          and their national leadership.
parties to achieve peace. Everyone has taken note of
                                                                   Security cannot be achieved through arrogant and
the Palestinian self-restraint, which has continued for
                                                             indiscriminate use of force. True, stable and lasting
six weeks — not just seven days — despite the ongoing
                                                             security can be achieved only through a peace that is
operations and acts of violence and oppression by the
                                                             based on justice and on respect for the rights of others.
Israeli army during that prolonged period.
                                                                   Egypt reiterates that peace between the Israeli
      The world has witnessed the ongoing killing of
                                                             and the Palestinian peoples can be achieved only if
Palestinian civilians. We have all heard with
                                                             Israel refrains from acts of aggression and withdraws
amazement and anger many statements by Israeli
                                                             from the occupied Palestinian territories to the line of 4
officials, not about peace efforts, ending confrontation
                                                             June 1967, and if a Palestinian State is established,
and returning to constructive dialogue, but ecstatic
                                                             with East Jerusalem as its capital. This is the path to


                                                                                                                    23

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peace, security and stability in the Middle East and the     impunity. The Geneva Conventions are being wilfully
path to relations of good-neighbourliness and                ignored. All norms and mores of international law are
cooperation.                                                 being breached.
      The international community, represented in the              Israel forced a large percentage of Palestinians
Council, is called on today to shoulder its                  out of their homes and confined them to refugee camps
responsibility to put an end to the tragedy that is          or forced them into diaspora. For several decades, the
tearing apart the Holy Land. It must enforce                 people of Palestine have been subject to massacres, to
international humanitarian law and facilitate the return     deportation, to daily humiliation, to systematic
of both sides to the negotiating table. This would help      persecution.
to open the way towards the desired settlement.
                                                                  More than a generation of Palestinians has seen
      One of the basic steps we deem important and           nothing but occupation, bombings, missiles, incursions,
necessary is the provision of international protection       demolitions, killings, arrests and humiliation. No other
for the Palestinian people in a manner decided on by         nation on earth has suffered so much for so long.
the international community.
                                                                   Today, in a sinister reversal of values, the people
       I wish to make one last, important point, which       of Palestine are criminalized for their resistance, for
concerns the manner in which the Council has been            their struggle for self-determination and for claiming
dealing with the situation prevailing in the occupied        their inalienable right to return to ancestral hearths. Yet
territories and the actions of the occupying Power. In       the free world was supposed to uphold the principles of
our opinion, the Council has been merely witnessing          the Charter — the values of justice, democracy and
the events of the past few days, as if this matter did not   international law — that constitute the norms of our
concern it or as if these events were taking place on        civilization.
another planet. The Council must intervene to remedy
                                                                  Suicide bombings are used as pretexts for attacks
the situation and to put an end to the actions of the
                                                             on the Palestinian Authority. Despite President Arafat’s
occupying Power. If it does not, its failure to act will
                                                             public and unequivocal condemnation of such acts.
send a dangerous signal to all those who have put their
trust in international law and in the role of the United          The Palestinian Authority cannot be held
Nations in today’s world.                                    responsible for these individual actions. Experience has
                                                             amply demonstrated that the security of Israeli civilians
      The President (spoke in French): I welcome Mr.
                                                             is enhanced neither by retaliation, nor by destroying
Reaz Rahman, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of
                                                             the Palestinian institutions.
Bangladesh. I invite him to take a seat at the Council
table and to make his statement.                                   Just the other day, the Quartet issued a
                                                             communiqué. It reiterates the fundamental principles of
      Mr. Rahman (Bangladesh): As we speak here
                                                             a comprehensive settlement. It proposes a calendar. It
this morning, President Arafat is under siege, with
                                                             asks Israel to release its stranglehold of the Palestinian
Israeli tanks destroying his headquarters and
                                                             economy. Obviously, the Quartet plan can be executed
surrounding what remains of them.
                                                             only if Israel is engaged in the peace process.
      It is a matter of grave concern, because the latest
                                                                   Bangladesh welcomed the initiative for an
Israeli military aggression threatens President Arafat,
                                                             international peace conference. We urged its early
elected leader of a nation, Nobel Laureate for peace
                                                             convening. To arrest the despair and desperation there
and embodiment of the Palestinian cause.
                                                             must be a process; there must be a prospect in view. We
      It is a matter of extreme anxiety, because the         must deny the extremists a reason. We must not allow a
policy pursued by Tel Aviv seems to be aimed at              void. As we have insisted on earlier occasions, the
destroying not only the physical infrastructure of the       Security Council should revisit the Secretary-General’s
Palestinian Authority, but also the entire edifice of        proposal for an international force, in favour of which
peace constructed through Oslo and Madrid.                   there have been indisputable arguments.
      It is outrageous that Israel continues to flout
resolutions of the Security Council with virtual



24

                                                                                                            S/PV.4614


      The response must be sought in the root-causes;             We are meeting here today in response to the
not by trying to make la lois des plus forts prevail. The   Israeli military onslaught on the headquarters of the
practice of that law has resulted in wars among nations,    Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. This is the same
bloodshed and denial of all civilized norms. The            Israeli military force that the Security Council ordered
Security Council should act to prevent imposition of        to withdraw six months ago. Israel has yet to comply
that law.                                                   with Security Council resolutions that call for the
                                                            withdrawal of its forces from Palestinian towns and
     Resolving the conflict will require courage —
                                                            cities.
courage to recognize the truth and courage to defend it,
courage to confront the demand of justice and courage             The life of President Arafat, the elected leader of
to uphold the principles of this Organization. The path     the Palestinian people, is under threat. Once again,
to justice, and to peace, was laid down in Security         President Arafat’s condemnation of the attacks against
Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1978). A            Israel, which he regards as both morally unacceptable
meaningful beginning could be the implementation of         and counter-productive to the Palestinian cause, has
the Security Council’s own resolutions, namely, 1397        fallen on deaf Israeli government ears. It seems that
(2002) and 1402 (2002).                                     there is a blind impulse towards violence and
                                                            vengeance that prevails over the logic of dialogue and
      The Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda
                                                            peace. More innocent civilians continue to die. We
Zia has strongly condemned the Israeli attack on the
                                                            unreservedly condemn the killing of civilians, whether
Palestinian Headquarters in Ramallah and has
                                                            they are Israelis or Palestinians.
expressed grave concern for the security and safety of
President Arafat. She has also said that Israel would be          The sense of despair, frustration and hopelessness
solely responsible should any harm befall the               in the Middle East is brought about by the occupation
Palestinian leaders.                                        and by the fact that no land has been returned in
                                                            exchange for peace as required by Security Council
     The Security Council needs to secure Israeli
                                                            resolutions. For too long, Israel has ignored the
compliance with its resolutions, to have its forces
                                                            decisions of both the Security Council and the General
withdraw from Palestinian territories and to end its
                                                            Assembly. Israel continues to illegally occupy
aggression against the people of Palestine. The
                                                            Palestinian lands, settlements continue to expand at an
Security Council must act. It must act to meet its
                                                            alarming rate and extrajudicial executions, arbitrary
Charter responsibility. It must act to save the people of
                                                            arrests and the destruction of private Palestinian
Palestine from a perpetual war waged against a people.
                                                            homes, farms and institutions continue unabated. Israel
It must act to preserve its credibility and moral
                                                            routinely violates even the most basic provisions of
authority.
                                                            international humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva
      The President (spoke in French): I intend to give     Convention and has yet to withdraw its forces as
the floor to one more speaker before suspending the         required by Security Council resolutions 1402 (2002)
meeting. The next speaker inscribed on my list is the       and 1403 (2002) and General Assembly resolution
representative of South Africa. I invite her to take a      ES-10/11. Israel also continues to illegally occupy
seat at the Council table and to make her statement.        Syrian and Lebanese territory and to violate the
                                                            sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon.
     Ms. Ndhlovu (South Africa): During the fiftyseventh session of the General Assembly, speaker after            The draft resolution being circulated seeks to
speaker has stressed the need for full and unconditional    address the fundamental requirements for the
compliance with Security Council resolutions. The           resumption of a meaningful political process that
Foreign Ministers of the 115 member States of the           would lead to a comprehensive solution of the Middle
Non-Aligned Movement also called on all States to           East crisis. It is in line with the Arab peace plan and
abide by Security Council resolutions. They pointed         the recommendations of the Quartet. For any lasting
out that if the Security Council’s resolutions are not      peace in the Middle East to take hold, the Israeli
enforced, the very legitimacy and credibility of the        military must withdraw immediately to the positions
United Nations is threatened. Furthermore, they called      held prior to September 2000 and all acts of violence,
for conflict situations to be addressed multilaterally,     including military acts; destruction and terror must
through the United Nations.                                 cease immediately.


                                                                                                                  25

S/PV.4614


      We call on the Security Council to immediately         which are used as a pretext by certain groups to hinder
adopt this resolution. As the Non-Aligned Movement           international efforts to revive the peace process. We
Ministers made clear, the Security Council must ensure       believe that those acts are perpetrated not only against
the implementation of all its resolutions. Otherwise, its    Israeli civilians but against all the peoples of the region
credibility will be undermined.                              who wish to live in security and who want a
                                                             comprehensive and just peace.
      The President (spoke in French): The brevity of
the statement by the representative of South Africa                We would also like to reiterate that Israel’s
allows me to give the floor to two further                   practices and its siege of the Palestinian Authority have
representatives. The next speaker inscribed on my list       weakened the Palestinian side’s ability to shoulder its
is the representative of Jordan, whom I invite to take a     responsibilities. We therefore call upon all the parties
seat at the Council table and to make his statement.         concerned to enable the Palestinian Authority to
                                                             rebuild its security institutions in order to carry out its
      Mr. Al-Hussein (Jordan) (spoke in Arabic): First,
                                                             duties.
I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your
assumption of the presidency of the Security Council               We call on all parties concerned to bring calm to
for this month and wish you every success in your            the situation, to exercise self-restraint and to shoulder
presidency. I must also extend my thanks to your             their responsibilities to support the efforts made by the
predecessor, Mr. John Negroponte, the Ambassador of          Quartet and the brotherly Arab countries to bring the
the United States, for his efforts during his presidency     peace process back to its right track, based on the
of the Council last month.                                   Madrid terms of reference, Security Council
                                                             resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 1397 (2002)
       It is regrettable that we are meeting to discuss
                                                             and the Arab peace initiative.
once again the Israeli practices against the Palestinian
Authority and people, which have been continuing                   The President (spoke in French): The next
since our last meeting in July 2002. Israel is still         speaker inscribed on my list is the representative of
attempting to subjugate the Palestinian Authority and        Turkey, whom I invite to take a seat at the Council
has been practising all forms of violence against the        table and to make his statement.
Palestinian people, arbitrary sieges, closures and
                                                                   Mr. Pamir (Turkey): At the outset, I would like
curfews, ever since it reoccupied the Palestinian
                                                             to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the
territories in September 2000.
                                                             Security Council in a fairly critical period and, as the
       We support and welcome the progress that has          representative of our neighbour and close friend,
been achieved during the past few weeks, particularly        Bulgaria, we wish you every success in your efforts.
the Gaza-Bethlehem agreement, and we viewed with             Our warm thanks also go to Ambassador Negroponte,
great hope the calm that prevailed while international       the representative of the United States, which held the
efforts were made to bring the peace process back to its     presidency of the Council during the month of August.
right track. We call on all parties to commit themselves
                                                                   My delegation aligns itself with the statement to
to the results of the last meeting of the Quartet, held in
                                                             be delivered by the representative of Denmark on
New York a few days ago, which resulted in a plan of
                                                             behalf of the European Union. Likewise, we fully
action and a timetable to realize the American vision of
                                                             subscribe to the eloquent speech delivered this morning
establishing two States living side by side in peace
                                                             by Mr. Kofi Annan. The wisdom of his words should
with an independent Palestinian State established
                                                             inspire us all.
within the borders of 4 June 1967, and to put an end to
the Israeli occupation of all Palestinian and Arab                 We are gathered here today after a six-week
territories. At the same time, we strongly condemn all       period of relative calm in Israel, which was
acts by Israel to undermine the political process and to     undermined by the two brutal suicide attacks of last
escalate the situation, particularly the recent military     week on Israelis in Umm el-Fahm and Tel Aviv and by
acts against the headquarters of the Palestinian             the bomb planted at a Palestinian school in Hebron. We
Authority and president Yasser Arafat. I would also          extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved
like to reiterate my country’s position of condemning        families of the victims. We are dismayed to see that the
all forms of suicide attacks against Israeli civilians,      tension in the Middle East grows and the situation in



26

                                                                                                               S/PV.4614


the Palestinian territories deteriorates as the siege in            In this vein, we call upon the leadership of Israel
and around the compound of the President of the               to think over the possible consequences that isolating
Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, continues. All          Mr. Arafat might have on the ongoing Palestinian
these remind us of the desperate days of the vicious          reforms in particular, and the fragile peace process, in
cycle of violence.                                            general.
      Turkey strongly and unequivocally condemns all                The rise in tensions amid the siege, suicide
acts of terror and violence. We reiterate our firm stance     bombings and street protests have further damaged
that there is no justification for any such actions under     hopes of ending two years of violence, which has taken
any pretext. Terror and violence lead nations to              a heavy toll on innocent lives, most of them
darkness and misery and only help kill the hopes of           Palestinians. We wish to hope that the opponents of
their future generations. Fighting terrorism is not only      durable peace in the Middle East will not be given
a sovereign right of States but also a moral obligation       another opportunity to undermine the intensified efforts
incumbent upon each and every member of the                   of the international community towards achieving a
international community. In this respect, we welcome          final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based
the call of President Arafat to the Palestinian people        on the common vision of two States, Israel and an
and to all other parties to halt any violent attacks inside   independent, viable and democratic Palestine, living
Israel.                                                       side by side in peace and security.
      Turkey deeply regrets the morally repugnant                   Turkey supports all efforts, including those of the
suicide attacks targeting civilians and deplores that         Quartet, towards this end and as a regional facilitator is
Israel has once again used harsh military measures in         ready to provide its assistance in whatever way may be
the Palestinian cities, in particular in Ramallah. We are     necessary. Finally, we wish to encourage all parties to
gravely concerned at the Israeli actions in and around        assume their responsibilities to seek a just and
the Muqata’a, the headquarters of President Arafat,           comprehensive settlement of the conflict based on
who is the elected leader of the Palestinian people.          Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973)
Here, we call upon the Israeli Government to put an           and 1397 (2002), along with the Madrid terms of
immediate end to reoccupation. We urge the Israeli            reference, the principle of land for peace and the
Government to stop destruction in the Palestinian             implementation of all existing agreements between the
cities, which serves only to aggravate the dire and           parties.
strained humanitarian conditions of the civilian
                                                                   The President (spoke in French): I thank the
Palestinian population. Indeed, a more forthcoming
                                                              representative of Turkey for his kind words addressed
attitude from Israel towards its Palestinian counterparts
                                                              to me.
would brighten political prospects.
                                                                   The meeting was suspended at 1.15 p.m.




                                                                                                                     27

Voting Summary
Yes: 014 | No: 000 | Abstentions: 001 | Non-Voting: 000 | Total voting membership: 015
Y BULGARIA
Y CAMEROON
Y CHINA
Y COLOMBIA
Y FRANCE
Y GUINEA
Y IRELAND
Y MAURITIUS
Y MEXICO
Y NORWAY
Y RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Y SINGAPORE
Y SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
Y UNITED KINGDOM
A UNITED STATES