Mr. President,
We welcome the presence of the Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad and African Affairs of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, His Excellency Ahmed Attaf, as President of the Security Council.
We support the statements by Uganda, on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the United Nations Charter, and Senegal, in its capacity as Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
The situation in the Middle East is becoming increasingly worrying.
Despite the international call for an end to the crimes against humanity, collective punishment, apartheid, and genocide perpetrated against the Palestinians by the occupying power, Israel, we continue to hear at Security Council meetings how the number of persons killed and wounded in Gaza is rising alarmingly, while Israeli colonization practices continue in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The humanitarian situation is deteriorating daily with Israel's indiscriminate attacks and violence in the occupied territories.
Cuba strongly condemns the recent Israeli offensive against the health system in the Gaza Strip, the continuous assassinations and constant bombardments against the civilian population, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the deprivation of basic services, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.
At the same time, we hope that the ceasefire agreement, announced after 15 months of brutal genocide by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, will be respected in its three phases, allow the arrival of sufficient aid to face the unprecedented humanitarian crisis, and provide a new opportunity for the resolution of this long conflict.
We support the immediate admission of Palestine as a Member State of the United Nations, a key step in correcting the historical injustice against the Palestinian people and moving towards a final resolution of the conflict. A comprehensive, just, and lasting solution, based on the creation of two states that allows the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination and to have a free, independent and sovereign state, within the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, including the right of return of refugees, is essential in order to achieve peace and stability in the region.
Mr. President,
Israeli aggression is expanding in the Middle East region with total impunity. At the same time, Israel continues to deliberately attack workers of the UN system and threatens the UNRWA’s humanitarian work without any consequences for these acts.
Under the false pretext of self-defense, with the unconditional political, military and financial support of the United States, and the complicity of its allies, Israel indiscriminately bombs Yemen, illegally usurps territories of the Syrian Arab Republic, violates the ceasefire in Lebanon, and threatens the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Security Council’s inaction in the face of Israel’s threats to international peace and security is untenable. We urge this body to enforce its own resolutions on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, without further delay.
Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the nations of the Middle East, without external interference, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, are essential for the achievement of peace in the region.
Every minute of impunity, passivity and silence will cost more innocent lives. It is time for the South to act with unity and determination.
Thank you