Statement delivered during the quarterly open debate of the Security Council on “The Situation of the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.”

Mr. President:

We support the statements delivered 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 Charter of the United Nations; and Senegal, as Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

We strongly condemn the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people, perpetrated by Israel, which has the permanent political, military and financial support of the United States, which not only supports the war machinery of the occupying power, but also guarantees it complicit protection with its veto power in the Security Council.

Israel has killed more than 51,200 Palestinians in Gaza, of whom more than 35% are children[1], and since March 18, 2025 alone, with the breakdown of the ceasefire agreement, it has killed more than 1,700 people, including at least 500 children[2].

Israel continues to systematically bomb and destroy civilian infrastructure in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. The attacks on Gaza City's only functioning hospital and the blockade of all humanitarian supplies in recent months constitute war crimes that cannot go unpunished.

Every minute of inaction will only increase civilian suffering and loss of life. There is an urgent need to put an end to this situation and to provide the international protection that the Palestinian people need.

Senior officials from six United Nations bodies, agencies, funds and programs stated in a recent joint communiqué that the acts of war in Gaza show a complete disregard for human life. Decisive action is needed to restore the cease-fire as a matter of urgency.

Despite international calls for an end to crimes against humanity, collective punishment, apartheid and genocide against Palestinians, the numbers of dead and injured in Gaza are rising alarmingly, Israel's colonization practices continue and its violence is expanding in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. We must not allow illegal settlements and repression to escalate and threaten the occupation of new territories.

The paralysis of the Security Council due to the continued veto of the United States is an affront. Concrete action by this body is urgently needed to stop the genocide in Gaza and to allow the delivery of sufficient, unrestricted humanitarian aid to the Palestinians and to ensure the vital work of UNRWA.

Israel's occupation and illegal practices in all occupied Palestinian and Arab territories must end, as must all aggression against sovereign nations in the Middle East.

The full admission of Palestine as a member state of the United Nations must be achieved without further delay; and the two-state solution must be realized, allowing the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and to have an independent and sovereign state within the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and also guaranteeing the right of return of refugees.

A comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question is essential for peace in the region. We hope that the holding of the "High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution" will contribute to advance towards the two-state solution.

In addition to the heartbreaking situation in Palestine, there are the Israeli aggressions against Lebanon and its expanded military offensive in Syria, which violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both Arab nations; the U.S. bombing of Yemen and the dangerous threats of U.S. aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran. We reject these acts, which create an increasingly alarming scenario for peace and stability both in the Middle East region and at the global level.

We urge this Council to act without delay and not to be indifferent to injustice. History will judge its inaction.

The Palestinian cause and that of the Arab sister nations will always count on Cuba’s firm solidarity.

Thank you