Statement by UK Permanent Representative to the UN
Ambassador at the UN Security Council
meeting on Gaza.
President, on his recent visit to the region, my Foreign
Secretary met Israelis and Palestinians and heard their stories
of suffering, pain and anguish on both sides.
He came away determined to help improve the situation and further
convinced that there is no military solution to this conflict.
That is why we are calling for an immediate ceasefire, the
immediate release of all hostages and an immediate scale-up of
aid into Gaza. We urge both sides to accept the deal on the
table, endorsed by this Council.
President, whilst mediation efforts continue, people in Gaza
urgently need a drastic improvement in the humanitarian
situation.
First, civilians need better protection and designated civilian
spaces. We are deeply concerned by Israel's incursion into Khan
Younis and into the only remaining IDF-designated humanitarian
zone of Al Mawasi where some 1.5 million people are sheltering.
We call on all sides to comply fully with International
Humanitarian Law and on Hamas to release all the hostages
immediately.
Second, civilians in Gaza need much, much more
aid. UNRWA is central to these efforts. That is why we
announced $27 million in new funding for UNRWA last week, with
some directed at supporting the management reforms recommended by
the Colonna review. We call for full cooperation with UN and
humanitarian teams, including UNRWA, and the granting of requests
for visas and equipment, and the opening of all aid routes into
Gaza, including reopening the Rafah crossing. Deteriorating law
and order must urgently be addressed so that aid can reach people
safely.
Finally, civilians need functioning hospitals and essential
supplies such as water and electricity after nine months of
devastation. We are appalled by the stories of women and children
living in unsanitary conditions and that diseases, including
Polio, are spreading.
Colleagues, West Bank settlement expansion and settler violence
have reached record levels. The Israeli government has
seized more land this year than in the past twenty years
combined. This is unacceptable: it runs counter to multiple
resolutions of this Council and undermines the viability of a
two-state solution.
The only way out of this cycle of violence and suffering is
through diplomacy, with Israelis and Palestinians committing to a
renewed peace process resulting in a two-state solution, with a
safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign
Palestinian State. We are committed to giving the people of the
West Bank and Gaza the political perspective of a credible route
to a Palestinian state and a new future. And it needs to be
irreversible.
