NEW YORK, April 30, 2025 (WAFA) - Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the UN Riyad Mansour said on Tuesday that starvation is used as a weapon of war against an entire civilian population that is still being bombarded relentlessly.
In a speech before the UN Security Council Ministerial Open Debate, Mansour said the Security Council has adopted binding resolutions with clear goals: Stopping the bloodshed, humanitarian aid reaching those who desperately need it, releasing hostages and detainees, preventing forcible displacement and any attempts at annexation, and achieving the two-state solution.
Following is the full speech of Mansour:
Mr. President,
Allow me at the outset to express our appreciation for your decision to chair this meeting at Ministerial level and for the important role France plays on this Council and in support of efforts for peace in our region.
Allow me also to thank the Secretary General for not allowing the world to look away or forget Gaza, reminding them of their obligations, and for being a strong voice for humanity and peace. Allow me also to convey our utmost respect for the UN and its heroic personnel on the ground who are risking their lives to save lives.
The Security Council has adopted binding resolutions with clear goals: Stopping the bloodshed. Humanitarian aid reaching those who desperately need it. Releasing hostages and detainees. Preventing forcible displacement and any attempts at annexation. Achieving the two-State solution.
The world rallied behind these goals.
And yet the reality today is a declared punitive siege by Israel over Gaza to deprive two millions Palestinians - half of them children - of food and water and medicine and electricity, and all other essentials of life, while they endure unbearable inhumane conditions. There is no shortage of bombs falling on Gaza, but there is an imposed shortage of everything else. Starvation as a weapon of war against an entire civilian population that is still being bombarded relentlessly.
Families of hostages and detainees are growing more desperate every day. The plans for forcible displacement and annexation are well underway and Israeli leaders no longer feel the need to disguise or hide their nefarious intentions.
We can not surrender to this situation. We must bring it to an end.
An immediate ceasefire must be resumed and all its objectives must be achieved.
President Trump in his latest conversation with the Israeli Prime Minister stressed what he called in his own words “the need to be good to Gaza” given how people there are suffering and signaling specifically that the United States are pushing to secure the entry of food and medicine to Gaza.
We deeply hope that the United States, Egypt and Qatar, with the support of the international community as a whole, will be able to secure a return to the ceasefire to start bringing all this suffering to an end.
Mr. President,
There is a way out of this nightmare, for everyone’s benefit.
President Abbas in his address to the PLO Central Council made clear that we want peace, not only for ourselves, but for all. That we are committed to the rule of international law and want to see it prevail. That we believe that the peaceful approach is the one that can deliver our people’s rights. And that there is no justification for harming civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli.
At that same meeting, the PLO Central Council established the position of Vice-President of the PLO and the State of Palestine, held since by Mr. Hussein El-Sheikh.
I was supposed to attend the Central Council in Ramallah. Instead, Israel, after holding me up for 5 hours, denied me entry to my own country that I proudly represent here. I am a Palestinian born in Palestine to Palestinian parents and I am prohibited from entering my own country. This is a very small part of the collective punishment imposed on all Palestinians, and of the denial of our existence and rights as a nation and as individuals.
Mr. President,
You have on one side a Palestinian leadership committed to non-violence, and on the other an Israeli leadership unleashing the worst forms of violence against an entire civilian population.
You have a Palestinian leadership that is clearly and unequivocally committed to the two-State solution and an Israeli leadership dedicated to its destruction.
You have a Palestinian leadership that is showing restraint and acting responsibly, and you have an Israeli leadership whose actions are dictated by its populist and fanatical views.
You have a Palestinian leadership committed to international law, and aligned with the international consensus, and an Israeli leadership that considers that the rules depend on the identity of the victims and the identity of the perpetrators, demanding impunity for its crimes, and considering our very existence a crime.
You have a Palestinian leadership that has been responsive to the demands for reforms and an Israeli leadership that has flatly rejected change.
You have a Palestinian leadership committed to a simple and yet essential idea - live and let live - and an Israeli leadership that believes that the existence of one people requires the destruction of another.
The international community has determined a long time ago that there is not a people too many in the Middle East, but an independent State missing, the independent State of Palestine.
Mr. President,
There are solutions for those not searching for excuses to prolong the war and unbearable human suffering. There are solutions whereby Hamas would no longer rule Gaza, and transitional governance arrangements would set the stage for the PA to fully assume its responsibilities in the Gaza Strip. There are solutions for the reconstruction of the massive destruction Israel has caused in Gaza without displacing its population. There are solutions for ending this illegal occupation and conflict and ushering an era of shared peace, security and prosperity.
In this regard, Arab countries have displayed leadership that has been commended worldwide.
Egypt and Qatar mediating the ceasefire.
Arab countries taking the lead when it comes to humanitarian aid, through Jordan and Egypt.
The responsible roles played by Algeria and the UAE in this Council over the course of the last two years.
The Arab reconstruction plan, endorsed by the OIC and supported by international partners.
The leading role of Saudi Arabia as chair of the Arab-Islamic Committee, and as co-chair of the Global Alliance with Norway and the EU, and as co-chair of the June Peace Conference with France.
International partners have welcomed, have joined, have contributed to and have helped advance these initiatives, all seeking just and lasting peace.
The international mobilization has never been stronger to confront a reality that has never been darker.
We see this mobilization here in the Council, in the General Assembly, at the International Court of Justice. All determined to uphold international law, to end this most painful and historic injustice.
As we approach the June conference on the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and the implementation of the two-State solution, we call on all States to do all that they can to uphold international law, support our right to self-determination and salvage peace.
We call on those who have yet to do so to recognize the State of Palestine without any further delay, as a clear signal that they will not tolerate its destruction and the destruction of the two-State solution. We believe Mr. President that your country in this regard can play a pivotal role. We call on all States to take measures against settlement colonization and against annexation and forcible displacement and to end Israel’s unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in line with theICJ Advisory Opinion.. We call on all States to support the Palestinian government which has shown clear commitment to reform and peace and to support politically and financially the Arab reconstruction plan and to continue supporting UNRWA.
Mr. President,
The Palestinian people are in a cage, killed and starved, day after day after day. As Pope Francis said “this is not war, this is cruelty’. Our greatest fear is that the world is growing accustomed to such horrors. That while it condemns Israel’s actions, it feels powerless to stop them. But we ask all countries not to surrender to this self-inflicted powerlessness. These atrocities have no moral or legal justification. This genocide has to end. And life must prevail.
The Palestinian people are entitled to international protection for as long as they are trapped under military occupation. A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which remains the top priority, should also be accompanied by an end of attacks and repression by Israeli occupation forces and settlers across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which are displacing entire communities.
Mr. President,
Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered another delusional speech two days ago. He insisted once again that the two-State solution meant the destruction of Israel.
He said and I quote : “Hamas says we will destroy Israel by terror and military conquest right away. And the P.A. says, no, you destroy it politically by driving it, through propaganda and lawfare, to the ’67 boundaries.”
Pursuing an independent State of Palestine living side by side with Israel in accordance with the resolutions of this very Council - and the very United Nations resolutions on which the State of Israel was established with the partition of Palestine - is somehow pursuing the destruction of Israel ?!
He spoke of the attempts to annihilate Israel when in reality he is the one pursuing the annihilation of Palestine and its people.
He spoke of how the Israeli army moves Palestinian civilians out of harm’s way, when in reality it has shown total disregard for Palestinian lives, killing and maiming and detaining and torturing and starving them endlessly.
He bragged about Israel’s violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon and Syria which must be rejected by all.
He again asserted that he will pursue peace with regional partners while sidelining the Palestine question as if nothing had happened these last 18 months.
He spoke with the same arrogance, the same aversion to facts and the same disregard for the suffering of people, whether Palestinian or Israeli.
Fanatical delusions will destroy our region. We need a strong leadership for peace. The deployment of collective resolve at an unprecedented scale that will finally deliver freedom for the Palestinian people, two states living side by side in peace and security, and unleash the true potential of our region for the benefit of all. We belong resolutely to this camp and count on your collective support to ensure it prevails.
Thank you Mr. President.
A.D./ K.F.
