NEW YORK, February 19, 2026 (WAFA) – The Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Minister Riyad Mansour, stated that the first day of the holy month of Ramadan arrives this year while Palestinians are deprived of practicing their religious rites freely and peacefully.

This came during his address to a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

The meeting was chaired by the UK Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Council this month.

He added: “Israel’s goal has long been to displace the Palestinian people in order to seize their land. The scale and pace have changed, but the tools and objectives remain the same, namely settlement construction, settler terrorism, land confiscation under various pretexts, house demolitions, and the seizure of land records, culminating in the ultimate goal: annexation.”

Mansour emphasized that Palestine belongs to the Palestinian people; it is not common property, not for sale, and not a land without a people. He asserted that recent Israeli decisions signify the end of the road, and that annexation is now blatantly obvious. He warned that if this annexation is not confronted, it will determine the future of the region, doom it to failure, and redefine the world we live in.

Mansour pointed out that the Israeli government considers Palestinians strangers in their own land, refuses to recognize their existence as a nation, and claims to defend civilization while oppressing them and depriving them of their basic rights. He argued that this narrative is fundamentally racist and underpins illegal policies.

The extremist Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, was quoted as saying, "We are strengthening our grip on the land and eliminating the idea of ​​a Palestinian state in the heart of the country." He also referred to a previous statement by the Israeli Foreign Minister in 2023, after October 7th, in which he said, "Gaza must be smaller by the end of the war… firstly, because it is a security matter… and secondly, because this is the price the Arabs understand."

He explained that yesterday, the world moved at the United Nations to condemn and reject Israeli annexation measures, with more than 100 countries and organizations joining a statement on the matter. All fifteen members of the Security Council expressed their opposition to annexation, considering it a violation of the UN Charter, international law, and UN resolutions.

He said that the Security Council has a duty to act, as do all peace-seeking nations. He questioned the significance of Israel intensifying its annexation efforts despite international rejection, just days before the Peace Council meeting in Washington, and at a time when the US administration and regional and international actors are striving to solidify the fragile ceasefire in Gaza.

He accused Israel of undermining the ceasefire by killing Palestinians, restricting humanitarian aid, and obstructing [the process/the implementation of the ceasefire]. The Rafah crossing was closed, and the Palestinian Authority was opposed to its rightful role in Gaza.

He added: “We welcomed President Trump’s peace plan, explaining that for Palestinians it was about saving lives through a ceasefire and ending famine, and ensuring there would be no annexation, occupation, or forced displacement. We hoped it would be a first step towards the Palestinian people exercising their right to self-determination and establishing their independent state, leading to peace.”

He clarified that the ceasefire agreement did not end the suffering of the Palestinian people, emphasizing that Israel does not want a ceasefire and that its objectives remain occupation, annexation, and forced displacement in Gaza, which is now divided in two, and in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

He said that Israel chose between annexation and peace and chose annexation, asking: “How will we stop Israel?” He pointed out that the Israeli government is moving quickly and hopes to complete the process before a firm international response is formed. It may offer tactical concessions, but strategically it continues to seize land.

He explained that Palestinians have been confined to smaller and smaller areas, but they have not disappeared. In fact, their numbers in Gaza are increasing. He noted the increasing number of Palestinians living in the West Bank, and that Israel is now talking about controlling the area from the river to the sea, a territory inhabited by 7.5 million Palestinians. He questioned whether this would grant them equal rights or make their lives impossible through death, destruction, and displacement.

He asserted that the Israeli government is seeking to ignite an explosion in the West Bank through military incursions, allowing settler violence, forcibly displacing communities, destroying refugee camps, and attacking the Palestinian Authority, which is committed to peace, the two-state solution, and cooperating with regional and international efforts.

He emphasized that the only response is to affirm, in word and deed, that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, constitute the territorial unity of the State of Palestine, and that their political and geographical unity must not be delayed any longer. He warned that the two-state solution must not become a "two-state illusion."

K.T