United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity - Item 79
🇵🇸 State of Palestine, 🇮🇱 Israel
its second intervention in exercise of the right of reply. I therefore give the delegation the floor. Thank you, Ambassador, for giving me the floor and good morning, colleagues. I I do understand that the majority of delegations are here for the Crimes Against Humanity agenda item. But there is an overdue second round of reply from Friday, and I promise to keep it as quick, as entertaining as possible. But on Friday, under the agenda item on accountability of UN officials, the Israeli representative once again delivered a mendacious statement inciting against and attacking the United Nations, its different bodies, its agencies, its court, its officials, and its personnel, in particular UNRWA, the United Nations Works and Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees, defaming the Humanitarian Agency as a terrorist organization, libeling the United Nations and by extension, the majority of member states which support UNRWA. And uh when we exercise our right of reply, we presented the facts, the truth and the law, including as presented by the ICJ Advisory Opinion in 2025, where it conclusively concluded that Israel's uh allegations against UNURWA were unsubstantiated and rejected Israel's lies and propaganda against UNURWA. Instead of engaging on the merits of the law, As presented by the ICJ, the Israeli representative expressed feigned astonishment and confusion to why the delegation of the State of Palestine exercised their right of reply. They explained that the statement was directed against Onorua and did not mention Palestinians or the Palestinian delegation, and then proceeded to condescendingly and derisively. uh question our representation um and asked who do we represent in this room whether it's onurwa or uh or others so I feel obliged to um answer the question um we proudly represent the state of Palestine and the Palestinian people the 15 million Palestinian people including the 7 million Palestinian refugees who are registered with Onrua the same UN agency that the Israeli representative attacked and incited against and the same UN agency that Israel and Israeli officials are trying to dismantle hoping that if they were to dismantle Onruwa they would erase the right of the Palestinian people to return. But our right is an alienable right it cannot be erased not with the passage of time even 80 years after the Nakbe and certainly not um with Israel's actions and violations against um Against Onurwa. So, in particular, any attack against Onwa is an attack against the Palestinian people, and this is why we exercise our right of reply. And I can only imagine how overwhelming it is for the Israeli representative to represent a state that is standing trial for genocide before the ICJ and whose officials are internationally wanted criminals. And it can also be overwhelming to continuously defend Israel's 80 years long crimes against the Palestinian people. And while the Israeli representative was busy defending genocides, illegal occupation, apartheid, the mass killing of children, the rape and torture of detainees. Um they missed the connection between UNRWA and the Palestinian delegation and the Palestinian people. And I really hope that our answer was sufficient and will help the Israeli representative overcome this confusion. Thank you again, Ambassador, for giving me the floor. This was our second round of reply. I won't be able to engage in the third round of reply as much as I would like to, but we do look forward to the crimes against humanity debate. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning, everyone. As I've said before, I uh rarely see any value in responding to the Palestinian delegation's endless uh stream of baseless allegations. Now I understand also that she is enjoying to entertain you. Uh I'm not here to entertain you. Uh but if sh that this is what she wants to, so this is her uh part. Uh apparently uh they still believe that if they overwhelm this committee with enough words. Accusations, and selective references to international law, they can make falsehood appear credible. But repetition does not turn a lie into fact. And empty rhetoric does not make a weak argument, uh make a weak argument even stronger. It merely wastes this committee's time and distracts us from the substance of our work. Let me also clarify I did not initiate this exchange. The Palestinian delegation could inscribe themselves on the speaker's list and contribute to the debate. Instead, they chose to exercise their right of reply today for the second time to launch yet another round of baseless accusations. Israel is already working closely with UN agencies operating in Gaza. Agencies that deliver humanitarian assistance and professional services rather than political advocacy, incitement, or activities linked to terrorism like UNRWA has done. Our expectation is simple. UN agencies must be professional, impartial, accountable, and committed to their mandates. They must deliver assistance, not advance political campaigns, or provide cover for terrorism. Israel cooperates closely with UNICEF on water, sanitation, and hygiene as well as education, with UNDP on solid waste management and shelters, and with WFP on food, security and nutrition. The successful vaccination campaign in Gaza, led by the WHO, is another concrete example for a good cooperation between Israel and the UN. And these are just some examples of many. These are not talking points like just UNRWA ones. They are practical results for civilians in Gaza. And in October and in October 2026 alone, three senior UN officials have visited Jerusalem to explore further avenues for cooperation. Given the high demand for engagement, we jointly thought to coordinate additional visits in November. Israel is not isolated, not disengaged, and certainly not unwilling to cooperate. The substantial volume of humanitarian assistance entering into Gaza is also facilitated by close coordination between Israel and UN agencies, alongside other humanitarian actors, all those that are not UNRWA, that have not been infiltrated by terrorist organizations. This is the reality on the ground dialogue, coordination, and practical cooperation. Our invitation remains open to every UN agency that is professional, impartial, and free from terrorist involvement and inherent bias. We will work with those who approach their mandate in good faith. What we will not accept is the proposition that UNRWA must be preserved in and of itself, regardless of its record or the existence of professional alternative. Madam Chair, I was equally astonished to hear the Palestinian Representative suggested on Friday that Israel owes a unique debt to the United Nations because of the circumstances of its establishment. We do not have time today for a history lesson, but since the Palestinian Representative chose to invoke history, let us recall one essential fact. On 29 November 1947, the General Assembly adopted resolution 18181 recommending the partition of the mandatory land into Arab state and Jewish state. Israel accepted the plan. The Arab leadership rejected it. Violence has initiated by the Arab leadership and war followed Israel's declaration of independence. The Arab leadership vowed to wipe Israel off the map. One can only wonder what might have happened to the Palestinian and Israeli relationships if they, the Palestinian, chose differently. But that is, of course, a question for historical speculation. The Palestinian representative should exercise greater caution before lecturing this community and this committee about Israel's legitimacy, its relationship with the United Nations, or who truly pursue the path for peace. And this brings us to a broader point. The United Nations is a bubble. Outside this building, countries, including countries in our own region, are expanding cooperation with expanding cooperation with Israel in security, civilians, economic, and diplomatic affairs. Peace agreements and normalization arrangements are being concluded, and we welcome further progress. Yet, inside this UN bubble, we continue to witness an obsessive focus on Israel, the recycling of Palestinian allegations, and the politicization of humanitarian and UN agencies. And in this committee, the Palestinian representative has never condemned the atrocities of the 7th of October. Beyond these walls, Israelis and Palestinians engage with one another every day. But regrettably, not in this committee and not at the UN. Outside of the UN, Israelis and Palestinians coordinate projects, security, trade, economic cooperation, and sometimes they simply sit down for a coffee. The disconnect between what happens on the ground and what is what is said in this committee speaks volume. We must stop rewarding political manipulations, confront terrorist involvement wherever it exists, insist on accountability and strengthen professional cooperation. We must reject the politicization of UN institutions and stop allowing every discussion to be consumed by endless accusations unrelated to the subject before us. Israel will not remain silent in the face of this inform uh of disinformation. We will not uh we will challenge it, expose it and refuse to let political theatre replace facts. Our hand we must extend to every serious partner, UN agencies and other willing to work with us professionally and in good faith. But let us be aqually clear. UNRWA is not relevant anymore and is not an option. It is a loose canon and a drain on valuable resources. Madam Chair, let us return to the work of this committee. Madam Chair, let us return to the work this committee was convened to do. Thank you.
Verbatim from the transcript. A reply is identified from its own words, the Chair's grant, or its place in the right-of-reply sequence; delegations and addressees follow the transcript's attribution.