Checked Against Delivery
I should now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of Denmark.
I would like to start by thanking Deputy Special Coordinator Alakabrov and Deputy Executive Director Suleiman for their briefings.
What we have heard today is not just statistics, as DED Suleiman stressed this morning. It is the daily reality of Palestinian children living under the threat of settler violence, loss of livelihood, demolition and displacement.
These realities were also reiterated in the Independent International Commission of Inquiry’s report examining violations and crimes against Palestinian children that was published in June. At the same time, we hear that July was an exceptionally deadly month in the context of settler-related violence.
This is why Denmark together with France, Greece, Latvia and the UK, supported by other council members called for this urgent meeting.
Colleagues,
The two-state solution as charted in the resolutions of this Council remains the only viable path to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Last September, 142 states reaffirmed their support for this vision in the New York Declaration. But for this vision to materialise, the current trajectory in the West Bank must urgently be reversed.
We would like to emphasise four urgent matters:
First, settler violence must stop, and those responsible must be held accountable. No Palestinian child should witness homes set ablaze, access to schools hampered, destroyed livelihoods, or blocked water sources. We urge the Israeli authorities to take immediate measures to prevent violence, protect civilians and ensure accountability. The European Union has recently put more extremist Israeli settlers and organisations responsible for serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians under sanctions.
Second, the expansion of illegal settlements must end immediately. We remain deeply concerned by the potential issuing of tenders for the E1 settlement, which threatens to separate East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and divide the West Bank in two. We urge businesses to be aware of the potential legal, financial and reputational risks associated with bidding for these contracts. We once again stress that Security Council Resolution 2334 must be fully implemented.
Third, Palestinian children deserve to grow up under a functioning, effective and reformed Palestinian Authority, able to pay salaries and provide essential services. We therefore reiterate our call for Israel to release withheld tax revenues and for the PA to continue its important work on necessary reforms including on democracy and good governance.
Finally, the developments in the West Bank cannot be separated from what happens in Gaza.
The stability of both Gaza and the West Bank is critical to any lasting peace, including to Israel’s long-term security.
It is in the interest for both Palestinians and Israelis to transition Gaza from war to peace. We took note of the recent news of progress towards an agreement on the disarmament of Hamas and urge all parties to reach a full agreement on this decisive issue. And we continue to call on all parties to fully respect the ceasefire, on Hamas to disarm, and on Israel to ensure the phased withdrawal of the IDF in line with resolution 2803 as well as to ensure unhindered humanitarian aid.
A lasting ceasefire would lay the groundwork for early recovery and reconstruction. In this regard, we welcome that the EU has launched the Team Gaza initiative which Denmark is a part of. This initiative will contribute to the much-needed early recovery efforts in Gaza, including in crucial areas of water infrastructure, removal of rubble and waste.
Colleagues,
Developments in the West Bank threaten the vision of a two-state solution that we, as international community, have elaborated in so many resolutions and declarations over the past decades. The longer we wait, the less realistic that vision becomes.
This Council must stay loyal to its decisions and ensure the implementation of a two-state solution - reuniting Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, under a reformed Palestinian leadership, along the 1967-borders. Two states where Israeli and Palestinians can live side by side, in peace and security.
