Checked Against Delivery
Thank you, Mr. President.
Let me also thank Acting Special Coordinator Alakbarov for his briefing, as well as Mr. Inon and Mr. Abu Sarah for your shared vision and call for action. That gives us hope.
Mr. President, last week, during the high-level week, we marked one year since 142 member states united behind the New York Declaration, reiterating their support for the two-state solution. Today, while we recognize the significant milestones achieved, we face a widening gap between diplomatic progress and the realities on the ground.
In the West Bank, as we heard from our briefers today, some of the major obstacles to progress include illegal settlements, most recently and alarmingly exemplified by the E1-settlement project, including the unacceptable decision to publish tenders for the project. A project that will ultimately split the West Bank in two and isolate East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.
This project and all settlement expansions must be halted immediately and any attempt at de facto annexation prevented. We once again underscore that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.
Settler violence has also reached unprecedented levels. Since the beginning of the year, more than 1,600 settler attacks across communities in the West Bank have resulted in casualties, property damage or both. 77 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers. One in five of those killed was a child.
The network of checkpoints and roadblocks that impede access to workplaces, schools and hospitals also continues to grow. Restricting the last bit of freedom of movement in the daily life of the Palestinians.
School life for the children is further disrupted by demolitions, military raids on educational institutions, and detentions while travelling to and from school. And access to medical facilities is similarly hampered.
These developments illustrate how basic human rights are being stripped away and the real and devastating impact on the Palestinian communities in the West Bank. Palestinian land is shrinking to isolated enclaves - and Palestinian civic space is equally shrinking.
These developments, if they are not stopped, will ultimately render the two-state solution impossible, dismantling the possibility of a lasting peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis.
Mr. President,
Denmark calls on Israel to reverse its current trajectory in the West Bank, including halting all settlement projects, ensuring accountability for settler violence and releasing withheld Palestinian clearance revenues.
We welcome the progress the Palestinian Authority has made in its reform efforts, including the announcement of legislative elections. We encourage more steps to be taken. But we cannot expect these reforms to be successful when there is no access to financing of the budgets. Releasing the Palestinian Authority’s clearance revenues would help the PA to meet its budgetary obligations and provide essential services to the population.
Mr. President,
Allow me to also briefly turn to the pressing needs in Gaza. A year following the ceasefire, the gunshots have lessened. But we have not seen the progress we had hoped for regarding the implementation of resolution 2803. Especially humanitarian aid access remains severely insufficient.
Basic human needs go unmet. Patients die without proper medical care. And Israeli restrictions continue to prevent the necessary action as required by the Gaza Peace Plan. More must be done.
As winter approaches, needs are increasing. Especially for shelter and fuel. Israel needs to facilitate safe, unhindered and continuous humanitarian access to allow relief to reach the civilian population. As well as to ensure the dignity of the human remains of those lost under the rubbles.
Mr. President, the futures of Gaza and the West Bank are tightly interconnected. Progress towards peaceful settlement of the Palestinian question is needed. It requires the full implementation of the Gaza Peace plan and a halt to settlements in the West Bank.
This is why Denmark stands behind the joint statement released earlier this month, along with the UK, France, Canada and many others, confirming the intention to take action to prevent further damage. With this statement, Denmark confirms its support to European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law. The aim is to protect the two-state solution and ensure a just and lasting peace based on the principles enshrined in the New York Declaration.
The goal is still clear: A peaceful and safe Israel and a peaceful and safe Palestinian state. They are not mutually exclusive.
I thank you.
