Tenth Emergency Special Session

"Illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem
and the rest of the occupied territories"

Address by Ambassador Dan Gillerman

(20 July 2004 - 58th UN General Assembly)
 

Mr. President,

Allow me to start with a word of thanks. Thank God that the fate of Israel, and of the Jewish people, is not decided in this hall.

Let there be no mistake - Israel has respect for the Assembly and for the noble principles for which it stands. It is precisely because of this respect that we cannot but be dismayed that harmful and politicized interests too often seek to gain control of its mandate and activities. It was that principled position that led many States to join Israel in objecting to the abuse of the ICJ last December, and it is that same position that should have led States to object to the resolution voted on today. In this context, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to those States that have decided not to support today's one-sided and counter-productive resolution.

Sadly, the Assembly has missed yet another opportunity to make a relevant contribution to the cause of peace. By pandering to an agenda that seeks to focus on the response to terrorism but to marginalize the gravity of the terrorism itself - and the responsibility of the Palestinians to end that terror - this resolution cannot but embolden those who are the true enemies of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.

We recognize the efforts of certain states that have sought to introduce some semblance of balance into the text of the resolution. But in our view that was not the issue here. It is not about grudging references to terrorism or carefully crafted, often "constructively" ambiguous, phrases. It is about whether States will grant legitimacy to initiatives that at their heart are at odds with the very spirit and letter of the Road Map. It is about whether States will entertain, with polite diplomacy, efforts that are so transparently designed to ensure than no genuine pressure is ever brought to bear against the terrorism that made the security fence necessary and that at this moment, and at every moment, sabotage the prospects for peace. And it is about whether, in addressing an issue of direct relevance to a country's national security - of direct relevance to the life and death of its citizens - the Assembly can afford to show such little regard for Israel's right and duty to protect its people.

There is a broader context, and a wider goal, that this resolution belittles if not ignores. A central part of that context is the continuing threat to peace and to lives posed by deadly violence that just today claimed the lives of two Israeli soldiers, killed by yet another Hizbollah violation of the Blue Line. Without a comprehensive approach to the obligations of all parties, an approach that is so lacking in this myopic resolution, we cannot move towards peace.

Those States that recognized the harmful and perverse nature of the Advisory Opinion request, especially those that are members of the Quartet, are, in our view, duty bound to demand an end to the Palestinian abuse of UN organs, not to engage them. This ill-conceived draft resolution and the ones that will no doubt follow only complicate the mutual implementation of the Road Map and erode its central status.

To return to the path to peace, passing references to the Road Map and the mutual obligations of both sides cannot be treated as bargaining chips for which concessions are demanded and given. To return to the path of peace, a total disregard for Israel's bold an courageous initiative to disengage from Gaza, and parts of the West Bank, can only be interpreted as a decision by those countries who supported this resolution to disengage themselves from the reality in the region. It does not bode well and casts serious doubt on the ability of those states to contribute to the peace process. To return to the path of peace, we should not allow the misuse of the ICJ to take center stage, while pushing the imperative of mutual recognition and mutual compromise to the sidelines. And to return to the path of peace, we should not be so detached from reality as to treat an Advisory Opinion as though it is binding, and binding Palestinian obligations as though they were virtually non-existent. This is not a recipe for progress, it is a recipe for failure.

Regardless of actual events on the ground, we can all rest assured that a new set of virtual reality resolutions will be presented in September, when the Palestinian representative hopes more public attention can be drawn to the matter. After all, as long as these self-serving Palestinian drafts are viewed as the basis for negotiations rather than the basis for failure, we should not expect anything different.

Mr. President,

We will not repeat any of our comments regarding the advisory opinion and the tainted process that created it. We believe our statement on Friday speaks for itself. Israel is not above the law. Israel will ensure that the route of the security fence complies fully with the requirements of international law, as detailed by its Supreme Court. We will continue our thorough review of the entire route of the fence, subject to judicial scrutiny. And we will ensure that the correct and legal balance is struck between the quality of life of individuals living along the fence and the right to life of the civilians protected by it.

But we reject absolutely the attempts to use the law as a political weapon, as if the law applies to Israel but does not apply to anyone else. When all is said and done, it is simply outrageous to respond with such vigor to a measure that saves lives, and respond with such casual indifference to the ongoing campaign of Palestinian terrorism that takes lives. This is not justice, but a perversion of justice and people of conscience around the world see it as such.

The price of the international community's indifference towards Palestinian lawlessness has been painfully evident in the last few days. That lawlessness and violence bred by Arafat's corrupt and repressive rule has received none of this Assembly's attention but it is at the heart of the problem. No doubt, the Palestinian representative will blame the recent chaos in Gaza on Israel too. But this view is clearly not shared by many ordinary Palestinians who actually live in the region. Anyone familiar with the reality on the ground knows that Arafat and his henchmen, having sponsored and tolerated terrorism for so long, and having refused to allow security reform as required by the Road Map, have proved that they are neither willing to be partners in peace nor ready to meet the responsibilities of democratic leadership for their own people. Sadly, this Assembly, by buying into a mock narrative that fails to genuinely demand anything from the Palestinian leadership, as reinforced this sense of impunity and done nothing to compel them to rethink their catastrophic strategy.

Mr. President,

Last December a disservice was done by the Assembly not just to the International Court of Justice, but to the balanced and non-selective application of the rule of law. Today we believe that those that supported this resolution have compounded that error. The reputation and credibility of international judicial institutions are the worse for it, the claim of this Assembly to legitimacy in dealing with this conflict is the worse for it, and the Israeli and Palestinian peoples are the worse for it.

Thank you, Mr. President.