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Today's debate occurs in the midst of historic changes in the Middle East. With these changes, which hold the promise of spreading new freedom and prosperity in our region, we also see many challenges. Extremists and terrorists continue to pursue the same destructive agendas, seeking to take advantage of the turbulence created by the transformations that are now occurring.
Recent events in the Gaza Strip provide another clear example of the destabilizing threat posed by these terrorists and their patrons, bringing to light, once again, the depth of their callousness in carrying out violent attacks that deliberately target innocent civilians: men, women, and children.
Since the beginning of March, Hamas and other terrorist groups have launched some 92 rockets and 141 mortars at civilians throughout Southern Israel as part of what is the most serious escalation of projectile fire emanating from Gaza in more than two years.
There is no question about the intended targets of these attacks. They have launched rocket after rocket at major Israeli population centers that are home to hundreds of thousands of people. They have struck houses and buses; factories and farms; synagogues and schools.
Just two weeks ago, on 7 April 2011, Hamas members used an anti-tank missile that they had smuggled into the Gaza Strip to strike and completely destroy a school bus traveling in Southern Israel. This act of terrorism injured the bus driver and fatally wounded 16-year old Daniel Aryeh Viflic, who passed away this week from injuries he sustained in this attack.
As residents of New York, we all see the yellow school buses that bring local children to school. Some in this room entrust these buses to safely transport their own children. I ask my colleagues sitting around this table: can you imagine how you would feel if an anti-tank missile was deliberately fired at such a bus in Manhattan or Brooklyn?
This is the reality facing many Israelis today. This is also the reality facing the Israeli government as it seeks to pursue the terrorists that carry out these horrific attacks - terrorists who consistently demonstrate their disregard for any considerations of human life and basic precepts of international law.
I am continually astonished that some in the international community express the belief that the de facto terrorist organization now in control of Gaza can conduct an independent, credible, and impartial investigation into the crimes that it commits on a daily basis. It is naïve at best to put such faith in this terrorist group, which time and again shows only disdain for the universal human values on which such an investigation would be based.
Mr. President,
The use of an anti-tank missile to attack an Israeli school bus reminds us of the dangerous consequences of the continued smuggling of arms into the Gaza Strip. Iran and Syria remain the primary sponsors of this illegal activity, which is carried out by both land and sea.
On March 15th of last month, Israel made the international community aware of one recent attempt by Iran and Syria to smuggle weapons into Gaza when three containers carrying some 40 tons of weaponry - including C-704 advanced anti-ship missiles - were captured on board the Victoria cargo vessel. These containers of weapons were concealed among a cargo of lentils and cotton, providing yet another example of Iran and Syria's cynical and dangerous practice of using civilian ships and airplanes to transfer weapons to their proxies in our region. This incident reveals only the tip of the iceberg of Iran and Syria's illegal smuggling activities.
Unfortunately, the Security Council and the international community do not pay appropriate attention to the illegal smuggling of arms into Gaza - a critical aspect of Security Council resolution 1860. Despite the frequent discussions held in the Security Council about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, there has never been a serious debate in this forum about the clear threat that arms smuggling into Gaza poses to the security of Israel and to the stability of our region.
Every day, more Israelis are placed within the range of terrorist rockets as a result of illegal arms smuggling into Gaza. And the alarming potential for using these smuggled weapons to attack civilian targets in our country continues to be demonstrated over and over again. This month, terrorists in Gaza struck a school bus. Next month it may be a ship or a civilian airliner.
Israel calls on the Security Council and the international community to devote much more attention to the issue of arms smuggling to the Gaza Strip and take tangible measures to halt this illegal activity.
Mr. President,
On the subject of the Gaza Strip, allow me also to draw this Council's attention to plans for a provocative action that holds the potential to escalate conflict and create instability in our already very fragile region.
A number of non-governmental organization's and other groups have made public their intention to direct a large flotilla of some 15 ships and more than 1,000 individuals to challenge Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. This action, which seems to be planned for the second half of May 2011, has been organized by groups and individuals that hold many ties to Hamas and other terrorist organizations. Numerous participants engaged in the planning of this flotilla have made very troubling statements expressing their willingness to become martyrs in this effort.
As is widely known, there are established mechanisms through which humanitarian assistance can be delivered to the Gaza Strip through Israel. These channels are being used daily by UN agencies and other international actors. My country remains ready to process such goods in the Port of Ashdod and transfer them to the Gaza Strip after security inspection.
Many international leaders, including representatives of the United Nations, have spoken out clearly against such flotillas, and about the need for humanitarian supplies to be transferred to the Gaza Strip only through established channels. For example, in a briefing before this Council last July, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs said, "Such convoys are not helpful to resolving the basic economic problems in Gaza and needlessly carry the potential for escalation."
Many statements issued at the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee Meeting in Brussels last week offered the same perspective, including the Chairman's Summary, which called on "all international supporters to make use of the existing land crossings to channel their support to Gaza, and abstain from provocations."
The flotilla anticipated for this May is clearly designed to serve purely as a political provocation and not to advance any humanitarian goal. Let me stress that Israel is not interested in confrontation. However, we are firmly determined to enforce our naval blockade of Gaza, which is solely intended to prevent the illicit trafficking of arms and ammunition to the Gaza Strip - and to stop additional terrorists from infiltrating the area.
Israel calls on the United Nations and all members of the international community to speak with a clear and resolute voice against this new provocation and to take all necessary measures to prevent it from occurring.
Mr. President,
Israel continues to implement significant measures to improve life for Palestinians on the ground. In the West Bank, my Government is working closely with the Palestinian Authority to promote economic growth and institution building. Since the beginning of 2010, Israel has removed more than two-thirds of the roadblocks in the West Bank and expanded its professional dialogue with the Palestinian Authority in a variety of areas. These and other measures helped to grow the West Bank economy by approximately 8 percent over the course of 2010, prompting a consistent rise in the area's standard of living.
Despite the fact that Palestinian terrorists continue to launch attacks against Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip, Israel has taken significant steps to improve life for the area's residents. For instance, Israel has put in place new arrangements and mechanisms to usher in a substantial increase in the quantities and variety of products available for import and export, which has helped grow the Gaza Strip economy by approximately 15 percent over the course of 2010.
An average of 159 truckloads of supplies were delivered to Gaza daily during the second half of 2010, which was nearly double the number of truckloads that were delivered during the first half of the year. Israel has also established a new joint coordination and supervision mechanism to move forward international humanitarian projects in the Gaza Strip overseen by third parties, such as UNRWA and UNDP. As of the beginning of March 2011, Israel had approved 121 such projects in Gaza - in a wide range of fields, such as education, and water and sewage infrastructure. We have facilitated the transfer of more than 55,000 tons of building materials for use in these projects since the beginning of 2010.
Mr. President,
As I have done in this Council before, I reiterate Israel's call to the Palestinians to rejoin us in direct negotiations without delay. For it is clear that peace can only be achieved through direct negotiations. It cannot be imposed from the outside. And any lasting peace agreement must be built on the core principles of mutual recognition and security. As Israel's President Shimon Peres made clear to UN Ambassadors during his visit to New York this month: "We need solutions, not resolutions."
I urge all members of this Council to consider that in just the past two months Israelis have witnessed hundreds of projectiles fired at our communities from Gaza, the brutal murder of five members of the Fogel family in Itamar, and the explosion of a bomb at a bus stop in the center of Jerusalem that killed a woman from the United Kingdom and injured some fifty other people. These are just a few examples of the complex security challenges that Israel continues to face on a daily basis, which must be addressed in any future peace agreement.
However, security is not the only obstacle to peace. Enjoying a lasting peace will also require that we build a culture of mutual understanding and tolerance, based on clear recognition of both peoples right to exist. Israel's commitment to recognize a future Palestinian state must be met with an equal acknowledgement that Israel is the Jewish state for the Jewish people. The Palestinian leadership must be unambiguous in its recognition of my nation's right to exist and take real steps to prepare its population to live side-by-side with Israelis.
They must also show their commitment to peace by accepting responsibilities and not just demanding rights, meeting directly with Israeli leaders who are just minutes away to get down to the real work of negotiating two states for two peoples.
Mr. President,
This week the Jewish people are observing the holiday of Passover, during which we remember our deliverance from slavery thousands of years ago - and reaffirm our commitment to the importance of freedom for all people. However, this year, as we cherish our own freedom, Israelis continue to hope and pray for the freedom of our kidnapped soldier, Gilad Shalit.
Israel remains deeply concerned about Gilad's continued captivity and the fact that he has been deprived of his most basic human rights, including any visit from the Red Cross, for nearly five years. The international community must do all in its power - and more than has been done thus far - to bring about his swift release.
Thank you.