In just the last two weeks, we have witnessed outrageous acts of terror around the world. Terror is terror and should be condemned loudly wherever it happens and whoever the victims are.

I would like to express my sincere condolences and deepest sympathies to the French Republic and to the French people in the wake of the horrific attacks on Paris, the city of light, this past weekend.

Israel understands the pain and devastation of terrorism first hand. We know the people of France are strong and resilient. They should know that the people and the state of Israel stand by them in friendship and solidarity at all times, and especially at these difficult moments. 

Mr. President,

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development marks a new era of unprecedented global partnership to combat the greatest global challenge - the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions. However, as events in Syria, Beirut, Sinai and Iraq make painfully clear, such noble goals will remain beyond reach unless the challenges of national and international peace and security are met head on.  

Mr. President,

The growing interdependence of security and development is evident from the conditions of instability and underdevelopment across the globe today.

Countries in prolonged conflict suffer from decreased economic productivity, dramatically increased levels of poverty, and declining health outcomes.

Without the stability of enduring peace, the promise of sustainable development will remain unfulfilled.

Moreover, due to the increasingly brutal nature of some of these conflicts, it has become ever more difficult for the international community to support the peace-building initiatives and institutions so desperately needed.

The rules of the game have changed but the international community has yet to respond adequately to the new reality. We must develop up-to-date mechanisms that enable us to help the victims of conflict in the short term, and to improve the conflict prevention capacities of these states in the long term.

Unless the community of nations takes action, the decline of political institutions and civil society in war-torn states will undermine the possibilities of future development for generations to come.

Only an inclusive approach, in which all stakeholders collaborate to address these challenges, can succeed.

Stability and security are the keys to unlocking the full potential of developing states.

However, without a comprehensive commitment to the goal of an inclusive society, the benefits of peace and the promise of sustainable development will remain elusive.

In the twenty first century, no nation can prosper if it neglects the building blocks of progress:

               Accountable institutions,     

               The rule of law,    

               Respect for human rights,

               And the empowerment of women.

This lesson is particularly relevant for many in Israel’s region of the world - the Middle East. The disintegration of nation-states and national borders we have witnessed, did not happen overnight, nor where they uncontrollable. It is a direct result of decades of neglect, corrupt leadership and mistaken priorities in our region.

Throughout these lost years, some in the international community stood silent, turning a blind eye to dangerous ideologies, and at times collaborating with leaders responsible for harming their own people.

When children are indoctrinated instead of educated – it breeds fundamentalism.

When women are segregated from the rest of society, instead of being integrated into decision-making positions, important voices of moderation are being silenced.

When leaders ignore desperate cries for more freedom and more opportunity, the result is people without hope, and a future without progress.

When dangerous fundamentalist ideologies masquerade as legitimate religious views and are exported throughout the globe, it leads to terror.

And when we go out of our way to find a justification for some acts of terror, we lose our moral compass. 

Mr. President,

The only sure path to both security and development is the promotion of free and open societies. However, we must not take that easy way out.

We must not allow the failure to achieve developmental success, to become excuses for violence. And we must not delude ourselves that the root causes of any conflict are limited to weak institutions and slow economic growth.

Over the past two months, hundreds of innocent Israeli men, women, and children have been brutally stabbed in the streets, intentionally run over at bus stops and deliberately shot at on their way to work; all for the crime of being Jews living in Israel.

In many meetings of the Security Council, we have heard about the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and much blame placed on Israel for lack of progress, all the while downplaying, and at times ignoring Palestinian reluctance to negotiate, as well as Palestinian terror and incitement.

This wave of terror that Israel faces is not about lack of development. It is about the culture of hatred that pervades Palestinian educational institutions and Palestinian media, and incitement by Palestinian leaders.

While each conflict is different, no discussion of the root causes of terror anywhere in the word can be complete unless it addresses the dehumanization of the other, which all too often lies at its heart.

Mr. President,

The road to a peaceful, prosperous, and secure planet is long and winding, but well worth the journey.

Let us commit to work together in the spirit of friendship and in the name of humanity, to make this dream a reality.