Thank you, Mr. President.
Before I begin, I would like to congratulate the Russian Federation on assuming the presidency of the Security Council. I would like to thank the Polish ambassador for her presidency.
On May 15, this Security Council began its meeting with a moment of silence for the 61 Palestinians killed in Gaza the day before.
As they stood paying respects in mourning, Hamas revealed that nearly 90% of those who had died were identified as Hamas terrorists.
Hamas bragged about it.
In an interview, Dr. Salah Bardawil, a Hamas leader, confirmed it. He said, and I quote, “I am giving you an official figure. Fifty of the martyrs in the recent battle were from Hamas,” end quote.
On that day, Security Council members stood in solidarity with the terrorists of Hamas.
One would think the absurdity ended there. But it did not.
Just moments later, at the same meeting, the Ambassador of Bolivia listed the names of the people who had died in Gaza. He did this as Hamas took pride that the vast majority were its own.
In the eyes of the Ambassador of Bolivia, Anas Hamdan Salem Qudeih, a 21-year-old confirmed member of Hamas’s military wing, does not count as a terrorist.
He must have forgotten that this wing is the same one listed as a terrorist organization by Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, Egypt and the United States.
On May 18, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution about the recent events in Gaza. The resolution did not even mention Hamas.
Despite Hamas’ deadly activities and attacks – its attempts to breach the security fence and infiltrate Israel; its incitement of the people of Gaza; its use of innocent Palestinian women and children as human shields – the Human Rights Council chose to turn a blind eye.
Today, too, the Security Council has attempted to adopt a similar resolution. We recognize the United States and all who did not support this resolution for their moral clarity.
The Security Council also had the opportunity to adopt the resolution proposed by the United States. This resolution rightly names Hamas and the other terrorist groups as the root cause of this conflict. It recognized that peace and stability will never come to our region until the international community is brave enough to call out the terrorists by name.
We thank the Americans for taking the right stand.
Ambassador Haley, you made clear today that the rules of the game are changing here in this Council, and this double stand.
Despite the rockets fired by Hamas and Islamic Jihad at our civilians; despite the missile that landed in a kindergarten yard; despite the endless mortar shells attacking our southern communities, Kuwait’s resolution tried to give Hamas a free pass.
This was a resolution born in sin. It tried to continue an alarming pattern, absolving Hamas of all responsibility for the violence and death it has caused.
The resolution mentions Israel five times. I don’t know who drafted it – five times you mention Israel. Yet you could not bring yourselves to mention Hamas at all. Don’t you know how to spell it?
It empowers Hamas by granting it the Security Council’s stamp of approval.
Hamas has ruled Gaza with malice and brutality for twelve years. It paid its civilians to storm the fence with the explicit goal of increasing the death toll.
It deprives the people of Gaza of their basic human rights. It uses Israel to create a scapegoat for its own failures. Hamas has launched over 10,000 rockets into Israeli communities, and it has constructed nearly 40 terror tunnels to kidnap and kill Israelis.
It is true that the residents of Gaza need protection. They need protection from Hamas – the same organization you cannot name.
I must ask you – you are educated people, and you should understand facts when you see them.
Haven’t you read the news? Have you not heard of the missiles Hamas fired at Israeli schools, or the explosives they placed at the fence?
I ask the Ambassador of France; the Ambassador of Sweden – you promoted this resolution. Why did you omit Hamas from this resolution?
You had hours of negotiations – I am waiting for an answer. The residents of southern Israel are waiting for an answer.
Did you forget that the EU has designated Hamas a terrorist organization since 2003? Does that designation mean nothing to you?
When Paris was attacked by ISIS, the international community stood with Paris. But when Israel is attacked by Hamas, you blame us – the victim.
There is no difference between the evil of Hamas and the barbarity of ISIS, or Al-Qaeda, or Boko Haram. These organizations do not distinguish in their mission to terrorize innocent people. They are all the same.
The only resolution this Council should pass is one that condemns Hamas, and designates it a terrorist organization.
Mr. President,
When it comes to the Palestinians, the international community never misses an opportunity to blame Israel.
But for the Palestinians living in danger in other countries, the international community is silent.
Let’s look back in history. In 1991, 200,000 Palestinians were expelled from Kuwait after the Gulf War. Many were subjected to abuse or killed during the expulsion. Kuwaiti officials, and even members of the royal family, called for the, quote, “cleansing” of Palestinian neighborhoods.
Today, thousands of Palestinians living in Lebanon are treated like third class citizens.
In Syria, the Yarmouk refugee camp has faced poverty and exile, siege and starvation, jihadist rule and government shelling for the last seven years.
Yarmouk is a humanitarian catastrophe.
What was the world’s reaction to Kuwait’s abuse of Palestinians in the 90s? Silence.
What about Lebanon for its years of maltreatment of Palestinians? Silence.
And for the Palestinians in the Yarmouk camp in Syria? Silence once again.
It seems that for some in the UN – they speak up for the Palestinians only when Israel is involved.
If the world truly wanted to help the Palestinians, it would pass a resolution on the Palestinian situation in Kuwait, or in Lebanon, or in Syria.
It would pass a resolution condemning Hamas here today.
Let me be clear. Israel will always protect our civilians. We will not allow our citizens to die for this distorted sense of fairness in the eyes of the world.
When it comes to Palestinian civilians placed in harm’s way by the terrorists in Gaza, it is Israel that acts with more care and more respect for human life than nearly any other country – especially those that claim to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Mr. President,
Thankfully, this biased and hypocritical resolution did not pass.
But the Security Council’s moment of silence, the resolution passed by the Human Rights Council, and the resolution that was introduced today only empower Hamas. They convey the notion that some in the international community actually support Hamas. They confirm to Hamas that its violence and terrorism will surely go unnoticed. They grant Hamas full immunity.
The only way to protect the Palestinians in Gaza is by holding Hamas responsible.
Those who supported this resolution chose not to protect the Palestinians. Those who did not support the resolution – you voted for the protection of Israelis and Palestinians.
I thank you, Mr. President.