Security Council deliberation: The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question

United Nations

Sphinx News: Ahmed Alli

As tensions in Gaza escalate and Israel’s belligerence continues to destabilize the region, the Security Council’s open debate draws governments from across the region, united in condemning the actions of Israeli authorities.

Addressing the Council yesterday, the Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad H. Mansour, began by reaffirming the core principles of the United Nations. Founded in response to the scourges of war, destruction, and crimes against humanity, World War II served as the antecedent to the Organization’s existence, which is now indoctrinated to uphold “the right of peoples to self-determination, the prohibition of the acquisition of territory by threat or use of force, and international law as the guarantor for the rights of ALL individuals.”

Intended to uphold these values in a dogmatic manner, Mansour contends that it is these very principles which are now “under attack in Palestine.” He adds, “asserting these values there (in Palestine) is upholding them everywhere, and abandoning them there is jeopardizing them everywhere.”

Mansour reaffirmed support for the nascent ceasefire agreement adopted late last year, but suggests its implementation has merely emboldened the “occupying power.” Since the ceasefire deal was officially signed on October 10, 2025, 500 Palestinians have been killed, with many more injured and many more displaced.

“We supported the plan because it offered an immediate path towards ‘the end of the killing and suffering, the famine, and the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe inflicted on the Palestinian people in Gaza.’”

Acknowledging that the agreement’s application has seen a dramatic decrease in Palestinian slaughter, and an even greater increase in humanitarian distribution, Mansour contends “it has not been enough.” The exchange of all Israeli hostages, political prisoners, and any other detainees is a “welcomed development,” he adds, but the latest developments on the ground have still not accounted for “the thousands denied, tortured, raped, killed, humiliated, or obliterated into non-existence.”

Moreover, Mansour maintains that Israel must “fully implement Phase 1 obligations, including an immediate end to the killing and unrestricted humanitarian access across the Gaza Strip. These are not new demands but the repeated calls of this Council, and constituent obligations under international law.”

Additionally, Mansour condemns Israeli authorities’ ongoing war against humanitarian actors. Recent destruction of UNRWA facilities in the occupied East Jerusalem, and blatant denial of the operations and provisions of vital NGOs, is not only a blatant contravention of international law, but undermines their “safety and ability to operate.” These purposely employed mechanisms by Israeli authorities are clear signs of “contempt, hindering the protection of civilians and undermining the privileges and immunities afforded to the United Nations.”

Mansour detests the “Israeli occupation,” underscoring that “Israel is not the sovereign within the Palestinian territory.” He adds, “Gaza is an integral part of the Palestinian territory,” and its future prosperity can only be pursued by denying the occupying force its propensity to “dictate the future of Gaza.”

Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, Danny Danon, underscored the importance of the return of Rang Villi, the final Israeli hostage. With the administration’s two goals of Hamas disarmament and returning all the hostages home, Danon contends that the latter has finally been achieved. “With deep national significance for Israel,” Danon applauds the development as a joint effort, undertaken in conjunction with both “the leadership of Donald Trump, and the brave IDF men and women.”

Danon adds, “Israel now advances its second goal: Hamas must be disarmed.” This will be done with the implementation of Phase Two of Trump’s 20-point Gaza Peace Plan, which sees “the establishment of a responsible governing framework for Gaza (Board of Peace).” Failure of Hamas to comply with such directives, where “acceptance of full disarmament enables progress and refusal places full responsibility on Hamas for the consequences.”

Danon calls for the full erasure of all Hamas military institutions and infrastructure, suggesting “no civilian future can exist while a genocidal terrorist army controls Gaza.” Furthermore, Danon suggests that Israel has “fully implemented Phase 1 of the ceasefire agreement,” noting that “33,000 aid trucks have been distributed since the ceasefire has been formally put into place.”

Despite the assurances of the Israeli delegation, Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, says the situation in both Gaza and the West Bank “remains dire.” Despite what he refers to as a “modest increase in humanitarian supply,” nearly the entire population requires humanitarian assistance. Alakbarov notes in his briefing to the Council the following alarming statistics: “more than 6,000 children under three receive routine vaccinations”; “food assistance now reaches at least 43 per cent of the population through daily bread rations and monthly flour distributions”; and “humanitarian partners have so far vaccinated nearly 13,000 children across the Gaza Strip during the latest immunization campaign, against a target of 18,000, according to aid coordination office OCHA.” Alakbarov warns that “years of disrupted schooling have taken a heavy toll on children,” and that “demilitarization of the Gaza Strip is an essential enabling condition.”

In his statement to the Security Council, the Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the United Nations, Ahmad Arafa, warns that efforts at ceasing hostilities with Israeli forces, in accordance with Resolution 1701 along with UNIFIL peacekeeping forces, are being constantly undermined. Arafa adds that the administration’s “systematic aggression” has seen “the launching of airstrikes on populated Lebanese villages, directly targeting civilians.” Israel’s continued occupation of areas within southern Lebanon is not only seen as a disregard for Resolution 1701 and an infringement on Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also “undermines regional stability under the false pretense of national security.”

Ihab Moustafa Awad Moustafa, Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Nations, stressed the need for a “comprehensive settlement, one rooted in solid foundations that addresses the roots of the conflict in a fair and practical manner, and that puts an end to the occupation of Palestinian territory.” Additionally, Ambassador Moustafa contends that Egypt’s hosting of the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit, where Trump’s 20-point Gaza Peace Plan was signed, “was a decisive step in turning the page on a painful war of attrition.” “The Summit,” he added, “ushered in a new chapter reflecting the collective will of the international community to achieve a just peace and lasting stability in the Middle East.” The Summit also reflected the categorical rejection of displacing Palestinians from their land, or separating Gaza from the occupied West Bank. While expressing deep appreciation for the leadership of President Trump and the United States, Ambassador Moustafa reaffirmed the need for Israel to further withdraw from Gaza, in accordance with Phase Two and its provisions. “Active U.S. engagement” is critical and imperative to faithfully implement all provisions of the agreement. Egypt calls on Israeli authorities to allow for the full scale of humanitarian assistance, where supplies are needed as part of Gaza’s reconstruction efforts and for “restoring conditions for a normal life.”

Finally, the Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations, Ibrahim Olabi, addressed the Council regarding Israel’s continued occupation of the Golan Heights and violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement. “The Israeli occupation” has caused immense suffering, particularly to families of the Quneitra Governorate, including stories of “families whose children have been kidnapped,” along with “Syrian farmers who have lost their agricultural lands and fruit trees.” Ambassador Olabi contends that the occupier has been emboldened by the occupation, which has dispossessed many Syrians “to what end? So they could build berms and military posts in the place of those homes.” This “false security pretense” is not only a breach of Syria’s territorial integrity, says Ambassador Olabi, but the territory has also served as a field for sporadic military testing, where “in recent days, Israeli occupation aircraft have sprayed unknown chemical substances over Syrian land and forests.” Ambassador Olabi posits that Syria “will not stand idle,” equipped to take all necessary measures to identify and assess the damages resulting from the unlawful Israeli presence. On that same note, “the Syrian Government,” he adds, “is making great efforts to document these human and material damages and to use all legal means to demand compensation for Israeli military practices.” Ambassador Olabi categorically condemns the Israeli occupation in the Golan Heights, reaffirming Damascus’s unwavering position on the military’s full, unconditional withdrawal, since it was occupied again on December 8, 2024.