Statement of the UN Palestinian Rights Committee Vice-Chair, Security Council meeting, 26 Jul 2022

The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question - Security Council, 9099th meeting. 26 Jul 2022 ARRMANATHA C. NASIR, Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, said Israel’s settlement expansion and land confiscation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, constitute grave breaches of international law and United Nations resolutions. He expressed concern over developments in Masafer Yatta, which risk forcibly displacing over 1,200 Palestinians, including a large number of women and at least 580 children — the largest forcible expulsion of Palestinians since 1967. The Council must clearly and firmly reiterate its demands that Israel immediately end all settlement expansions, demolitions, confiscations of Palestinian property and the forcible removal of civilians, in compliance with international law and United Nations resolutions, including resolution 2334 (2016). He condemned the indiscriminate killing and excessive use of lethal force against civilians, particularly children, which are all too frequent and for which no one is held accountable. Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups must comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law, and protect Palestinian children caught in the conflict. Welcoming the preliminary investigation by the High Commissioner for Human Rights into the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, he urged Israel to bring those responsible to justice. He commended the nine member States of the European Union that pledged to continue working with the six Palestinian civil society groups which Israel labelled as terrorist organizations in October 2021 in the absence of any substantial information to support that allegation, further lauding the commitments made at the recent United Nations Pledging Conference. He agreed with the June 2022 findings of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel, that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is the primary root cause of the recurrent tension, instability and conflict in the region. He urged the Council to resolve the question of Palestine through a two-State solution, based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine, living alongside Israel in peace and security. Read the full statement: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/s... Read the briefing of Ms LYNN HASTINGS, DEPUTY SPECIAL COORDINATOR FOR THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/b... Read the Verbatim record of the Security Council Quarterly Open Debate: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/s...