Statement by H.E. Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi

Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

On “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”

Before the United Nations Security Council

New York, 24 June 2020

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In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

Mr. President,

While the occupation of Palestine is the main cause of the Middle East crisis, by implementing its plan to annex significant parts of the occupied Palestinian territory, the Israeli regime will open a new chapter in its continued oppression and crimes. Such an expansionist policy will further deteriorate and complicate the already tense situation in the Middle East and will have far-reaching consequences for regional and international peace and security.

The occupation and acquisition of territory by force are prohibited and inadmissible under international law. This is a peremptory norm of international law, from which no derogation is permitted. The annexation of parts of the occupied Palestinian territory would be a gross violation of the basic principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.

Such an oppressive plan is, in the first place, the result of continued, all- out, unreserved support for the expansionist policies and unlawful practices of the Israeli regime by the United States over the past seven decades. Such support has continued unabated in flagrant violation of the basic principles of international law, disregarding all standards of international conduct and breaching all principles of humanity and morality.

Moreover, by abusing its status as a permanent member of the Security Council, the United States has completely and systematically shielded the Israeli regime and, in practice, rendered the Council ineffective in countering the crimes of that regime. This has emboldened Israel to commit more crimes with total impunity and more brutality, the living examples of which are the continued construction and expansion of settlements, the sustained inhumane blockade of the Gaza Strip and systematic violation of the sovereignty of Syria and Lebanon, in full contradiction of the United Nations Charter and international law.

Therefore, the unequivocal support of the United States for the unlawful acts of the Israeli regime and the inaction of the Security Council in preventing such crimes have led to decades of crimes, aggression, death and destruction in Palestine, the systematic invasion of other regional countries and endangering regional stability and security.

They have also led to persistent erosion of trust and confidence in the Security Council and the United Nations in general.

At this juncture in international relations, which is marked by an alarming trend of regression from a rules-based multilateralism into an unbridled power- based unilateralism, the United Nations and its Member States have an explicit legal obligation and a heavy moral and ethical responsibility to do everything in their power to immediately reject the planned annexation of parts of the occupied Palestinian territory and to hold the Israeli regime accountable for all crimes it has committed during the past 72 years.

This should not be confined to mere verbal rejection and condemnation. All States, in fulfilment of their legal obligations under international law, must avoid granting any recognition to such annexation.

The Israeli regime must also be compelled to end the occupation of all the Palestinian territories as well as the occupied Syrian Golan and parts of Lebanon, to terminate over a decade-long cruel blockade against Gaza, and to put an end to all its destabilizing activities in the region.

As we approach the seventy-fifth anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, the international community must demonstrate its determination to uphold the noble values, ideals and purposes contained therein.

While the United Nations has catalysed the decolonization of many nations, it must fulfil its responsibilities in realizing the inherent rights of the Palestinians to self-determination and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State in all of Palestine, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. In this context, the Security Council must live up to its responsibilities to prevent the crimes and threats of the Israeli regime and to support, in practice, the full realization of all the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

I thank you, Mr. President.