Statement by

H.E. Mr. Majid Takht Ravanchi

Ambassador and Permanent Representative

of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

Before the United Nations Security Council

On “The Situation in the Middle East,

Including the Palestinian Question”

New York, 16 May 2021

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

Mr. President,

Concurrent with this meeting, the brutal forces of the Israeli regime are committing an actual massacre in Palestine, particularly in Gaza Strip – the world’s largest open prison -- where until now 192 Palestinians, including 58 children and 34 women have been martyred.

The Israeli forces are cowardly killing defenseless women; cold-bloodedly slaughtering innocent infants and children; viciously killing family members altogether; brazenly desecrating holy places; inhumanely bombing and shelling residential areas, schools and health facilities; and senselessly demolishing houses. Long story short: they are committing all four core international crimes simultaneously and altogether.

The question is why the Israeli forces are committing such mass cruelties. Because the Palestinians have raised their voices against the Israeli forces who are confiscating their ancestorial lands in Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, in Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan, Al-Tur and other areas; have protested against demolishing their houses, where they have lived generations after generations; have resisted forced eviction from their own houses; and have protested against the attack of the Israeli security forces against the Muslim worshipers in the Al-Aqsa mosque during the holy month of Ramadhan.

Make no mistake: these are the greatest sins if you are a Palestinian and living in Palestine, where a racist and apartheid regime, founded on aggression, occupation and oppression, is committing heinous crimes against them.

But how does the Israeli regime commit all such crimes with total impunity? Because, for well over seven decades, the Security Council has been dead silent against all unlawful acts committed by that regime; and the Council’s decades long utter and inexcusable inaction, in addition to resulting in its trust and confidence deficit as well as its credibility and legitimacy crisis, has seriously emboldened that regime to commit more crimes with more brutality.

That’s why, the Israeli regime has committed the gravest international crimes, namely genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crime of aggression; waged over 15 wars; occupied territories of other countries; invaded all its neighbors, without exception; attacked countries in the region and beyond from the Middle East to Africa; possessed all types of weapons of mass destruction; and the list goes on and on.

Then, why has the Security Council been so silent and inactive for such a long time against such grave and clear “threats to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression”, while, according to the UN Charter, it must have decided what measures shall be taken “to maintain or restore international peace and security”?

Pure and simple: because, as a permanent member of the Security Council, the United States, whether under Democrats or Republicans, has systematically shielded the Israeli regime against any action by the Council. So far, the U.S. has vetoed 44 draft resolutions of the Security Council against Israel. It is unprecedented in the Council’s history.

Now, under the U.S. current administration decisions are made to further shield the Israeli regime; to further lend shamelessly “unwavering support for Israel’s security”; to further justify Israel’s crimes with the so-called “Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself”; and to further deny the inherent rights of the oppressed Palestinians, including their right to life, to dignity, to liberation, to self-defense, to self-determination, and to establish their own independent State.

In the past few days, the U.S. has blocked the Security Council from issuing even a simple press statement calling for an end to Israel's bombardment of Gaza. Yes: “America is back” again to unreservedly support an occupying and oppressive regime, no matter how brutal its crimes are.

As usual, today, the Israeli regime’s representative cried wolf, played the victim, desperately attempted to distract attentions from Israel’s crimes, and brazenly defended killing of Palestinian women and children.

Before concluding, I must stress that Palestinians are under an unlawful occupation and blockade by the Israeli regime, and have therefore an inherent right to self-defense.

Condemning, in the strongest possible terms, all crimes of the Israeli regime against Palestinians, the Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates its support for the just cause of the Palestinian people and the full realization of all their inalienable rights, particularly their inherent right to self-determination and to establish an independent Palestinian State throughout Palestine, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

We, once again, call on the Security Council to take its responsibility seriously and to compel the Israeli regime to put an immediate end to its military adventurism in the region, particularly its ongoing bloodshed and crimes against Palestinians; stop its deliberate, systematic and massive ethnic cleansing including by altering the demographic composition and character of Palestine, particularly the demographic composition and Islamic and Arab identity of Al-Quds Al-Sharif;  remove the unlawful and inhumane blockade of the Gaza Strip; end the occupation of all Palestinian territories, the occupied Syrian Golan and parts of Lebanon; and also to hold that regime accountable for committing the gravest international crimes for over several decades.

The question of Palestine will not and cannot be settled unless and until the principles of justice and international law are strictly applied. This is long overdue. While the Palestinians are struggling for the realization of their inherent rights, the international community has a legal, political and moral obligation to fully support their legitimate cause. In this context, the Security Council has a special responsibility. If the Council continues to be prevented from playing its role, the General Assembly should take the necessary measures against the Israeli aggressors.

I thank you, Mr. President.