Delivered by the Ambassador or Ireland, Ms. Geraldine Byrne Nason
I would like to make the following statement today on behalf of the three current EU Members of the Security Council, Estonia, France and Ireland joined by former EU Members of the Council, Belgium and Germany.
We welcome the nomination of Tor Wennesland as Special Coordinator and wish him well in his new role. We are determined to fully support his work.
We welcome the recent decree by President Abbas on holding legislative, presidential and National Council elections in the coming months, starting with legislative elections on 22 May. Participative, representative and accountable democratic institutions based on respect of the rule of law and human rights are key for Palestinian self-determination and state-building. We call upon all Palestinian factions to unequivocally commit to democratic principles prior to elections.
The EU has consistently supported and funded the work of the Central Elections Commission in order to prepare for holding free, fair and inclusive elections for all Palestinians. We stand ready to engage with relevant actors to support the electoral process. We call on the Israeli authorities to facilitate the holding of elections across all the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.
We are deeply concerned at the recent announcements by Israel on settlements.
Israel’s latest decisions to advance plans for the approval and construction of thousands of settlement units in the West Bank and East-Jerusalem, including in Givat Hamatos, are contrary to international law.
We call on the government of Israel to reverse these negative decisions at this critical and sensitive time and to halt all continued settlement expansion, including in East Jerusalem and sensitive areas such as Har Homa, Givat Hamatos and E1 as well as demolitions, including of EU/donor funded-structures, and to dismantle outposts erected since 2001.
We call upon both parties to avoid unilateral steps that could undermine the two state-solution. As stated consistently, we will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties.
We call upon the Government of Israel to show leadership, seizing the positive dynamics of the normalisation agreements of the recent months, and call upon both parties to make concrete and mutual steps to rebuild trust and confidence, which is necessary for an eventual resumption of meaningful Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
We remain committed to supporting all efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East based on international law, relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and agreed parameters. We will continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders including Members of the Quartet, and partners in the region, particularly Egypt and Jordan, which met with France and Germany in Cairo on January 11.
We reiterate our deep concern regarding UNRWA’s critical financial situation, and appeal to all States, including from the region, to consider making or increasing their contributions to the Agency.