76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
UN Security Council meeting on MEPP
Delivered by Ambassador Sven Jürgenson
September 29, New York
I thank Special Coordinator Wennesland for his briefing. I also thank Ms Rothbart and Ms Farsakh for their statements.
More than four months after the latest round of violence in and around Gaza, the tensions and violence between the parties have unfortunately not subsided.
The continued launching of rockets and incendiary balloons towards Israel is unacceptable. Israel has a right to defend itself, while ensuring the safety and protection of the civilian population. We call upon the parties to continue to respect the ceasefire and do their utmost to avoid further violence.
We are also worried about continued incidents of violence on the West Bank, including the clashes between the Palestinians and the Israeli security forces with several deaths and hundreds of injured during the last weeks. We call on all parties to refrain from violence, incitement and acts of provocation.
These developments once more underline the need for international and regional efforts for restoring the conditions for direct negotiations aiming for a two-state solution based on international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, as the only viable path to a lasting peace.
We welcome the first high level meeting in years between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on 29 August. This was an important step of confidence and we hope this will pave the way for a sustained political dialogue as well as further practical cooperation between the two sides, which would benefit both the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Estonia also fully supports the continued international and regional efforts for reconstruction in Gaza and for improving the dire and unsustainable humanitarian and socio-economic situation on the Strip. We hope the planned reconstruction process can begin promptly. In this context we also welcome the proposals to create economic stability and improve the socio-economic situation of the Palestinians.
Madame President,
we join the calls for the parties to show commitment to the two-state solutions through concrete steps and also to refrain from unilateral steps undermining it. We remain worried about Israel’s plans for advancing settlements on the West Bank, as well as continued demolitions and evictions of Palestinian property. We call upon Israel to refrain from these activities, as they are contrary to international law.
Finally, I would like to reiterate our concern about the recent arrests of Palestinian protesters in relation to the death of the political activist Nizar Banat. We call the Palestinian Authority to ensure freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.