Mr President,

This Council’s Resolutions 2735, 2729, 2720, and 2712 must be implemented without delay and without conditions, as do binding orders of the International Court of Justice. The number of innocents killed is unconscionable. The fear, the abandonment and the hopelessness are unconscionable. There must be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, immediate release of all hostages, and an immediate substantial increase in the flow of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza. How can anyone condition the effective delivery of food to hungry people, and of medical support to the wounded and the pregnant, on the outcome of a political negotiation? How can anyone hold innocent civilians hostage for nine months in a war zone? Both parties have a non-negotiable obligation to protect civilians. Current realities are an affront to humanity and international law.

The UN and all humanitarian actors deserve our praise for their courageous work delivering lifesaving aid in extremely dire conditions. All parties must take all precautions to avoid harm to humanitarian workers and facilities. Aid workers must be enabled to operate effectively. The services UNRWA provides in Gaza and across the region are essential. The EU obviously condemns any attempts to label a UN agency as a terrorist organisation.

We should all condemn Israel’s decisions to further expand and strengthen illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank. These are a serious violation of international law, and harmful to Israel’s own security interests. We must all condemn terrorism in Israel and in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, by all perpetrators, and we must condemn the policies to further erode the Status Quo of the Holy Sites and the religious equilibrium in the Holy City of Jerusalem.

The EU supports the Palestinian Authority as it undertakes the necessary reforms, which should help it to return to govern Gaza. There is no alternative to the Palestinian Authority. Israel must stop actions weakening it.

We all see the grave danger of further regional escalation, notably between Israel and Hezbollah. This includes the forced displacement of civilians on both sides. A regional war would be a catastrophe for all. Your Council’s Resolution 1701 must be respected in all respects by all parties. To help the EU will strengthen the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL.

Mr. President,

While ending the current crisis must be our top priority, we must at the same time work on sustainable peace in accordance with your Council’s resolutions. Nobody who rejects the two State solution has offered a credible alternative. And let’s face it, there is none.

The EU works with its partners towards preparation and implementation of the two State solution. I recall the Peace Day Effort we launched here last year together with Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Arab League. Today, in the depths of war, we must also address the urgent realities and needs of those suffering right now.

So any initiative must address the humanitarian situation, strengthen the Palestinian Authority, prepare for the post-war situation in Gaza and at the same time adopt an action plan to support the implementation of the two State solution.

If we don’t have a plan, everything is urgent. And if we don’t have a plan, there is always a reason to wait. Therefore we need to act on our top priorities right now, as  well as to adopt an action plan to address the root of the problem. The EU is ready to work on that plan with all its global partners. Because there is no just, secure or genuine peace without a sovereign Palestinian State and a safe State of Israel, both integrated in the region and the world.