Palestinian Ambassador Blames UNSC For Dragging Feet Despite Israeli Agression

Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour told reporters on Wednesday (9 July) that the Security Council "is dragging its feet" while Israel's "aggression and collective punishment" is taking place.

Mansour, together with Saudi Ambassador Abdallah Al-Mouallimi and Kuwaiti Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi briefed reporters after meeting with Ambassador Eugène Gasana of Rwanda, President of the Security Council for the month of July.

The Palestinian diplomat said that they had demanded Gasana that the Security Council "act and to act immediately to bring this aggression to a halt."

Mansour commented on a recent statement by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and said it was "unacceptable that the United Nations and the Secretary General not to condemn the killing of civilians, particularly the killing of children."

With militants in the Gaza Strip stepping up rocket attacks against Israel, and Israeli airstrikes on the enclave intensifying, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday said that he is 'extremely concerned" by the escalating violence, and reiterated his call on all actors to exercise maximum restraint and avoid further civilian casualties and overall destabilization.

He also said the Israel government wants "to do everything possible in order to discredit the national consensus government. They want to break our homeland into two pieces and then they want to break our political system into two pieces."

He stressed "the Palestinian people are one. The government is one, the President is President Abbas. We are defending ourselves against the aggression against our people."

At as later press conference Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor said "Hamas dragged us into this conflict. First they kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenagers as they made their way home from school. Then they began indiscriminately to fire rockets on our homes and our cities."

He pointed out that "these are the same model rockets that Iran tried to send to Gaza in March and was stopped by the Israeli Defence Forces."

Prosor said Hamas is the "murderous group behind these attacks" and have seat on the Palestinian government.

He said "the international community bought into a bad deal and Israeli civilians are paying the price everyday, including today."

The Israeli ambassador said that "we have a unity government which part, 50 percent at least, is a terrorist organization" and added that this "should be put clearly on the table of the international community."

Israeli-Palestinian violence has flared in the wake of the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank in late June and the subsequent kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian teenager from East Jerusalem last week.

SHOTLIST:
9 JULY 2014, NEW YORK CITY

Exterior United Nations headquarters
Palestinian Ambassador at the dais with Saudi and Kuwaiti ambassadors
Reporters
Journalists
End of presser
Reporters
Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor at the podium
Reporters
Journalists
End of presser

SOUNDBITE (English) Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations:
"The Security Council is dragging its feet while this aggression and collective punishment is being, is taking place against our people and we demand that the Security Council to act and to act immediately to bring this aggression to a halt."

SOUNDBITE (English) Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations:
"It is unacceptable that the United Nations and the Secretary General not to condemn the killing of civilians, particularly the killing of children. And on that day when he made that statement seven children, including two under the age of five and the others under the age of 14, were killed by this barbaric attack by Israel."

SOUNDBITE (English) Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations:
"They want to do everything possible in order to discredit the national consensus government. They want to break our homeland into two pieces and then they want to break our political system into two pieces."

SOUNDBITE (English) Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations:
"The Palestinian people are one. The government is one, the President is President Abbas. We are defending ourselves against the aggression against our people."

SOUNDBITE (English) Ron Prosor, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations:
"Hamas dragged us into this conflict. First they kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenagers as they made their way home from school. Then they began indiscriminately to fire rockets on our homes and our cities. These rockets threaten the lives of 40 percent of Israel's population. That is 3.5 million men, women and children. These are the same model rockets that Iran tried to send to Gaza in March and was stopped by the Israeli Defence Forces."

SOUNDBITE (English) Ron Prosor, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations:
"The murderous group behind these attacks has a seat on the Palestinian government. Members of the international community blessed very quickly, immediately blessed the partnership between Fatah and Hamas, an internationally recognized terror group. The international community bought into a bad deal and Israeli civilians are paying the price everyday, including today."

SOUNDBITE (English) Ron Prosor, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations:
"We have a unity government which part, 50 percent at least, is a terrorist organization. That should be put clearly on the table of the international community."

DURATION: 03:14