The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question: Briefing and Consultations
Tomorrow morning (22 August), the Security Council will hold an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland and a representative of Save the Children are the expected briefers.
The dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, including the recent detection of type 2 poliovirus (polio), is expected to be a key focus of tomorrow’s meeting. On 16 August, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed to all parties to the conflict in Gaza to provide assurances guaranteeing humanitarian pauses for a polio vaccination campaign. He stressed that, although the “ultimate vaccine for polio is peace and an immediate humanitarian ceasefire”, a “Polio Pause is a must”. A 16 August joint statement by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) said that two rounds of a polio vaccination campaign are expected to be launched across Gaza “at the end of August and September”. The statement requested the conflict parties to implement humanitarian pauses for seven days to allow for the two vaccination campaign rounds to take place. Tomorrow, members may be interested in an update from Wennesland about progress towards the start of the vaccination campaign.
The representative of Save the Children is expected to draw Council members’ attention to the devastating situation of children in the Gaza Strip—including widespread destruction, repeated displacement, and the loss of their parents—and highlight the extreme conditions in which humanitarians are operating in Gaza. The briefer may also describe the factors that have led to the reemergence of polio in the Gaza Strip two decades after its eradication. A 20 August joint statement issued by several humanitarian organisations and medical professionals, including Save the Children, says that the reemergence of polio in Gaza is “a direct result of the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure, and the Government of Israel’s restrictions on repairs and supplies”. These actions, together with “overcrowding, displacement, and a crippled healthcare system”, have created an environment ripe for the virus’ spread, according to the statement. The briefer may urge the conflict parties to facilitate humanitarian and medical access and stress the need for specific measures—such as a cessation of hostilities—to respond to the polio outbreak and address humanitarian needs.
Participants in tomorrow’s meeting are likely to reiterate calls for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages. Several Council members may express support for the Secretary-General’s appeal for a pause to facilitate the polio vaccination campaign. More generally, participants are likely to express concern at the humanitarian situation in Gaza and call for the provision of aid at scale to Palestinians in need, with some likely to spotlight the dire condition of Palestinian women and children in Gaza. Several participants may reiterate their condemnations of the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks. Some might also repeat their demand that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) be granted access to all those held captive in connection with the war.
Council members continue to closely follow the indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas facilitated by Egypt, Qatar, and the US on a deal that would entail a ceasefire and the release of the hostages. An agreement appears to remain elusive, however. On 19 August, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he received confirmation, during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that Israel accepted a “bridging proposal” recently put forward by the US, adding that it was then “incumbent on Hamas to do the same”. Hamas reportedly said that the bridging proposal “goes against what the parties had agreed on July 2”—a reference to a previous version of the deal that predated additional demands put forward by Israel—and claimed that it acquiesces to Israel’s new demands. Israeli officials have reportedly indicated that Netanyahu endorsed the US proposal “knowing [that] Hamas would reject it”. Additionally, some commentators have interpreted Netanyahu’s remarks, after the Blinken meeting, allegedly calling for Israel to retain a military presence along the border between Egypt and Gaza—a controversial issue in the negotiations—as casting doubt over his commitment to the proposal.
Tomorrow, Council members may refer to resolution 2735 of 10 June, which welcomed a three-phase ceasefire proposal announced by US President Joe Biden on 31 May, and call on the parties to negotiate in good faith to reach a compromise. Participants are also likely to express concern at the rising tensions across the Middle East and call for de-escalation.
Wennesland is expected to provide an update on the situation in the West Bank and Israel. He and Council members may refer to incidents of settler-related violence in the West Bank, such as the 15 August killing of a Palestinian by an Israeli settler during an attack in which over 100 settlers, many of whom were armed, “threw flammable materials and stones at Palestinian property” in the village of Jit, according to a 21 August OCHA update. Citing Israeli media reports, the update says that an initial investigation by Israeli forces concluded that the soldiers present in the area “did not take enough action to prevent the settler attack”. Some Council members might also refer to a 19 August incident during which, according to the OCHA update, “a Palestinian was killed while attempting to use an explosive in Tel Aviv” and an Israeli civilian was injured. The incident was reportedly described as a terrorist attack by Israeli security forces and claimed as a “martyrdom operation” by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Tomorrow, Council members are likely to express concern at the high incidence of settler-related violence in the West Bank and condemn acts of violence against civilians on all sides, including acts of terror.
Council members are also likely to stress the importance of upholding the historic status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem and refraining from provocations and inflammatory rhetoric. In this context, members may deplore the 13 August visit of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount site in Jerusalem, during which he reportedly said that his “policy is to enable Jewish prayer” at the site. (Under an agreement reached after the 1967 Six-Day War, only Muslims are allowed to pray at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount site.) The visit, which follows several similar visits and declarations by Ben-Gvir since he took office in December 2022, was condemned by several Arab states—including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar—as well as by the UK and the EU, while the US said that it “strongly oppose[d]” the visit.
Tomorrow, some participants may urge Israel to cease all settlement activity. In this regard, they may refer to the recent publication of plans for the construction of a new settlement in the West Bank called “Nahal Heletz”. (The Israeli government announced its decision to construct five new settlements, including “Nahal Heletz”, on 27 June.) In a 19 August statement referencing the publication of the plans, the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory expressed alarm at Israel’s recent and ongoing settlement expansion, noting that “[s]ettlements, settler violence and the presence of settlers are the root causes of the majority of human rights violations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem”. In its 19 July Advisory Opinion, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) reaffirmed, among other things, that “Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the régime associated with them, have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law”.
