'We Are Not Subhumans': Palestinian UN Representative Riyad Mansour Decries Israeli Strikes On Gaza
Palestinian UN Representative Riyad Mansour speaks at the United Nations amidst battle between Israel and Hamas.
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00:00 Hello, everyone.
00:12 Thank you very much for being with us this Sunday afternoon.
00:18 I have a statement that I would like to read to you, and I'm sure that our colleagues in
00:26 the rooms behind me, when they meet at 3 o'clock, they will also be listening to this statement.
00:36 And I want to thank my brother, Ambassador Magid Abdelaziz, the ambassador of the League
00:43 of Arab States, for being with us.
00:47 And also we requested, as the State of Palestine, an emergency meeting of the League of Arab
00:53 States at the level of foreign ministers in Cairo in the next few days.
01:01 Regrettably, history for some media and politicians start when Israelis are killed.
01:14 Our people have endured one deadly year after another.
01:20 We came to the Security Council month after month, warning of the consequences of Israeli
01:28 impunity and international inaction.
01:34 Last October, about a year ago, we stated before the Security Council the Palestinian
01:44 people will be free one day or another, one way or another.
01:54 We chose the peaceful way, the one the international community advocates for.
02:04 Do not let Israel prove us wrong for our sake and theirs.
02:13 This is not a time to let Israel double down on its terrible choices.
02:20 This is a time to tell Israel it needs to change course, that there is a path to peace
02:30 where neither Palestinians nor Israelis are killed.
02:36 And it is the one diametrically opposed to the one Israel is embarked on.
02:45 Israel keeps saying the blockade and repeated assaults on Gaza are to destroy Hamas' military
02:55 capabilities and ensure security.
03:00 Unfortunately and expectedly, its blockade and assaults accomplished neither.
03:09 The only thing they did accomplish was inflicting terrible suffering on an entire civilian population.
03:18 It is time for an immediate end to the violence and the bloodshed, and it is time to end this
03:29 blockade and to open a political horizon.
03:34 When Israel now tries to justify yet another assault by the same faulty premise, no one
03:44 should say or do anything to encourage it down this path.
03:50 We know only too well that the messages about Israel's right to defend itself will be interpreted
04:00 by Israel as license to kill, to pursue on the very path that led us here.
04:10 370, and the number is rising by the moment, of Palestinians that have been killed already
04:18 in one day, including children, some barely a few months old.
04:25 Entire families were killed in their sleep.
04:30 Will this bring security?
04:33 Will this advance peace?
04:41 Where is the international protection the Palestinian people is entitled to when the
04:48 occupying power violates international law and harms those it is obliged to protect?
04:56 Aren't Palestinians' lives worth saving?
05:01 The Palestinian civilians killed, the Palestinian children killed in occupied Palestine could
05:08 have been spared.
05:12 Isn't that a moral and legal obligation and a contribution to peace?
05:19 Why nothing is done when those killed are Palestinians?
05:25 We need to think hard of what logic we want to see prevail here.
05:31 If this is about vengeance, then many Palestinians will feel they have much to avenge.
05:41 If this is about peace, then the way to it is not through further entrenching oppression
05:49 and occupation, but by ending it.
05:53 You cannot say nothing justifies killing Israelis and then provide justification for killing
06:04 Palestinians.
06:06 We are not subhumans.
06:07 Let me repeat, we are not subhumans.
06:13 We will never accept a rhetoric that denigrates our humanity and reneges our rights.
06:23 A rhetoric that ignores the occupation of our land and oppression of our people.
06:31 There is no right to security that trumps the right of a nation to self-determination.
06:40 The fulfillment of our right to self-determination is the only path towards shared peace and
06:48 security.
06:50 We chose the peaceful path to achieve our rights, but Israel continued using blunt force
07:00 against Palestinian lives and Palestinian rights.
07:05 Israel cannot wage a full-scale war on a nation, its people, its land, its holy sites, and
07:15 expect peace in exchange.
07:20 One needs to address the root causes of the conflict, and by doing so, we will be addressing
07:28 its consequences.
07:31 We have been calling for a different rationale, a different approach.
07:38 Justice, not vengeance.
07:43 Freedom, not occupation.
07:47 Peace, not war.
07:50 Our calls should be heeded.
07:53 The alternative is playing out under our very eyes.
08:01 Israel has announced dozens of times that it had handled the Palestinian problem by
08:09 war against our people or peace with others since 1948, till a few days ago in the statement
08:19 of Netanyahu in front of the General Assembly.
08:23 Netanyahu held during that speech in these United Nations a map denying the existence
08:32 of Palestine, a map of aggression and annexation.
08:39 To all the peacemakers, to all those who believe in the UN Charter and international law, one
08:48 cannot lose sight of the bigger picture.
08:53 We need to stand up for the vision enshrined in the resolution of the Security Council
08:59 and the General Assembly, and to take the necessary measures to ensure compliance with
09:07 their provisions.
09:09 We need to uphold international law, not abandon it.
09:15 Everybody in the room behind me who will be meeting in a few minutes, agree on the end
09:22 game.
09:25 Israel expects and demands political and military support while advancing goals that are fundamentally
09:33 at odds with international legitimacy and consensus.
09:39 Its policies are an assault on our humanity, on international law, on peace, and are a
09:48 threat for its own people.
09:52 Can those supporting Israel ignore its colonialist and racist agenda?
09:59 That would be self-defeating.
10:01 A different path is possible.
10:05 I repeat, a different path is possible.
10:10 But it cannot ignore the lives and rights of the Palestinian people.
10:16 It must guarantee them equal measures of freedom and security.
10:22 You cannot stand for peace if you do not stand up to occupation.
10:29 Do it because it is the right thing to do.
10:34 Morally, legally, politically, and because it will save lives.
10:44 Peace will save lives because it is the only way forward.
10:50 I thank you very much.
10:51 We have copies for those who are interested to give it to you.
10:55 Thank you.