Statement by Representative of Slovenia to the UN Security Council Ambassador Samuel Žbogar at the briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question

Thank you very much, Mr. President.

Thank you for organizing this urgent meeting requested by Algeria. I also want to thank Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo as well as Director Doughten for their briefings today.

Mr. President,

This Saturday the world was once again shell shocked by another devastating airstrike in Gaza – one of the deadliest ones yet. Slovenia strongly condemns the Israeli attack on al-Tabin school in central Gaza City in complete disregard for the fate of Palestinian lives.

There are serious claims that Hamas is embedding itself among the civilian population in civilian infrastructure. We strongly condemn such actions. Hamas must stop sacrificing their fellow Palestinians and putting them in mortal danger.

On the other hand, we are horrified by the series of military attacks on schools that we have witnessed recently. We repeat our call for full respect of international law, including Security Council resolution 2601. Just yesterday, we marked 75 years of the Geneva conventions which are being seriously tested these days in Gaza and in other conflicts. 

Slovenia is gravely concerned about the potential for tensions to spiral further out of control into a broader regional conflict, with devastating consequences beyond Gaza’s borders. We call for maximum restraint by all actors in the region to prevent us from going down a road of no return. There is an urgent need to refrain from further attacks and threatening rhetorics.

Colleagues,

The resolution this Council needs to focus on as a priority, is 2735. We express our full support to the mediators and their call on both sides to conclude talks on a ceasefire, and the release of hostages and prisoners. In this regard, we call on both sides to resume the negotiations this week. We call on both sides to commit to concluding the deal without delay.

It has been more than two months since the Council demanded a ceasefire. We have been patiently waiting for the implementation of our resolutions. Meanwhile we have been witnessing a continuation of deadly attacks and civilian casualties. And we have been observing Palestinians being chased across Gaza. 

There is no more time to spare. There are no more innocent lives to be wasted.

We once again propose that the Council establishes a clear deadline for the conclusion of the deal.

In this interim period, a pause in the fighting should be observed. A pause that would allow for humanitarian aid to be delivered at scale and for polio vaccinations to be administered safely. We welcome the efforts of WHO, UNICEF and UNRWA in outlining plans for two rounds of polio vaccination.

If a deal is however not reached, this Council should, without delay, discuss how to ensure compliance with its resolutions in the face of immense suffering in Gaza and as Director Doughten said we should not leave any stone unturned.

Mr. President,

Yesterday a journalist asked me how many more briefings this Council needs to start changing the situation in Gaza. Indeed. We are receiving briefings so that we can take action. We adopted four resolutions but we never followed up on their implementation. The time for action is now.

It is time for a ceasefire to be finally reached, or else it is time for this Council to ensure it finally happens.

Thank you.

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