Mr. President, Members of the Security Council,
I am grateful for the opportunity to brief the Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic. Eighteen months into the conflict, the civilian population has endured relentless bombardment, forced displacement, and near-total destruction of infrastructure. Hospitals struggle to function. Schools are gone. Clean water is scarce. Famine threatens entire communities.
The United Nations and its humanitarian partners have repeatedly called for unimpeded access to deliver life-saving aid. Despite some incremental progress at points of entry, aid flows remain wholly inadequate relative to the scale of need. We continue to call urgently for sustained, unimpeded, and secure humanitarian access throughout Gaza.
Situation in Gaza
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is without precedent in recent memory. Over 1.9 million people — more than 85 percent of the population — have been displaced, many multiple times over. The health system has been effectively destroyed: hospitals have been damaged or rendered non-functional; medical personnel have been killed; medicine and supplies are critically scarce.
According to the UN and its partners, famine conditions now affect large parts of northern Gaza, and risk spreading across the entire territory. Children are dying of malnutrition. Pregnant women cannot access basic maternity care. The risk of epidemic disease is severe.
West Bank, Including East Jerusalem
In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, violence has continued at alarming levels. Settler attacks on Palestinian communities increased during the reporting period, as did Israeli military operations in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nablus. Palestinian armed groups have also carried out attacks. All acts of violence against civilians must stop.
Settlement construction continues to expand at an accelerating pace. During the reporting period, thousands of new settlement units were approved or tendered across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. I must reiterate in the strongest terms: all Israeli settlement activity is illegal under international law and a major obstacle to peace. The Council's own resolution 2334 demands the immediate and complete cessation of settlement activities. That demand must be heeded.
Palestinian Authority
The Palestinian Authority faces a governance and fiscal crisis of existential proportions. Clearance revenues — taxes collected by Israel on behalf of the PA — have been withheld periodically, deepening an already severe fiscal gap. Without urgent donor support and restoration of clearance revenue flows, the PA risks collapse — an outcome that would be deeply destabilizing for Palestinians and for the region.
UNSCO calls on Israel to cease withholding clearance revenues and calls on donors to sustain and increase their budgetary support to the PA. A functioning PA is not just a Palestinian interest — it is a prerequisite for any viable political path forward.
Political Horizon
Mr. President, despite these dire circumstances, I want to affirm the United Nations' unwavering commitment to the two-state solution. There is no military solution to this conflict. Only a political path — negotiated between the parties, supported by the international community, and consistent with international law — can deliver lasting peace, security, and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians.
The Secretary-General has repeatedly stated that the two-state solution, with the State of Israel and an independent, democratic, contiguous and viable State of Palestine living side by side in peace and security, is the only viable option for a just and lasting peace. We must not allow short-term calculations to bury this long-term necessity.
The international community must act — with urgency, with unity, and with the courage to match words with deeds. We owe that future to the millions who have suffered too long and too much.
I urge this Council to rise to the moment.
Thank you, Mr. President.
