Statement by the Permanent Representative of South Africa, H. E. Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo to the Security Council on the Situation in the Middle East

23 March 2004

Mr President,

The South African Government has condemned the assassination of Hamas founder and spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, and six other Palestinians outside a Mosque in Gaza City, Palestine, yesterday. Such extra-judicial assassinations are in contravention of international law and relevant United Nations conventions and only serve to strengthen those who are against peace in the Middle East.

South Africa has also condemned the suicide attacks in Ashdod last week, in which ten Israelis were killed.

We believe that the indiscriminate killings of Israelis and Palestinians only serve to further fuel the cycle of violence and counter-violence in the Middle East.

Mr President,

For a long time now, the Security Council has been aware that it has been the policy of the Israeli government to carry out extra-judicial killings and other violent actions that are in direct contravention of international law and relevant United Nations conventions. The time has come for this Security Council to exercise its responsibility to uphold international law under the Charter of the United Nations and condemn these atrocities. My delegation believes that this urgent meeting offers the Security Council an opportunity to break its silence and to take a
stand against this dangerous practice before it is too late.

Mr President,

We believe that we have every right to expect the Security Council, and even the Quartet for that matter, to act in bringing full influence to bear on the Parties to cease all acts that will further erode any progress being made in th e implementation of the Roadmap. There is general agreement that the two-State solution - the establishment of the
State of Palestine living in peace and security with the State of Israel - is the answer to the violence in the Middle East. The Security Council must pursue this objective with all the determination it has.

Furthermore, the Security Council has to accept that we are not dealing with two parties of equal strength and equal control over their respective populations. The Government of Israel makes formal decisions regarding the use of disproportionate force against people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, and should be held
accountable for its actions. The Palestinian Authority has been deliberately and systematically weakened by Israel, which has also imprisoned its democratically elected leader. As it is, the Palestinian Authority is on the verge of bankruptcy due to the collapse of the Palestinian economy brought about by Israel's closure policy, including
the relentless construction of the illegal separation wall.

It should therefore come as no surprise that in these dire conditions extremism has taken root amongst a small sector of the Palestinian population. South Africa has always condemned extremism, whether it is on the Palestinian side or the Israeli side, as it does not contribute to peace in the Middle East. We therefore call on the Israeli Government and the relevant Palestinian groups to show restraint and not to provide a pre-text on which further acts of violence and destruction will be carried out.

Mr President,

The United Nations and the international community must act decisively to create the conditions in which the vision of a two-State solution can be realised. Continuing Israeli occupation, destruction of infrastructure, collective punishment and extra-judicial assassinations will make the achievement of peace hard to reach. The South African
government reiterates that the only way to bring about peace in the Middle East is to have a comprehensive and unconditional negotiated settlement to end the occupation of the Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese territories. This will contribute towards peace and security throughout the Middle East region.

Thank you, Mr President

For more information, please contact Zaheer Laher at 212 692 2460

Issued by the Permanent Mission of South Africa