In a high-level session of the United Nations Security Council in New York, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf asserted that there has been no genuine peace initiative for the Palestinian issue since the 1990s. He emphasized that this stagnation marks nearly three decades of ineffective international diplomatic efforts.
Attaf also lamented that the Palestinian issue has completely fallen off the international community’s list of priorities. “The world has reneged on its responsibilities, forsaking its resolutions and promises of establishing an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he said.
Criticism of Israeli Immunity
The Algerian diplomat criticized the impunity granted to Israeli occupation, stating that it has resulted in “the continued annexation of Palestinian territories by force and control of more than 78% of the West Bank’s area alone.” He argued that this compromises the two-state solution as a framework for a peaceful, just, and enduring resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
In the same context, Attaf pointed out that this impunity has only fueled racist policies imposed and rejected in occupied Jerusalem. “It aims to alter the city’s existing legal and historical status through a grand scheme of forced Judaization,” he noted.
Between Submission and Annihilation
Addressing the audience, Attaf presented a stark choice facing the Palestinian people: “Either submit and succumb to the status quo, giving up their land and legitimate national rights, or face ethnic cleansing on the path to the final obliteration of the Palestinian national project.”
Urgent Call to Action
The Foreign Minister urged the Security Council to immediately lift the unjust siege on the Gaza Strip, describing it as a complete war crime and crime against humanity. He also called for an end to indiscriminate bombing, which has claimed thousands of innocent lives and constitutes war crimes and acts of extermination.
As a minimal requirement, Attaf emphasized the need for unconditionally allowing humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. He insisted that the Security Council should respond to this basic demand.
No Stability Without Justice
On another note, the Foreign Minister stressed the need for the Security Council to acknowledge a glaring fact: “There can be no sustainable security built in the Middle East without a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue based on international legitimacy.”
Final Remarks
In his concluding remarks, the Algerian representative stated, “We are at a historical juncture that underscores the special responsibility lying on the Security Council’s shoulders.” He added that it’s the Council’s obligation to fully assume these responsibilities, without any truncation.
The Minister’s speech laid out a series of questions directed at the session chair and attendees, largely concerning their contentment with the continued violation of all Security Council resolutions on the Palestinian issue. He attributed this to the occupier’s desire for a customized legitimacy that applies only to it.
By voicing these strong positions, Algeria reaffirms its steadfast support for a just and permanent solution to the Palestinian issue, in line with international law and the broader interests of peace and security in the Middle East.
