Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a joint press conference with US President Barack Obama at PM Netanyahu's

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a joint press conference with US President Barack Obama at PM Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem. Obama is on an official state visit in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. March 20, 2013. Photo by Kobi Gideon/GPO/FLASH90

 
Middle East: Nigeria, Others Call For Calm, Status Quo Around Holy Sites
By ABIODUN OLUWAROTIMI, New York
— Oct 18, 2015 7:14 pm | Leave a comment
Nigeria and other members of the United Nations Security Council have called on all parties to halt what they called ‘needless bloodshed’ in the Middle East.
They also urged both sides to respect status quo around holy sites.
In her briefing during the just-concluded Security Council’s hearig on the Middle East, Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Professor Joy Uche Ogwu, said all people and nations of goodwill admitted that the killings in Jerusalem were a serious threat to peace and security.
She added that the carnage was complicating an already difficult situation, urging for calm on both sides, with parties refraining from rhetoric and preserving the status quo at the holy sites.
Ogwu pressed further that the root causes of the conflict must be addressed comprehensively within the framework of negotiations, stressing that both sides must work to facilitate the peace process.
She urged Israel in that regard to cease immediately all settlement construction in the occupied territory.
Calling on regional leaders to encourage the parties to resume negotiations, she said the two-State solution was “inevitable and inescapable”.
Speaking for the United States, Ambassador Samantha Power condemned in the strongest terms all violence in Jerusalem, West Bank, Gaza and elsewhere, stressing the importance of preventing inflammatory rhetoric or actions that fed violence.
“There was growing frustration on both sides amid declining hopes for a two-State solution” she said, adding that there was no justification for violence.
“While the United States supported Israel’s right to defend its citizens, every effort must be taken to guard against the unnecessary loss of life.  Settler violence in the West Bank was a concern” she continued, noting that the importance of both sides condemning the violence.
According to her, the United States was committed to advancing a two-State solution and urged all sides to take steps to restore calm.
She welcomed Israel and Jordan’s commitment to maintain the status quo at the Temple Mount, noting that her country’s Secretary of State had spoken with the Israeli Prime Minister, Palestinian President and Jordanian King, and soon would travel to the region.
“The status quo is not sustainable,” she said, noting that the Quartet had stressed the importance of both sides demonstrating their commitment to the two-State solution. She also said the United States had strongly supported significant steps to reverse the current trends towards creating a two-State reality on the ground.
“Such steps could be taken without impacting Israel’s legitimate security concerns” she said and urged working towards a political solution that outlined two States living side by sides in peace and security.
Also speaking, Mr. Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine, said he had asked the Council to urgently intervene to end aggression by settlers and extremists towards defenceless Palestinian people and shrines. He added that there were now 35 martyrs, including children and more than 1,000 injured.
His words: “Most of them were minors.  The Holy Shrine and the Al-Aqsa mosque were subjected to continued aggression by extremists who wanted to impose a change from the present situation, a provocation leading to further escalation and which threatened to turn the conflict into a religious one.  Israel, the occupying Power, was responsible for the situation and for illegal violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
“The illegal settlements were a fertile ground for the extremist phenomena and there was no hope for progress without ending settlements immediately and completely.  It was time to force Israel to its commitments, as it had been allowed to continue with impunity.  The Israeli officials should be held responsible for those crimes, as well as the terrorist settlers”
He urged the Security Council to take responsibility by condemning the acts and forcing Israel to withdraw its armed formations immediately, especially in occupied East Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa mosque, stressing that Israel had violated its responsibility of the occupying Power in the protection of civilians.
The Council must provide protection for the Palestinian people until occupation was over, he said, calling for implementation of resolution 904 (1994) and other relevant resolutions, which had among other things called for disarming settlers.
Speaking, Mr. David Roet of Israel said his country was facing an onslaught of terrorism.  He added that men, women and children were stabbed on a daily basis, but there had been no call from the Council for the Palestinian leadership to end incitement.
Citing examples of those attacks, he said Israelis did not feel safe walking the street and feared for the life of their children.  He hinted that Israel was taking all steps necessary to defend its people.
His words: “The violence faced had begun with lies about the Temple Mount.  Palestinian leaders had repeated the baseless lie that Israel wanted to change the status quo of the Temple Mount over and over again.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had stated that Israel was firmly committed to the status quo and was in favour of all people to visit the Temple Mount.  Israel would not agree to any international presence of the Temple Mount as it would change the status quo”
In his own briefing, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of the Russian Federation, expressed great concern at the escalation of violence in Palestinian territories, especially East Jerusalem, which reduced the possibilities for achieving a political solution.  He added that both parties needed to stop the violence and ensure measures were taken to de-escalate the situation.
Mr. Churkin continued that normalizing the situation around holy sites in East Jerusalem was important and urged avoiding any step that violated the status quo, and other violence by Palestinians or Israelis.  He added that Holy sites must be addressed in a mutually beneficial manner through dialogue.
“Immediate steps must be taken to reduce tension and see the cause of what was happening in Palestinian territories, as they were related to the 1967 occupation, including of East Jerusalem.  Israel, as an occupying Power, was obliged to address the situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and respect humanitarian principles regarding people in the occupied territories,” he added.