STATEMENT BY

Mr. Mohammed Saleh
Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the UN
Middle East Debate
New York, 3 April 2002

FIFTY-EIGHT SPEAKERS ADDRESS SECURITY COUNCIL IN DAY-LONG MIDDLE EAST DEBATE; STRESS NEED TO IMPLEMENT COUNCIL'S CALL FOR CEASEFIRE, ISRAELI WITHDRAWAL

MOHAMMED SALEH MOHAMMED SALEH (Bahrain) said that the present situation was deteriorating. Israel had stepped up its aggression against the Palestinian people and invaded most of the territories of the Palestinian Authority, in order to destroy the infrastructure. The arbitrary bombing and excessive use of force against a defenceless people had led to significant financial consequences, as well as ever more civilian victims. Israel was continuing to surround Palestinian cities and starve and kill the people, without anyone being brought to justice.

He said that no one knew how those terrorist acts by Israel would end. The Israeli forces had prevented the wounded from getting to hospitals by thwarting the arrival of ambulances. The occupying forces were shooting at ambulances at checkpoints, in direct contravention of the 1949 Geneva Convention, which demanded that necessary protection be provided to all individuals not participating in military operations. Also, Israel was preventing inhabitants from burying their dead. That also contravened Islamic precepts and was a flagrant violation of all international humanitarian norms.

The Israeli occupying forces had been perpetrating actions that could only be described as war crimes, he said. The present Israeli Government had sent up in smoke the dreams of the Millennium Summit. The Israeli Prime Minister could not find in his vocabulary a way to cooperate with the Arab peace initiative, adopted at the Beruit Summit. In his repertory, he had only State terrorism aimed at ending the peace process. Israeli practices against Chairman Arafat -- the symbol of the Palestinian struggle and the elected leader of those people -- were "highly dangerous" and could destroy the entire region.

He called on the international community to put an end to that Israeli aggression so that a catastrophe with irreparable and incalculable repercussions could be avoided. He called for adherence to international humanitarian law, the unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces from all Palestinian villages and cities, and the lifting of the siege against Yasser Arafat. He also called for the lifting of the siege in holy sites, both Islamic and Christian houses of prayer.

Finally, he said that Security Council resolutions 1397 (2002) and 1402 (2002) must be implemented. That required the Council to take effective action to ensure that Israel respected those texts, which remained a dead letter. The Council should also immediately send international observers to guarantee protection to Palestinian civilians. History would not give the Council its due role unless it discharged its responsibility. It was unacceptable for the Council to remain paralysed, while international peace and security was endangered.