{"id":224684,"date":"2019-11-19T14:48:51","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T19:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=224684"},"modified":"2019-12-19T12:32:54","modified_gmt":"2019-12-19T17:32:54","slug":"daily-press-briefing-un-position-on-israeli-settlements-remains-unchanged-excerpts","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/daily-press-briefing-un-position-on-israeli-settlements-remains-unchanged-excerpts\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily Press Briefing \u2013 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Position on Israeli Settlements Remains Unchanged \u2013 (Excerpts)"},"content":{"rendered":"
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC<\/strong>
\nSPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANT\u00d3NIO GUTERRES<\/strong>
\nTUESDAY, 19 NOVEMBER 2019<\/strong><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

MIDDLE EAST<\/strong>
\nIn response to questions on the announcement<\/a> made yesterday by the Secretary of State of the US regarding the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ position remains unchanged.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

**Questions and Answers<\/u><\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Mr.\u00a0Bays?<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Can I start by asking you about some basics\u2026 going back to some basics? \u00a0And so a very clear basic question to you:\u00a0 Are Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Security Council resolutions binding on all Member States?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 It depends on\u2026 under which charter\u2026 under which chapter they’re adopted.\u00a0 I’m going to get into the legal issues.\u00a0 If you\u2026 I assume you’re asking in the context of\u2026<\/p>\n

Correspondent<\/u>:\u00a0 Resolution\u00a02334, but other resolutions, as well.<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Right, yeah.\u00a0 We\u2026<\/p>\n

Correspondent<\/u>:\u00a0 Resolution\u00a02334 says that the establishment by Israel of settlements has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law; says Israel must immediately and completely cease all settlement activities.\u00a0 That is the last settled position of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Security Council.<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 That is our\u2026 that remains our guidance.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 And given that is a Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Security Council resolution, is Secretary [Mike]\u00a0Pompeo and what he’s now saying a contravention of that resolution, of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Charter and of international law?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 I’m not going to get into legal interpretation from here.\u00a0 What I can tell you, as far as we’re concerned, we remain guided by relevant Security Council resolutions.\u00a0 We remain committed to supporting the Palestinians and Israelis to achieve lasting and durable peace based on those resolutions.<\/p>\n

The Secretary-General regularly reports\u2026 periodically reports on Resolution\u00a02334.\u00a0 That also remains our guiding light.\u00a0 And the resolution states that Israeli settlement activities are flagrant violations under international law, a major obstacle to the achievement of the two\u2011state solution and a just and lasting comprehensive peace.\u00a0 And that remains the Secretary\u2011General’s position.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Is the Secretary\u2011General concerned that a permanent member of the Security Council is ignoring some resolutions and treating international law as though it was an a la carte menu?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 We regret the decision and the announcement made by the United States.\u00a0 Mr.\u00a0Klein, and then Edie.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Just a follow\u2011up on that and a couple of\u2026 a couple of elements.\u00a0 Would you extend that regret to another permanent member, Russia and its invasion of Crimea? \u00a0That’s the first question.<\/p>\n

Second question, you’re saying the Secretary\u2011General has reaffirmed, as his own opinion, the Security Council’s statement on the legality of settlements.<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 No, no.\u00a0 That’s not what I said, James.\u00a0 I said we\u2026 “James”? \u00a0Sorry.<\/p>\n

Correspondent<\/u>:\u00a0 I\u2019m not James.\u00a0 Two J’s, I know.<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Ever since\u2026 the two of you just look so much alike.\u00a0 James, if only you were as handsome.<\/p>\n

Correspondent<\/u>:\u00a0 I shaved this morning, so\u2026<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Joe.\u00a0 Sorry.\u00a0 It’s a serious issue.<\/p>\n

There [are] Security Council resolutions.\u00a0 There are General Assembly resolutions.\u00a0 Those remain the basis for the Secretary\u2011General’s position.\u00a0 I would refer you to the number of speeches he has given on the issue.\u00a0 And what I am saying today is that the position that the Secretary\u2011General expressed in the latest report on Resolution\u00a02334 remains our position.\u00a0 If it was our position yesterday, it’s our position today, and it will remain our position.<\/p>\n

Correspondent<\/u>:\u00a0 But what I’m trying to follow up on is number\u00a01, whether he has the same regret of Russia, another permanent member of the Security Council, and its invasion of Crimea against international law\u2026<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 On\u2026<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Wait.\u00a0 And secondly, applying the standard of illegality of settlements in quote “occupied territory,” does the Secretary\u2011General have an opinion regarding Turkey’s continued settlements of Turks in Northern Cyprus with its own troops stationed in Northern Cyprus, occupying in effect land there? \u00a0Does he see any comparability?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Let’s deal things one [by] one.\u00a0 I think on the issue of Crimea and the Ukraine, our position is based on the territorial integrity of the Ukraine, as expressed in relevant General Assembly resolutions, and I would refer you to what the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ\u2026 what the Secretariat had said at the time.<\/p>\n

On Cyprus, the Secretary\u2011General has been very clear in his position.\u00a0 There was a report on his Good Offices just recently, and he is also working with the parties to try to find a settlement on Cyprus.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0Abbadi and then\u2026 Sorry.\u00a0 And then Edie.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Thank you, St\u00e9phane.\u00a0 You initially, at the beginning, you stated that regarding the settlement in the West Bank, that the Secretary\u2011General maintains his position.\u00a0 Does he think the situation warrants repetition of that position?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 I repeated his position.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Thank you.\u00a0 Again, I want to ask about the lexicon.\u00a0 Using the word “regret,” it describes the speaker.\u00a0 It doesn’t extend to the action taken by a Member State that violating international law.\u00a0 Why there is not one word addressed to that new position which troubles, which violates international law? \u00a0Why there is nothing like “to reject” or “to condemn” or to something like that?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 We very much regret the announcement made, and obviously, not only the announcement, but obviously, the substance of the announcement.\u00a0 But for us, our own position, the way we view it, remains unchanged.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 So do you think the four Geneva Conventions’ applicability is still valid?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 I don’t know\u2026 I mean, we want to talk about lexicon, I don’t know what “unchanged” means more than “not changed.” \u00a0Evelyn, and then Sherwin.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Thank you, Steph.\u00a0 Does the action of Secretary of State Pompeo have an impact on the two\u2011state solution? \u00a0And does the SG have a position on that particular point?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 I mean, I think I’ve expressed our position on that particular point.\u00a0 We remain committed to a two\u2011state solution based on the relevant Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ resolutions.\u00a0 Sherwin?<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Just sticking with the subject, Steph.\u00a0 You talked about the position not changing, that the work continues on finding a solution, a two-state solution, finding a lasting peace.\u00a0 Pompeo yesterday said that he believes the policy reversal brings the parties closer to a resolution.\u00a0 Is that a view the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ can back up? \u00a0Or does it undermine the work you’re trying to achieve in the region?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 That’s his analysis and I would let all of you do your own analyses.\u00a0 Mario, and then Ibtisam.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 I want to go to James’ question regarding the\u2026 whether it’s legally binding for Member States or not, and you said that you don’t have a position, but this is not the first time or your\u2026 I mean, this is not the first time that the Americans are taking a step, whether before regarding moving the embassy to Jerusalem, and your lawyers, or the lawyers working with the Secretary\u2011General, must have some legal opinion about it.<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Whatever legal opinion and legal advice the Secretary\u2011General seeks is an advice he gets from his lawyers.\u00a0 We obviously\u2026 as a matter of principle, we would expect all Member States to abide by all resolutions.\u00a0 Does that happen? \u00a0James?<\/p>\n

Correspondent<\/u>:\u00a0 No, I was thinking of wielding Article\u00a025 at you, but I’m not going to.<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Is that an article that calls for the removal of the spokesman?<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 I\u2026 I have one follow\u2011up question on the Middle East and then on the Middle East peace, and then another\u2026 another question if I can.\u00a0 First, on\u2026 connected question to settlements.\u00a0 Does the Secretary\u2011General have any evidence that the Jared Kushner peace plan actually exists?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 There has been\u2026 as far as I know, there has not been an official announcement that the peace\u2026 of this peace plan.\u00a0 I have no indication that it does not exist.\u00a0 It’s a bit of an existential question, which is beyond my French abilities.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 My question is about the statement issued by Mr.\u00a0[Pierre] Kr\u00e4henb\u00fchl addressed to his former colleagues in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u00a0(United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees).\u00a0 It’s a long letter.\u00a0 I hope you read it.\u00a0 In fact, he stopped short\u2026 I mean, he said that I was asked to step aside, and he explained it, politically, why he was asked to step aside, before the end of the investigation.\u00a0 Do you share these views? I mean, that he was mostly expelled rather than resigned?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 I’m not going to comment on his letter to staff.\u00a0 Mr.\u00a0Kr\u00e4henb\u00fchl sent his resolution to the Secretary\u2011General; the Secretary\u2011General accepted it.\u00a0 Mr.\u00a0[Christian] Saunders is now the officer in charge, and his only aim is to see how to better serve the Palestinian refugees under its mandate.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Any comment on that statement?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 No, no.\u00a0 No.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

For information media. Not an official record.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANT\u00d3NIO GUTERRES TUESDAY, 19 NOVEMBER 2019   MIDDLE EAST In response to questions on the announcement made yesterday by the Secretary of State of the US regarding the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ position remains unchanged. \/… **Questions and Answers […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"template-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[897,2553],"document-category":[2573],"document-source":[5352,6169,1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[2137],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-224684","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","country-israel","country-united-states-of-america","document-category-highlights-of-the-noon-briefing","document-source-secretary-general","document-source-united-nations-department-of-global-communications","document-source-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-unrwa","document-subject-settlements","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/224684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/224684\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=224684"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=224684"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=224684"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=224684"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=224684"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=224684"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=224684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}