Israel's UN ambassador: Netanyahu committed to peace
Palestinian envoy laments suffering of Gaza children, to which Gabriela Shalev replies 'there is suffering on both sides.'
By Shlomo Shamir Tags: Hamas UN GazaIsrael's ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday declared in an address before the Security Council that "the state of Israel is committed to the Middle East peace process."
Professor Gabriela Shalev spoke at a meeting on the Middle East and Palestinian issues, addressing the imminent change in leadership in Israel, as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert completes his term and yields his seat to incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
When the administration changes, she assured the council, the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians will continue to move forward. She added, however, that the peace process that Israel is pursuing must rely, among other things, on the principles outlined by the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators - the U.S., The UN, The European Union and Russia - which are the recognition of Israel's right to exist, a complete halt to violence and terror and the honoring of previous agreements.
At the start of the meeting, the Israeli ambassador exchanged remarks with the Palestinian envoy, Riad Mansour, on the suffering of children resulting from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. During his speech, Mansour presented the council with a photograph of a Palestinian child who was blinded during Israel's recent military offensive in the Gaza Strip. He described his visit with the child, who reportedly said "how did I, a 12-year-old boy, become blind? Why did Israel do this to me?"
Shalev set her prepared speech aside, and asked to respond to Mansour's remarks. She explained to the council that stories about children who are suffering can be heard on both sides. "I can show you a photo of an Israeli child who lost both his legs in a shooting attack," she said, adding that the people living in southern Israel have been living an 8-year nightmare as Gaza militants continue to fire rockets at them almost daily. Let's not use this podium to fight over the suffering of children, she pleaded.
The Israeli ambassador also reiterated her argument that Israel will not tolerate a return to the reality where terrorists attack civilians in Israel's south. She also condemned Hezbollah's violations of UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the month-long war between Israel and the Lebanese militia in 2006.
Shalev warned that the efforts of moderates in the region to achieve peace are being systematically undermined by extremist groups, including terror organizations supported by Syrian and Iran.
She also addressed what she termed the "manipulative negotiations" on behalf of Hamas, the Palestinian rulers of the Gaza Strip, over the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by Gaza militants in 2006. Israel's stance in unequivocal, she declared, adding that Israel would be willing to discuss the easing of the closure it has imposed on the Gaza Strip only after Shalit is free.
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