PRESS RELEASE : An immediate ceasefire and the immediate release of hostages is the best way to achieve peace: UK statement at the UN Security Council [December 2024]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 25 November 2024.

Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East Peace Process.

First, the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic and unacceptable. Famine is likely imminent in some areas and the unthinkable hardship that millions of civilians, including children, are already facing in Gaza is set to get even worse as winter continues.

As my Foreign Secretary reiterated last Monday to this Council, there is no excuse for Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid. We need much better protection of civilians in Gaza, a huge surge in aid, and for the UN and humanitarians to be able to operate in safety.

An immediate and unconditional ceasefire and the immediate release of hostages is the best way to achieve this.

Second, as we have repeatedly said, the UNRWA bills that Israel’s Knesset has passed are gravely concerning and risk jeopardising the entire international humanitarian response in Gaza, and delivery of essential health and education services in the West Bank.

UNRWA is indispensable.

No other agency can get aid into Gaza on the scale needed or replace its mandate to serve Palestinian refugees. Israel must ensure that UNRWA can continue its vital operations.

Third, we remain deeply concerned by instability in the West Bank. The economic situation is dire.

We urge the Government of Israel to extend Correspondent Banking Relations for at least one year, to immediately release withheld clearance revenues, and to stop settlement expansion on Palestinian land, which is illegal under international law.

The rate of expansion is unprecedented, and it undermines stability and the prospects for peace. We have announced three tranches of sanctions targeting illegal settler outposts and organisations that have supported and sponsored violence against communities in the West Bank.

Palestinians must be able to live without fear of violence or intimidation.

Colleagues, we must continue to work together to end the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, to secure the release of all the hostages who are living an unimaginable horror and to stop the suffering of civilians.

Too many people have lost their lives. The region needs a lasting peace, with a two-state solution at its core.