On October
16, 2015, Ambassador David Roet, Israel's Deputy Permanent Representative to
the United Nations, spoke to the UN Security Council about the recent wave of
Arab terror against Israel. This is his speech--uncut:
--
“As we sit
here today, Israel is facing an onslaught of terrorism; men, women and children
are being stabbed to death on the streets on a daily basis. Yet for them there
has been no demand for an emergency session at the Security Council; no calls
for the Palestinian leadership to stop their incitement; and not even a whisper
of condemnation of these acts in this hall.
Eitam and
Naama Henkin were shot to death while driving in their car. Their 4 children
were in the vehicle and watched their parents die in front of their eyes.
These are
just a few of the silent victims of Palestinian terror. Apparently, this
Council has not seen fit to honor their memories with even the slightest
recognition.
Mr.
President,
Over the
course of the last month, 24 terror attacks have claimed the lives of 8
Israelis, and injured 70. 15 of them are still hospitalized. This tide of
terror has washed over the entire nation and it spares no one: Young and old
are being targeted every day.
Israelis do
not feel safe walking down the street, they avoid taking the bus to work, and
they fear for the lives of their children every time they walk out the door.
The root
cause of this wave of terror is clear. It is inflammatory rhetoric and lies [that]
lit the fuse, and incitement that keeps feeding the flames.
The wave of
violence that Israel now faces began with lies about the Temple Mount. [Palestinian
Authority leader Mahmoud] Abbas has continually accused Israel of trying to
change the Status- Quo [of the Temple Mount]. Just two days ago he claimed
that, quote “Israel intends to make Al-Aksa Jewish”. This is a deliberate and
malicious lie.
Let me be
clear. Prime Minister Netanyahu has stated time and time again, including from
the podium in the UN general assembly just two weeks ago: Israel is firmly
committed to the status quo which protects the right of Muslims to pray in the
mosque, as well as the freedom of all people, Muslims, Christians, Jews and
others, to visit the Temple Mount.
Since 1967
Israel has placed the utmost importance on protecting the freedom of religion
and worship for all faiths. From the outset, Israel has done everything in its
power to preserve the sanctity of this site, which is sacred to the three
monotheistic faiths.
In contrast,
militant Islamist agitators have used the Al-Aqsa Mosque as a staging ground
for a calculated, violent provocation. On the Eve of the Jewish New Year, Rosh
Hashana, radical Islamists stockpiled rocks, planks, wooden sheets and
fireworks, as well as Molotov firebombs and explosive devices to prevent Jews
and Christians from visiting the Temple Mount.
The Palestinians
and the representatives of the Arab countries speak of the sacredness of their
holy sites. When the Islamist militants desecrated Al-Aqsa by using it as a
weapons depot, did any of them speak out?
Of course
not. Instead, Mahmoud Abbas defended these rioters, and lit the spark which set
our region ablaze. He declared, and I quote: “We welcome every drop of blood
spilled in Jerusalem... With the help of Allah, every shaheed will be in
heaven, and every wounded will get his reward … Al-Aqsa is ours, and the Church
of the Holy Sepulcher is ours, everything is ours, all ours. They have no right
to desecrate them with their filthy feet." I repeat, their filthy feet.
Can you
imagine the reaction if an Israeli leader, any leader, would have uttered such
a hateful statement? The Security Council would have wasted no time in
convening to condemn it. Yet, when the President of the Palestinian Authority
makes such a blatantly prejudiced statement, the reaction of this Council is
complete silence.
Mr.
President,
Even now, as
the violence continues and lives are lost every day, instead of calming
tensions, Palestinian leaders continue to lie and use inflammatory rhetoric.
They are stoking the flames by portraying terrorists as innocent victims. Just
two days ago, in a television broadcast to the Palestinian people, Mahmoud
Abbas accused Israel of killing an innocent thirteen year old Palestinian boy.
There are
two facts that Abbas did not share with his public.
First, he is
not dead. He is fully conscious and is being treated in an Israeli hospital.
Second, he
is not innocent. This 13-year-old Palestinian terrorist brutally attacked a
13-year-old Israeli boy who was riding his bicycle, stabbing him no less than
15 times.
When a young
child decides to pick up a knife, instead of a basketball or a book, something
is deeply wrong.
Such acts of
terror do not occur in a vacuum. They are a product of a deliberate policy of
incitement aimed at filling the minds of Palestinian children with hate.
From an
early age, Palestinian children are subjected to propaganda that promotes
hatred and incites to violence; Young
children watch TV shows with friendly hosts that encourage them to kill all the
Jews and become martyrs. Schoolchildren in the West Bank study using official
Palestinian Authority textbooks that legitimize indiscriminate violence against
Israelis. Palestinian teenagers follow facebook posts and twitter feeds that
call on them to stab Jews and that applaud violent acts like the murder of Eitam
and Na’ama Henkin.
Mr.
President,
The
situation is indeed dire, but there is a way forward.
Just
yesterday, Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his willingness to meet with the
Palestinian leadership in order to bring calm to the region.
Two weeks
ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu stood here in the UN and declared that he is
ready for direct negotiations with the Palestinians without any preconditions.
If this
Council is serious about promoting peace, it must join in Prime Minister
Netanyahu’s call, and insist that President Abbas comes to the negotiating
table.
Israel’s
historic agreement with Egypt and with Jordan proves that direct negotiations
can lead to a real and a lasting peace. Only such negotiations can create a new
reality for all the people of the region.
--
I don’t
agree that our Prime Minister should sit at a negotiations table with the likes
of Abbas. I believe that the Jew-hate he foments is beyond civilized negotiations.
He doesn’t
deserve to be invited to anyone’s table.
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