Statements to the Security Council: The situation in Gaza and Sderot

22 Jan 2008
The Security Council convened an emergency meeting, in the form of an open debate, to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip.

Statement by Counsellor Gilad Cohen
Chargé d’Affaires, a.i.
Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations

"Situation in the Middle East including the Palestinian question"

Security Council
United Nations, New York
22 January 2008

Mr. President,

The situation in the region today did not develop overnight. It is the consequence of many choices, repeatedly the wrong choices, made by the Palestinians, to adopt terrorism and violence over peace and negotiations with Israel.

In contrast, Israel has shown that it understands the consequences of making the right choices. More than two years ago, Israel made the choice to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, uproot families, and remove all its forces, in order to create a new horizon for peace in the region. We chose to disengage, despite all the difficulties, and despite the fact that the Roadmap did not require it at this stage.

And ever since then, Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip - first politically and now physically - using the area as its personal base for launching rocket attacks against Israel. The Palestinians in Gaza did not choose to engage Israel in dialogue and reconciliation to advance the two-state vision. Rather, they chose Hamas who uses terrorism and violence to advance its vision to destroy Israel.

Since the year 2000, more than 7,000 rockets and mortars have been fired at Israel by terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Last year alone, that number was over 2,000. And since Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in June 2007, the frequency of rocket attacks rose 150 percent, to more than 250 rockets and mortars a month. This means, on average, one rocket is fired at Israel every three hours.

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Only Israel is expected to not only sit and do nothing as rockets fall on their citizens, but to supply food and fuel to the the very people terrorizing them.