Secretary-General's briefing to the Security Council on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question [as delivered]

In his final address on the Middle East to the UN Security Council, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon chose to bash the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel. On December 16, 2016, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon delivered his final statement on the Middle East to the UN Security Council prior to the conclusion of his term in office on December 31, 2016. Although the conclusion of his term coincides with the massacre of citizens in Aleppo by Russian and Syrian government forces, Ban Ki-moon chose to dedicate his address by bashing the only democracy in the Middle East.

In his words:

"Some may ask why, given all the crises in the region, I chose to address the Council on the question of Palestine. To them, I say that while the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not the cause of the wars in the Middle East, its resolution can create momentum for peace throughout the region. In 1947, on the basis of UN General Assembly Resolution 181, the world recognized the two-state solution and called for the emergence of 'independent Arab and Jewish states'. On 14 May 1948, the State of Israel was born. Almost seven decades later, the world still awaits the birth of the Palestinian state...

Yet Palestinian frustration and grievances are growing under the weight of nearly half a century of humiliating occupation... The expanding Israeli settlement enterprise and an ever-more-entrenched status quo is preventing Palestinian development and locking in Gaza...

Despite early optimism, attempts at reaching a final resolution failed to make headway and were upended with the eruption of conflict in Gaza in December 2008... I said then, and I continue to insist, that without addressing the deeper causes of this conflict, such cycles of escalation will persist...

As I have consistently stated, Israel's settlement activity beyond the 1967 line is in flagrant violation of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention... A bill currently being debated in the Israeli legislature risks the 'regularization' of more than 50 outposts and thousands of housing units built on private Palestinian land in the West Bank – a clear violation of international law... I strongly urge legislators to reconsider advancing this bill, which will have negative legal consequences for Israel and substantially diminish the chances for Arab-Israeli peace.

Bold steps by Israel to empower the Palestinian Authority, based on the transition envisioned in previous agreements, can bring benefits to the Palestinian people and increase Israeli security...

Israel must also understand that continued occupation and heavy-handed security responses -- including the possible excessive use of force and the highly restrictive closure policy in Gaza -- play into the hands of extremists. These actions risk undermining moderate voices, and further deepening the gulf between the two sides...

After three brutal conflicts, Israel's crippling closures and a decade-long political divide have left two million Palestinians trapped in a humanitarian tragedy, without hope for a political horizon. I have witnessed this devastation on my four trips to Gaza. I must warn, as I have repeatedly stated, that Gaza is a tinder box..."