Statement given recently (08 May 2026) by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires to the UN, at the UN Arria meeting on the West Bank.<\/p>\n
Colleagues, at the outset, I want to underline UK concern at rising conflict in the region and beyond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I also want to stress that peaceful co-existence between communities is essential.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom was shocked by the despicable antisemitic terror attack in London last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is no place in our societies for racially motivated hatred and violence, and we will continue to work to end such attacks and to promote tolerance amongst all communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Returning to the Arria, I will make three points.<\/p>\n
First, the United Kingdom is clear that a two state solution remains the only way to achieve lasting peace and security for the Israeli and Palestinian people.<\/p>\n
However, as we have heard today, the viability of that future is being deliberately and rapidly eroded.<\/p>\n
The current Israeli Government has nearly doubled the number of illegal settlements, including the E1 plan, which would cut the West Bank in two as we\u2019ve just seen.<\/p>\n
Security Council Resolution 2334 is clear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
These settlements are a flagrant violation of international law and must cease.<\/p>\n
And while settlements expand, so does the displacement of Palestinians from that same land.<\/p>\n
This includes Basel\u2019s hometown of Masafer Yatta.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It also includes the homes of many more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2,500 Palestinians have been displaced this year due to demolitions, evictions, and settler attacks.<\/p>\n
In Silwan in East Jerusalem, families have been forced out and watched as settlers take over the homes they have had for generations.<\/p>\n
And as we\u2019ve heard today, Israeli restrictions on movement and the withholding of Palestinian tax revenues are worsening the humanitarian situation, weakening the Palestinian Authority, and driving instability.<\/p>\n
Second, these policies are accompanied by extreme violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
OCHA report that 2025 saw the highest number of settler attacks on record.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last year, Israeli security forces and settlers killed 240 Palestinians, with Palestinian militants killing 17 Israelis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom strongly condemns all attacks on civilians.<\/p>\n
As the occupying power, the Israeli Government has clear responsibilities for the protection of civilians, which are not being met.<\/p>\n
Acts of settler violence are not a series of isolated incidents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They represent an accelerated campaign to prevent a future Palestinian State driven by an extremist ideology, which even includes acts of settler terrorism.<\/p>\n
Finally, these actions are underpinned by a culture of impunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While attacks by Palestinians are rightly investigated and prosecuted, the same cannot be said for crimes by settlers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Accountability remains weak, with few criminal investigations and many cases closed without justice.<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom is also concerned by recent comments by a senior IDF figure, noting that lethal force is used against Palestinian stone-throwers, but not against settlers committing the same crime.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If accurate, this suggests a discriminatory application of force that raises serious concerns under international law.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Colleagues, these actions constitute a coordinated effort to permanently change the demographic makeup of the West Bank and prevent the two state solution.<\/p>\n
They undermine President Trump\u2019s 20-Point Plan and risk further violence in the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Depriving the Israeli and Palestinian people of the peace they deserve.<\/p>\n
We desperately want to see a different future: one that delivers peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That different future is possible.<\/p>\n
And it is our duty to strive to achieve it.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Statement given recently (08 May 2026) by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires to the UN, at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[11218,12093,3972,3973,15718,9777,2477,15721,3975,15719,181,15716,15720,2392,4400,15717,5,3967,2391,6,4252],"class_list":{"0":"post-33876","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"tag-accountability","9":"tag-acts","10":"tag-affaires","11":"tag-ambassador","12":"tag-arria","13":"tag-authority","14":"tag-bank","15":"tag-basel","16":"tag-charg","17":"tag-colleagues","18":"tag-government","19":"tag-israeli","20":"tag-israelis","21":"tag-kingdom","22":"tag-palestinian","23":"tag-palestinians","24":"tag-uk","25":"tag-un","26":"tag-united","27":"tag-united-kingdom","28":"tag-west"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116556673996924379","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}