Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Gilad Erdan on Wednesday blasted the General Assembly for its adoption of a series of anti-Israel resolutions submitted annually to the international body, calling them “outdated” and maintaining they “do nothing but perpetuate the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
Erdan made his comments in the General Assembly plenum as part of a discussion in the UN’s Fourth Committee. Every year the committee reviews a number of pro-Palestinian resolutions, including ones that focus on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the status of the so-called Palestinian refugees, as well as human rights violations allegedly committed by Israel.
In his remarks, Erdan highlighted why the UN has continually failed to solve the conflict.
“One of the biggest reasons for the UN’s failure in ending the conflict is its continued support of UNRWA,” he said. “Simply put, UNRWA’s very existence makes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict unsolvable, and I don’t intend to allow business as usual anymore.”
Erdan pointed out how UNRWA uses its schools to spread hatred and anti-Semitism, inciting Palestinian children to violence, promoting terrorism and questioning Israel’s right to exist.
Erdan also criticized the UN’s refusal to refer to Judaism’s holiest site as the Temple Mount, saying that using only the Islamic name was an “audacious attempt to rewrite history” and erase the centuries-old Jewish connection to Jerusalem.
“As Minister of Public Security, I ensured that all religions had access to Jerusalem’s holy sites,” said Erdan. “During my term, the number of Jews visiting the Temple Mount each year more than tripled. No resolution passed here will stop that process. No resolution passed here will change the eternal connection between the Jewish people and the holiest site of our faith – Har Habayit, the Temple Mount.”
Erdan pushed committee members to reconsider their blind support of these annual resolutions.
“What is the point of these resolutions? Just to pave the way for future resolutions?” he asked. “By supporting these resolutions, you are not only wasting UN resources, you are also sabotaging any changes of future peace.”
Every year, the General Assembly adopts a package of about 20 anti-Israel resolutions, including renewing the mandate of biased Palestinian committees.
Israel views this as part of a diplomatic effort led by the Palestinians to undermine its legitimacy.
“Instead of persuading the Palestinians to choose a path of negotiation and peace, these decisions only encourage them to harden their positions. Any vote in favor of the decisions is a step towards making the UN an irrelevant body,” he warned.