Palestinian UN envoy says Israeli annexations kill prospects for regional peace

The Palestinian representative on Wednesday told the UN Security Council that Israel has "crossed the Rubicon" toward full-scale annexation, referencing a phrase meaning taking an irreversible step past the point of no return.

"They do not care that annexation kills any prospect for peace in our region," Riyad Mansour, the permanent observer of Palestine to the UN, told Security Council.

He argued that the release of bidding tenders for the E1 area, a strategic corridor designed to connect East Jerusalem with the occupied West Bank, is a direct "act of war" against Palestinian sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Mansour accused the Israeli government of intentionally undermining the 20-point peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump and reflected in relevant UN Resolution. He asserted that the current leadership in Tel Aviv seeks to "derail" the implementation of this comprehensive plan, which affirms a policy rejecting annexation.

Mansour characterized the attempt to address the regional crisis through the "annihilation" of the Palestinian national project as "madness."

CULTURE OF IMPUNITY

Mansour dismissed Israeli internal legal processes as a sham. He claimed that "Israeli investigations and Israeli courts are designed to foster and ensure such impunity" rather than provide justice for victims.

He demanded that the Palestinian people receive "international protection" without delay until a sovereign and independent state is established.

Mansour concluded by expressing a belief in a Middle East where sovereign states enjoy "shared peace, shared security, and shared prosperity."

He issued a final warning to the 15-member council, saying the world must act now according to agreed laws or the current tragedies will serve as a "prelude for more horrors to come."

"A different future is possible if we act together today."