As bombs continue to fall on Gaza and the death toll among Palestinian civilians mounts by the day, the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations issued a stark warning Friday: Israel’s far-right government is exploiting the fires of regional war to turn the Gaza Strip into a permanently uninhabitable wasteland — and to render the two-state solution dead.
“If we keep waiting, this extreme Israeli government will sneak in under the smoke of the war,” said Dr. Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine, speaking at an emergency press conference at UN Headquarters. “They are trying to make the miserable situation in the Gaza Strip even more miserable — through annexation, through destruction, and by eliminating any hope for a Palestinian state.”
Speaking alongside representatives of the Arab Group and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Mansour accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition of using the world’s distracted attention — focused on fighting in Lebanon and wider Gulf tensions — to entrench a reality on the ground that no future diplomacy could reverse.
“The war in the Gulf cannot continue to steal away the attention of the international community from justice for the Palestinian people,” Mansour said. “We cannot remain silent.”
Gaza: A Territory Being Erased by Degrees
According to the letter submitted by Arab nations to the Security Council earlier this week — the catalyst for the press conference and for closed-door Council consultations held Friday afternoon — Israel now occupies approximately 53% of Gaza’s land. Mansour warned that Netanyahu has publicly spoken of expanding that control to 70%.
“Occupying 70% of Gaza,” Mansour said, his voice rising. “Dividing the north and south of the West Bank. Destroying the two-state solution — not as a threat, but as practical steps being taken right now.”
The letter detailed not only military expansion but also deliberate restrictions on humanitarian access, which the Arab Group’s statement — delivered by Saudi Ambassador Abdulaziz Al-Wasil — described as having created “a grave, intolerable humanitarian emergency.”
“Civilians continue to suffer the consequences of policies that deprive them of protection, essential services, and the most basic necessities of life,” Al-Wasil read aloud on behalf of the Arab nations.
The OIC, speaking through Turkey’s deputy ambassador, echoed that condemnation, noting that “in Gaza, the continued expansion of Israeli control, ongoing military operations, and restrictions on humanitarian assistance continue to inflict immense suffering on the Palestinian civilian population.”
‘Our People in Gaza Have Endured What No Person Can Endure’
Mansour reserved some of his most pointed language for what he described as the world’s willful ignorance of Gaza’s agony — and for any suggestion that Palestinians might simply leave.
“Look at our people in Gaza,” he said. “They have endured what no person can endure. But yet — they are refusing to leave the homeland. We have no homeland except Palestine. Including Gaza. Including the jewel on top of the crown, which is Jerusalem.”
He rejected any notion that the current wars — in Lebanon, in Gaza, and the broader regional volatility — justified delay. “Justice has to prevail. This illegal occupation has to end. Freedom and independence for the state of Palestine should take place as quickly as possible.”
Can the Security Council Break Its Paralysis?
The emergency consultations held Friday afternoon were requested by Arab Council members Libya and Somalia, with rare backing from five European nations alongside China and Russia. But asked whether any meaningful action could survive a likely U.S. veto, Mansour refused to accept the premise of futility.
“We will not allow the Security Council to run away from its responsibility,” he said. “They have a mandate given by the UN Charter to maintain international peace and security. What is happening in Palestine — in Gaza, in the West Bank, in East Jerusalem — is a threat to international peace and security.”
He pointed specifically to Security Council Resolution 2803 — adopted with U.S. support and no votes against — which explicitly rejects annexation, rejects occupation, and affirms the path to Palestinian self-determination. “We want the Security Council to honor and respect its resolutions,” Mansour said. “All of them.”
On the United States, he struck a measured but firm tone, noting President Trump’s stated opposition to annexation. “I know that President Trump is capable, and he has the tools, to stop Netanyahu in his tracks,” Mansour said. “We need the U.S. administration to stop Israel from continuing the things it is doing to all of us.”
‘It Happened in South Africa. It Will Happen in Palestine.’
As the press conference concluded, Mansour made a final appeal that reached beyond diplomacy to history itself.
“What we want is peace,” he said. “What we want is the end of the tragedy of the Palestinian people. We cannot be left behind. This illegal occupation has to end. We need to enjoy freedom and dignity in our homeland.”
He invoked the only precedent that gives him hope. “If it happened in South Africa to put an end to apartheid, it is going to happen in Palestine,” he said. “To put an end to occupation, to discrimination, and for the Palestinian people to have their own freedom and dignity.”
The Security Council’s informal consultations concluded Friday evening without immediate public action. But Arab diplomats vowed to return with renewed urgency. “We will do whatever it takes,” Mansour said, “to put an end to this tragedy.”
