VZCZCXRO8530
OO RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUCNDT #0064/01 0300026
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 300026Z JAN 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5706
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000064 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PTER EAID SOCI UNSC KWBG KPAL IS LY
SUBJECT: UNSC: U/SYG HOLMES AND UNRWA CHIEF BRIEF COUNCIL 
ON GAZA HUMANITARIAN SITUATION 
 
REF: STATE 7040 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: Under Secretary-General Holmes and UNRWA 
Commissioner-General Abu Zayd briefed the Security Council 
January 27 on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.  Holmes 
said he was shocked by the destruction and suffering he saw 
in Gaza on his recent trip and highlighted both Hamas' use of 
civilian installations and firing of rockets on civilian 
populations and Israel's failure to protect effectively 
civilians and humanitarian workers in Gaza.  He voiced 
specific concerns about the lack of wider respect for 
international humanitarian law, especially the  principles of 
distinction and proportionality.  He reviewed the urgent 
relief needs and plans to launch a Flash Appeal February 2 
with a prioritized list of needs.  He called for much freer 
access for goods and staff and close cooperation with all 
parties to ensure an effective relief operation.  He stressed 
the need for Palestinian reconciliation and the growing 
disconnect between the situation on the ground and the peace 
process.  Abu Zayd shared her post-cease-fire impressions of 
Gaza and Gazans and pressed for political actions to 
facilitate recovery and reconstruction.  Council members 
unanimously thanked Holmes and Abu Zayd for UNRWA and all UN 
agencies' tireless efforts in Gaza and stressed the need to 
get humanitarian aid quickly into Gaza.  Most reiterated the 
need for the full implementation of UNSCR 1860, particularly 
a durable cease-fire given the bombing that morning on the 
Gaza-Israel border, and the opening of all crossings with 
arrangements to prevent illicit trafficking.  A number of 
delegations voiced serious concerned at the shelling of 
UNRWA's facilities and Israel's disproportionate use of 
force.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs 
and Emergency Relief Coordination John Holmes briefed the 
Security Council on January 27 about his January 21-25 trip 
to the region, including in Gaza to launch the humanitarian 
needs assessment.  He said he was "shocked by the human 
suffering and destruction" that he saw.  While some areas 
were relatively untouched, others were almost totally 
destroyed.  He recognized the extraordinary efforts of the 
medical teams and first responders, both Palestinian and 
international.  He said 13 local medical staff and six UN 
staff were killed, and 34 health facilities were damaged or 
destroyed.  In a theme echoed later in consultations, he 
said, "the reckless and cynical use of civilian installations 
by Hamas, and the indiscriminate firing of rockets against 
civilian populations, are clear violations of international 
humanitarian law.  However, even taking into account Israel's 
security concern to protect its own civilian population, it 
is clear that there are major questions to be asked about the 
failure of the Israeli Defense Force to protect effectively 
civilians and humanitarian workers in Gaza.  Given the scale 
and nature of the damage and loss of life, there are also 
obvious concerns about a lack of wider respect for 
international humanitarian law, particularly the principles 
of distinction and proportionality.  There must be 
accountability." 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Holmes highlighted the following urgent relief 
needs: food security, given that 90 percent of Gazans now 
need food aid; nutrition; water and sanitation; shelter; 
essential repairs of power, roads and other basic 
infrastructure; rebuilding the health system; rubble removal; 
unexploded ordnance; and psycho-social care.  He plans to 
launch a Flash Appeal February 2 with a prioritized plan of 
urgent needs, and later asked Council members to provide 
financial assistance, not in-kind donations.  He cautioned 
that two conditions need to be met for UN and other agencies 
to carry out their work: much freer access for goods and 
staff and close cooperation with all parties.  He said 
commercial goods must be allowed in and out of Gaza and so 
must the cash needed for normal activity.  He called for the 
crossings to be opened, as called for in UNSCR 1860, on the 
basis of the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access, and not 
because "Hamas want it or might benefit from it, but because 
the Gazans need it."  He registered concern about Israel's 
broad categories of dual-use items that cannot be allowed 
into Gaza.  He stressed the "unacceptability of the status 
quo ante, with a limited trickle of items into Gaza 
continuing the effective collective punishment of the 
civilian population -- and the resultant counter productive 
reliance on tunnels for daily essentials."  He said a 
successful relief operation entails working closely with the 
Israeli authorities and the Palestinian Authority and dealing 
"practically with those on the ground, without any of the 
parties trying to exert political control over humanitarian 
operations." 
 
¶4.  (SBU) He stressed the need for Palestinian reconciliation 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000064  002 OF 003 
 
 
and said the UN would work with the PA to plan for longer 
term recovery and reconstruction.  He highlighted the growing 
disconnect between the situation on the ground and the peace 
process.  He described the people of Gaza continuing to exist 
in "what is effectively a giant open-air prison, without 
normality or dignity."  He continued, "Their lives have been 
put at risk recklessly by indiscriminate rocket attacks from 
their midst, which have also killed, injured and traumatized 
Israeli civilians in Southern Israel.  They (Gazans) have now 
endured a terrifying assault, and must live with its 
devastating aftermath." 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen Abu Zayd then 
briefed the Council on her impressions since the cease-fire. 
She described what appeared to be the "systematic destruction 
to schools, universities, residential buildings, factories, 
shops, and farms."  She said that "every Gazan projects a 
sense of having stared death in the face" and that "there is 
a rage against the attackers for often failing to distinguish 
between military targets and civilians and there is also a 
resentment against the international community for having 
allowed first the siege and then the war to go on for so 
long."  She said the priority for early recovery is to help 
restore normal life to Gaza through education, health-care, 
and employment generation projects.  She noted that 200,000 
UNRWA schoolchildren return to school January 24 while the 
50,000 displaced who had been seeking shelter in those 
schools were rebuilding their homes or finding shelter 
elsewhere.  She described UNRWA's Quick Response Plan which 
is being funded by UNRWA's Flash Appeal. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) She then turned to the political actions that must 
take place to facilitate recovery and reconstruction: (1) the 
re-establishment of law and order in Gaza; (2) the continuous 
opening of all of Gaza's borders; (3) negotiations to end the 
occupation and resolve the conflict that include refugee 
representation; (4) investigation of apparent violations of 
international law, including direct attacks on UNRWA 
personnel and facilities; and (5) Palestinian reconciliation. 
 She expressed her fear that "this war will be remembered for 
the absence of restraint among the combatants and disregard 
for principles of humanity and the sanctity of humanity and 
the sanctity of human life."  She noted that beyond its 
impact on civilian lives, the conflict has "placed in further 
jeopardy the authority of international law in the Middle 
East."  In closing, she said that UNRWA will continue to 
discharge its mandate to promote the "inherent dignity and 
worth of the Palestinians we serve" but UNRWA appeals to the 
Security Council "as the body that sits at the pinnacle of 
multilateral power, to exercise your authority in ways that 
transform into reality the shared dream of both Israelis and 
Palestinians for a secure, peaceful and prosperous tomorrow." 
 (Note: USUN e-mailed the text of Holmes and Abu Zayd's 
prepared remarks to IO/UNP on January 27.  End note.) 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In Security Council consultations immediately 
following the briefings, members unanimously thanked Holmes 
and Abu Zayd for UNRWA and all UN agencies' tireless efforts 
in Gaza and expressed condolences for the loss of UN staff. 
They also stressed the need to get humanitarian aid quickly 
into Gaza and welcomed news of OCHA's Flash Appeal and the 
upcoming conference in Cairo.  Most delegations reiterated 
the need to fully implement UNSCR 1860, especially the need 
for a durable cease-fire, given the IED bombing on the 
Gaza-Israel border that morning that left an Israeli soldier 
dead and a Palestinian farmer killed in the Israeli return of 
fire.  Many urged that arrangements and guarantees be quickly 
put in place to allow the opening of border crossings, per 
UNSCR 1860.  The UK stressed the need to give the GOI 
confidence against arms smuggling and said it was prepared to 
offer naval support.  Japan called for an arrangement against 
illicit trafficking.  The French Perm Rep said that the EU is 
ready to expand EUBAM to other crossing points, and that a 
French frigate is offshore of Gaza to help prevent illicit 
arms shipments.  Many also pressed for Palestinian 
reconciliation (with some specifying it should be with 
President Abbas in the lead) in order to facilitate a 
long-term solution. Ambassador Wolff delivered the U.S. 
remarks (per reftel). 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  A significant number of delegations voiced serious 
concern at the shelling of the UNRWA facilities and Israel's 
disproportionate use of force during the conflict.  The UK 
DPR cited the UK's "deep concern at the attacks on the UN 
compound" which were "indefensible" and said that it was 
never permissible to target civilians.  The French Perm Rep 
said that France had clearly condemned the UNRWA bombings and 
that UN sites cannot be targeted.  The Turkish Perm Rep said 
he hoped the Council would have a response from Israel on the 
attacks against UN premises.  The Russian DPR said that any 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000064  003 OF 003 
 
 
attacks on UN facilities or personnel are "categorically 
unacceptable and must be investigated and perpetrators 
subject to punishment."  He also "condemned the 
disproportionate use of force and any attacks on civilians, 
including rocket attacks on the Israeli population" and said 
the scope of the IDF actions in Gaza were "absolutely 
unacceptable and contrary to the efforts to get peace." 
Mexico called for the observation of international 
humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Conventions.  Holmes 
later responded to the issue of investigations and said it 
was "time to end the era of impunity" and that they would 
"pursue the matter with great vigor." 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The Libyan Acting Perm Rep only spoke of Israeli 
military actions in Gaza and labeled them "crimes of war and 
crimes against humanity."  He said that the lack of Security 
Council condemnation of "these crimes" is tantamount to 
participation in these crimes.  He called for the 
perpetrators of "these crimes" to stand before the ICC, and 
said that Israeli actions against UNRWA facilities were clear 
violations of international law.  He then asked if UNRWA was 
preparing an assessment of the damage from the shelling and 
if it would seek compensation.  Abu Zayd later replied that 
UNRWA was compiling an assessment of the damage (including 
the loss of a USD 4.5 million shipment of medicine), as it 
always does, and would submit it to the Israeli government 
for compensation.  She noted that the current amount from 
damages caused by Israeli forces during the Second Intifada 
totals almost USD 1 million but that the GOI has never paid 
compensation.  The Libyan Acting Perm Rep also asked Abu Zayd 
to address whether UNRWA facilities and vehicles were used by 
Hamas or others.  Abu Zayd later replied that UNRWA fully 
stands behind the integrity of its facilities and vehicles. 
She said that during this conflict UNRWA has received 
profound apologies from the GOI for the attacks on UNRWA 
facilities, instead of accusations. 
Rice