Source: United Nations (video statements)
UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people “must be realized.”
At the at the 426th Meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Guterres said, “Any sustainable solution in Gaza must be consistent with international law, and result in Gaza and the West Bank – including East Jerusalem – being governed by a unified, legitimate, and internationally recognized Palestinian Government. Gaza is and must remain an integral part of a Palestinian State.”
He also said, “The recently published tender by Israel for 3,401 housing units in the E1 area – alongside continued demolitions – is profoundly alarming. If carried forward, it would sever the northern and southern West Bank, undermine territorial contiguity, and strike a severe blow to the viability of a two-State solution.”
He reaffirmed his full support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and condemned the adoption by the Israeli parliament of laws that “further impede the Agency’s ability to operate and carry out its mandate activities. I also condemn in the strongest terms actions by Israeli authorities to demolish the UNRWA Sheikh Jarrah compound in occupied East Jerusalem. Let me be clear: UNRWA premises are United Nations premises. They are inviolable and immune from any form of interference. Public threats by officials of Israel against the staff of UNRWA are utterly abhorrent and must be met with unequivocal repudiation.”
Guterres concluded, “The occupation must end, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice. The inalienable rights of the Palestinian people must be realized. The inalienable rights of the Palestinian people must be realized.”
Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour, said, “The ceasefire has to be permanent. It should not be fragile. Israel should not continue to go and to kill our people as they wish in the Gaza Strip and in other parts of the occupied Palestinian territory.”
He also said, “Gaza is not a piece of land that is hanging in the air for anyone to grab it. It belongs to its people. It belongs to the Palestinian people. The West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, constitute a single territorial unit. Their unity, integrity and status must be preserved, and they must be unified under the Palestinian Authority, as affirmed by the Security Council and GA resolution.”
Michael Contet, Director of the UNRWA Representative Office in New York said, “In Gaza, UNRWA remains the largest and most comprehensive service provider, effectively acting as the public sector for more than half the population.”
He highlighted, “The operational constraints imposed by Israel on UNRWA, compounded by an unprecedented financial shortfall, severely undermine our GA mandate, which has just been renewed for another three years, and pose an existential threat to our work in the occupied Palestinian territory. They are taking place in utter disregard for international law and the UN Charter.”
He stressed, “The actions against UNRWA include a large-scale dis- and mis-information campaign. The repeating of allegations that have already been proven wrong or unsubstantiated, including by the world’s highest court, or have been addressed, continues to form the backdrop for reduced or increasingly conditioned financial contributions. This reduction, combined with a suspension of funding by two major donors, has left a gaping hole in the finances of the Agency to this day.”
He reported, “The estimated shortfall for 2026 is 220 million USD – amounting to 40 percent of the funds required for basic operations, including paying our local staff, who directly deliver UNRWA’s services to beneficiaries. As a result, the Commissioner-General was compelled to take the difficult decision to implement as of this month a reduction of UNRWA’s service-delivery working hours by 20 percent, in all five fields, with salaries of Area staff adjusted accordingly. This was taken as a measure of last resort, to preserve the Agency and its mandate.”
Full remarks [as delivered]: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statements/2026-02-03/secretary-generals-remarks-the-2026-opening-session-of-the-committee-the-exercise-of-the-inalienable-rights-of-the-palestinian-people