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Source: United Nations (video statements)

UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said, “We cannot afford half measures. The US-led Comprehensive Plan must be implemented fully, alongside urgent action to de-escalate and reverse the dangerous trajectory in the occupied West Bank.”

Addressing the Security Council, DiCarlo said, “The Board of Peace meeting in Washington, D.C., tomorrow is an important step. We have a responsibility to work collectively to implement Phase II of the Gaza ceasefire and advance efforts toward a credible political path leading to a negotiated two-State solution.”

she also said, “Despite the ceasefire, Gaza is still not at peace. In recent weeks, the Israeli military intensified strikes across Gaza, hitting densely populated areas and killing dozens of Palestinians.”

she highlighted, “In the occupied West Bank, meanwhile, the situation is deteriorating rapidly. There, Israeli forces continued large-scale operations across the West Bank, frequently involving live fire and raising serious concerns about the use of lethal force.”

She continued, “Attacks by Palestinians against Israelis, and confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli security forces, have also continued. Israeli authorities also expanded operations in areas around Jerusalem and extended their operations in the northern West Bank, exacerbating displacement and access restrictions, and raising concerns about forced transfer. These developments unfolded alongside continued settlement expansion, rising settler violence, and accelerated demolitions and evictions in East Jerusalem. We are witnessing the gradual de facto annexation of the West Bank, as unilateral Israeli steps steadily transform the landscape.”

She stressed, “Israel should immediately reverse these measures. All Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and their associated regime and infrastructure, have no legal validity. They violate international law and UN resolutions.”

Yvette Cooper, United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, said, “Britain remains steadfast in our support for the security of Israel and its people because a two-state solution can be the gateway to transform the region with normalization, regional integration and peaceful coexistence. But security cannot be achieved by an indefinite and humiliating occupation that denies security and sovereignty to the Palestinian people.”

Mike Waltz, US Representative to the United Nations, informed, “The Board will announce tomorrow over 5 billion dollars in pledges for rebuilding. Colleagues, the Board is not talking, it’s doing.”

Riyad Mansour, Palestinian ambassador, asked, “Israel had to choose between annexation and peace. It chose annexation. We all reject annexation. So how are we going to stop Israel?”

He also said, “Palestine, notably Gaza, is ground zero of the assault on international law. What is accepted there is normalized everywhere. The two-State solution must not become the two-State illusion. If you believe it is the only way forward, then you must end the occupation and save the Palestinian State to save peace.”

Gideon Saar, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated, “There’s constant the truth is simple; we are the indigenous people in the land of Israel.”

He then raised a map of the British mandate, stressing that the Balfour Declaration reestablished a national home for the Jewish people in their land.

He said, "We will not abandon our heritage, security and future to ease other countries’ domestic political difficulties."

He also said to the Council, “You invented a so-called state of Palestine, as if such a state exists or ever existed. But the truth is simple: there has simply never been a Palestinian state. You speak of occupied territories…how can they be taken from an entity that never existed by a nation that was always there?”

Earlier this afternoon, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs talked to the media and said, “Amazingly so many countries say that Jewish presence in our ancient homeland violates international law. The opposite is true. No other nation in any other place in the world has a stronger right than our historical and documented right to the land of the Bible.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpJOMzBUx-M

Source: United Nations (video statements)

This short video walks through each step and clarifies how global consensus is built around one of the most important leadership roles in international governance.
It highlights how dialogue, diplomacy, and global consensus come together to shape one of the most important leadership roles in international governance.
Take a moment to watch and deepen your understanding of how the UN chooses its top official.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hINShw3CS4

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
Secretary-General/Travel
Secretary-General/International Energy Agency
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Libya
Sudan
Financial Contribution

SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVEL

The Secretary-General has arrived in New Delhi, and he has just started his programme of activities there.

In the evening, he attended a dinner organized by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, for the high-level participants of the AI Impact Summit.

Tomorrow morning, Mr. Guterres will take part in the Summit’s opening ceremony, which will be followed by a plenary with Heads of State and Government. In his remarks to the AI Summit, he will say that meeting in India brings this conversation closer to the realities shaping much of the world, because the future of AI cannot be decided by a handful of countries or left to the whims of a few billionaires. He will call for AI to be accessible to everyone, to benefit everyone and to be safe for everyone.

We have shared these remarks under embargo – and we will issue them as soon as they are delivered.

Throughout the day, the Secretary-General will hold bilateral meetings with leaders and ministers attending the summit. He will also meet with our UN colleagues based in India.

SECRETARY-GENERAL/INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY

This morning, the Secretary-General addressed via a video message the International Energy Agency Ministerial Meeting, which is taking place in Paris. He noted that we have entered the age of clean energy, and renewables are now the cheapest, fastest and safest source of new electricity almost everywhere.

The Secretary-General highlighted that those who lead this transition will lead the global economy of the future. Yet, he said, some fossil fuel interests remain hell-bent on slowing progress, spreading disinformation; pretending that a transition is unrealistic or unaffordable.

The Secretary-General noted that the world’s addiction to fossil fuels is one of the greatest threats to global stability and prosperity. He stressed that we must stop treating the transition away from fossil fuels as taboo, and that delay will only breed instability.

The Secretary-General called for a dedicated global platform to deliver a fair, orderly, affordable transition plan away from fossil fuels aligned with 1.5 degrees objectives.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

Turning to Gaza, our humanitarian colleagues report that families across Gaza are marking the first day of Ramadan today in harsh conditions – in unsafe shelters or out in the open, and with limited access to essential goods and services.

At the Rafah crossing, conditions for passengers remain inadequate, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us.

The UN and our humanitarian partners have visited the re-opened crossing and have noted gaps in basic facilities, including limited availability of latrines and handwashing stations, raising concerns for hygiene at the collection points. People are experiencing prolonged waiting periods, often in areas with limited shade, with insufficient seating and a lack of wheelchairs. The condition of the access road to and from Rafah is also of concern, particularly for patients being medically evacuated.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-02-18

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL2FqdWOPmI

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Joint stakeout on Libya led by Ambassador Archie Young, Interim Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations, on behalf of the Security Council signatories of the Joint Pledges on Climate, Peace and Security (CPS) – Denmark, France, Greece, Latvia, Liberia, Panama, and the United Kingdom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCDYHiP6GoQ