UN / MIDDLE EAST (02:27)

17 December 2009

UN / MIDDLE EAST (02:27)

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry says that, "we are in a race against time" to overcome obstacles towards a "political end game," and urges both Israel and the Palestinians to do more. UNTV / FILE

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Full Script

STORY: UN / MIDDLE EAST
TRT: 2.27
SOURCE: UNTV 
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 17 DECEMBER 2009, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1.Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

17 DECEMBER 2009, NEW YORK CITY

2.Wide shot, Security Council
3.Med shot, delegates
4.SOUNDBITE (English) Robert H. Serry, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process:
“We are in a race against time to overcome the contradictions on the ground and the crisis of confidence between the parties, and move decisively towards a political end game. Israel must do more in this regard by implementing Roadmap commitments, including on settlements; easing measures which stifle the Palestinians; and being prepared unambiguously to negotiate and resolve all core issues in a fixed timeframe, including Jerusalem. The Palestinians need to play their part too.”
5.Med shot, delegates
6.SOUNDBITE (English) Robert H. Serry, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process:
“The policy announced by Prime Minister Netanyahu is a step beyond previous Israeli Government positions, and has not come without domestic political challenges. We will follow closely the impact of the decision on the ground, and it must be hoped that it contributes to forward movement. However particularly as regards East Jerusalem the policy falls considerably short of Israel’s commitments under the Roadmap to freeze all settlement activity, including natural growth and to dismantle outposts erected sine March 2001.”
7.Zoom out, Security Council
8.Wide shot, Serry walks to the microphone
9.SOUNDBITE (English) Robert H. Serry, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process:
“If you want to see things moving forward then the United Nations and the international community need to stay united. The best forum for that remains the Quartet.”
10. Zoom out, Serry walks away from the microphone

STORYLINE:

Efforts to forge a Middle East peace are “in a race against time” with both sides needing to do more, Israel by fulfilling its commitments, including a settlement freeze, under an internationally endorsed plan for a two-State solution, and the Palestinians by resuming negotiations, a senior United Nations official warned today (17 December).

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry told the Security Council that both parties need to “overcome the contradictions on the ground and the crisis of confidence” and said that there is a risk of sliding backwards, imperiling both the Palestinian Authority and the two-State solution itself.
 
Serry called on Israel to implement its obligations, saying that while Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s 10-month suspension of certain settlement activity is “a step beyond previous Government positions”, by excluding East Jerusalem and other terms it falls considerably short of commitments under the so-called two-State Roadmap plan to freeze all settlement activity including “natural growth” and to dismantle outposts erected since March 2001.
 
The Palestinians have suspended peace talks since Israel’s military operations against Hamas in Gaza last winter, refusing to resume them until there is a total settlement freeze.
 
Reviewing activities over the past month, he said Israel needed to build on previous steps in the economic and security fields on the West Bank with a range of further measures, including a reduction of incursions into Palestinian areas and a further easing of closures, which currently stand at approximately 575 obstacles to movement.

In concluding his presentation, Serry said United States envoy George Mitchell reassured him yesterday of President Barack Obama’s determination to work not only for the early resumption, but also the early conclusion of two-State negotiations, as called for by the so-called Quartet, comprising the UN, European Union (EU), Russia and the US.

Outside the Council, Serry told reporters that “If you want to see things moving forward then the United Nations and the international community need to stay united. The best forum for that remains the Quartet.”

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