The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question: Quarterly Open Debate
Tomorrow (29 April), the Security Council will hold its quarterly open debate on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question” (MEPQ). French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot will chair the meeting. UN Secretary-General António Guterres is the expected briefer.
Guterres is likely to describe the dire conditions in Gaza nearly two months after the expiry of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that went into effect in January. Citing Hamas’ rejection of US proposals to extend that phase, Israel announced on 2 March that it would prevent the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies into Gaza, and it subsequently resumed large-scale military operations in the territory on 19 March. According to a 23 April update from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), quoting numbers from Gaza’s Ministry of Health as at 17 April, the renewed fighting had killed 1,691 people—including 595 children and 308 women—pushing Gaza’s total death toll since the beginning of the conflict past 51,000. Humanitarian personnel and journalists have also been among the casualties of the hostilities. Nearly 420,000 people have been newly displaced, while almost 70 percent of the territory is either under forced evacuation orders or part of areas that Israel has claimed as expanded security buffer zones.
Humanitarian operations remain severely curtailed as food and medical supplies are running low. In its 23 April update, OCHA described the current conditions in Gaza as “likely” constituting the worst humanitarian crisis in the territory since the beginning of the war, and it said in a post on X the following day that aid operations “are on the brink of collapse”. On 25 April, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it had depleted all its food stocks in the territory.
Meanwhile, negotiations to restore the ceasefire remain deadlocked. Most recently, following the exchange of several short-term proposals facilitated by Egyptian, Qatari, and US mediators, Hamas reportedly suggested a five-year ceasefire framework under which it would release all remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the restoration of humanitarian access, and the beginning of reconstruction efforts. Israel reportedly rejected that proposal because it does not require Hamas to disarm, which is one of the country’s conditions for ending the war.
In an 8 April press encounter, Guterres described Gaza as a “killing field” where “civilians are in an endless death loop”. He called on Israel to restore humanitarian access and protect humanitarian personnel, citing Israel’s international legal obligations as an occupying power to ensure the population’s access to food and medical supplies, safeguard critical civilian infrastructure, and facilitate aid. He also called on Hamas to release all remaining hostages and on both parties to renew the ceasefire. At tomorrow’s open debate, Guterres and many member states are likely to echo these messages.
In this regard, some speakers may refer to the hearings that began today (28 April) at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel’s obligations in relation to the UN, other international organisations, and third states in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). In December 2024, the General Assembly requested the ICJ to provide an advisory opinion on this question after the Israeli Knesset (parliament) passed two laws restricting the operations of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). One piece of legislation prohibits Israeli officials from having contact with UNRWA or anyone acting on its behalf, while the other prohibits UNRWA from operating on Israeli territory, which the country interprets as encompassing the OPT, including East Jerusalem, where UNRWA’s West Bank field office is based. According to UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, the legislation has impeded the Agency’s ability to implement its mandate by curtailing its aid operations, threatening the functioning of its educational facilities, and preventing its international staff from entering the OPT. At today’s ICJ hearing, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel Elinor Hammarskjöld stressed that the UN depends on its special protections and immunities to implement its mandated activities and emphasised Israel’s obligation to administer the OPT “for the benefit of the local population”. Tomorrow, several speakers are likely to express support for UNRWA’s work, stressing its critical role as the primary service provider to Palestinian refugees in the OPT.
Many speakers are also expected to reiterate concern about the situation in the West Bank. Since January, Israel has been conducting what it has described as a large-scale counterterrorism operation there, concentrated in four refugee camps in the northern part of the territory. According to OCHA, the operation—which is the longest in the West Bank since the early 2000s—has led to the displacement of “tens of thousands” of people, who remain unable to return to their homes. It has also reportedly coincided with an expansion of Israeli settlements and access restrictions, as well as a rise in settler violence.
Some speakers may also express alarm at escalating tensions across the broader region. Following the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israel has launched a series of airstrikes against military targets in the country, in what it has described as part of its campaign to destroy weapons and military posts abandoned by Assad’s forces to ensure that they are not recovered by “hostile forces”. Citing security risks, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have also positioned forces within the buffer zone between Israel and Syria—which was established by the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between the countries—and within Syrian territory, actions that UN officials and other observers have described as a violation of that agreement. Additionally, Israel has continued to maintain a presence in southern Lebanon and to strike Hezbollah targets despite its November 2024 ceasefire agreement with the military group. At tomorrow’s meeting, Guterres and some member states may express concern at recent statements by Israeli officials indicating that the IDF will remain in “security zones” as a buffer in “any temporary or permanent situation” in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. They may call on the country to abide by its international legal commitments in this regard.
Against the backdrop of escalating violence across the OPT and the wider region, several speakers are expected to underscore the importance of addressing the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by initiating a political process towards the implementation of a two-state solution. In this regard, some speakers may express support for the plan that the League of Arab States (LAS) endorsed in March, which outlines steps for Gaza’s reconstruction and long-term governance with the ultimate aim of preserving the viability of the two-state solution and preventing the resurgence of hostilities. Egypt proposed this plan after US President Donald Trump made a series of remarks suggesting that the US would “take over” Gaza after the war and that neighbouring countries would resettle displaced Palestinians, who would not have a right to return to the territory. While the comments were strongly rejected by Palestinians and much of the international community, Israeli officials have advanced plans for the “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians from Gaza.
Relatedly, some speakers may emphasise the need for the international community to agree on concrete commitments during the upcoming High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. This conference—which was mandated by the General Assembly in December 2024—is scheduled to take place in June at UN Headquarters in New York and will be co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia.
