As noted by Ms. Jahangir, Israel has a respectable record of cooperation with Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, having hosted the visits of seven Special Rapporteurs and the previous High Commissioner for Human Rights in the past three years.  Ms. Jahangir herself was the most recent visitor, completing her visit in January 2008. Moreover, the previous Special Rapporteur for the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories completed six visits to the region during his tenure.

Nevertheless, due to the highly politicized views of Professor Falk, who legitimizes Hamas terrorism and draws shameful comparisons to the Holocaust, Israel made clear that Mr. Falk was not welcome in his capacity as Special Rapporteur. The Special Rapporteur had first-hand, direct knowledge that Israel did not intend to facilitate his visit. This information had been communicated to him by a variety of mediums. 

While understanding the need of the Coordination Committee to issue a press release regarding this matter, it is regrettable that this naked publicity stunt by Professor Falk has garnered so much attention. It dishonors the excellent work done by the 37 other Special Rapporteurs, none of whom appears to seek the spotlight in the same stark manner as Professor Falk.  

It is not, as the Coordination Committee alleges, Israel’s actions which risk “undermining the effectiveness of the UN system of Special Procedures.”  Rather, this system is already being severely undermined by the existence of the unbalanced mandate that this Special Rapporteur operates under, which has not been reviewed since 1992, unlike every other Special Rapporteur mandates. Moreover, the system is critically weakened by appointment of such biased and politically-motivated individuals as Professor Falk, which contravenes the Council’s own internal procedures that call for mandate holders to be impartial and objective.

The Special Procedures Code of Conduct, adopted in Resolution 5/2, requires that Special Rapporteurs “behave in such a way as to maintain and reinforce the trust they enjoy of all stakeholders.”  Furthermore, it dictates that mandate holders shall “show discretion [in implementing their mandate], so as not to undermine…the environment necessary to discharge their mandate.” It is very difficult to reconcile these requirements with Professor Falk’s recent activities.

Israel continues to respect the vital role of the Special Procedure system in protecting and promoting human rights and will continue to cooperate with Special Rapporteurs in the future.

Israel and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a partnership framework agreement today to support development and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly in Africa.

"This agreement represents a significant commitment by Israel to improve the situation for those most in need," said Israel's Ambassador to the UN Gabriela Shalev. "In cooperation with UNDP we can support national development plans and provide the developing world with access to a wealth of Israeli technology and expertise."

The agreement represents a significant commitment to development and the largest commitment by Israel to a United Nations development agency.

"Particularly at this time of global economic crisis, support for the MDGs is more important than ever," said Kemal Dervis, UNDP Administrator. "We greatly appreciate Israel's new commitment to working with UNDP in support of development, especially in Africa. UNDP welcomes increased participation of many new donors among middle income counties. Israel has excellent technical expertise in sectors such as agriculture and is hereby committed to sharing this experience in a multilateral framework."

"The fight against poverty can help us overcome many challenges and divides," he added.

It is shocking to read the High Commissioner’s utterly shortsighted press release regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza.  Most disturbing is the way she casually refers to Palestinian aggression in the very last sentence of her statement, as almost an afterthought.   Unfortunately, Israel does not have the option of being so casual in its response to rocket and mortar attacks on its civilians, attacks which violate the most fundamental right of all, the right to life.

Overall responsibility for the situation in the Gaza Strip lies with Hamas, which invests all of its resources in arms and terrorism instead of providing for the civilians that it brutally controls. The Hamas terrorist organization and affiliated Palestinian terrorist groups have fired more 170 rockets and mortars at Israel during the past 10 days, with 25 slamming into Israel over the weekend alone. Israel is committed to maintaining the state of calm, but expects Hamas to also uphold its commitments, including cessation of terrorism and ending the arms build-up.

It is disappointing to see the High Commissioner fall victim to Hamas’ cynical manipulation of the media, and reprint blatant misinformation in her press release. Electricity and water continue to flow from Israel to Gaza, and 33 trucks laden with supplies arrived in Gaza yesterday, with more waiting to enter as soon as Hamas ends its violent attacks.

Rather than engaging in the political game being promoted by the Palestinians, Israel expects the High Commissioner to investigate the facts before issuing one-sided statements about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and to begin by forcefully condemning the perpetrators of terror.

In his press statement of 25 August 2008, the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territories again reminded us why his selection for this post was a mistake. His statement is filled with inaccuracies and outrageous misrepresentations, and is a totally unacceptable use of the offices of a UN representative.  His provocations will do nothing to benefit the Palestinian people or advance the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue towards a two-state solution.

The press statement omits or distorts several pertinent facts; especially intriguing is his decision to ignore the Hamas regime of oppression in the Gaza Strip and the repeated Palestinian firing of rockets and mortar shells from populated areas in Gaza. More than 3,000 rockets and mortar bombs have been fired at Israeli civilians and border crossings since the violent takeover by Hamas in June 2007. 

Despite the fact that Israel is not legally obligated to provide for the needs of the civilians in Gaza, Israel chooses to supply fuel and electricity to the territory, and facilitates the passage of food, medicine and other humanitarian goods through its border crossings.  Since June 2007, nearly 30,000 truckloads and over 650,000 tons of humanitarian supplies have been delivered to the territory, even as Hamas repeatedly attacks the crossings used to deliver aid to the civilians under its control.

Sadly for the civilians of Gaza, they are now under oppressive control of a murderous group that will do anything to maintain power.  This was glaringly obvious in the intra-Palestinian brutality and bloodshed that plagued Gaza only three short weeks ago, leading several hundred Palestinians to seek refuge in Israel.  The continuous smuggling of weapons via illicit tunnels also leads to many tragic deaths. The Special Rapporteur’s choice to encourage private citizens to engage terrorists who target both Israeli and Palestinian civilians is reckless.

The best hope for the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations and the welfare of the Palestinian people is the successful conclusion of negotiations that are being carried out by responsible leaders of both parties.