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2026 Conference on the Question of Jerusalem

“Jerusalem: The Frontline of Displacement and Annexation and the Key to Just and Lasting Peace”

Remarks by Dr. Rania Al-Mashat,

Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations

and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)

18 July 2026, Cairo, Egypt

(As delivered)

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my honour to address you today on behalf of the United Nations.

Allow me, at the outset, to convey our appreciation to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for convening this important Conference.

I also extend our gratitude to the Government and people of Egypt for hosting us here in Cairo.

There is no city like Jerusalem.

The city is sacred to Muslims, Jews and Christians. It should be an inspiration of coexistence and peace. Its unique spiritual, religious and cultural dimensions need to be protected and preserved. ??The position of the United Nations is clear: the status of Jerusalem cannot be altered by unilateral actions. Jerusalem’s demographic and historical character must be preserved; and the status quo at the Holy Sites must be upheld, in line with the special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Fundamentally, Jerusalem must remain a place of peaceful coexistence. Yet today, the reality tells a different story.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The facts are stark.

In 2025 alone, demolitions of Palestinian homes and other structures by the Israeli authorities displaced near 1,800 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.[1]

Nearly 900 of them were children.

This was the highest annual number recorded by the United Nations since monitoring began in 2009.

In the first three months of 2026, more than 500 additional Palestinians were displaced through further demolitions.

These are not simply structures being demolished.

They are homes.

They are communities.

They are lives being torn apart.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The pressure on Palestinian land and communities continues to intensify.

Settlement activity across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is proceeding at an alarming pace.

And settler violence continues to rise.

Plans for approximately 37,000 housing units in occupied East Jerusalem were advanced at the municipal and district levels as part of plans for new settlements, settlement expansions or urban renewal of existing settlements.

Every new settlement only fuels tensions, further entrenching the unlawful Israeli occupation.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Movement is also being severely restricted.

As of December 2025, there were 925 movement obstacles across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

This was the highest number recorded in twenty years — 43 per cent above the two-decade average.

They cut communities off from their farmland, schools, and hospitals, and undermine access to essential services.

In May 2025, the Israeli authorities forcibly closed six 蘑菇视频RWA schools in occupied East Jerusalem, affecting around 800 students.

Children were denied access to their classrooms.

Their education was disrupted.

And their future was placed at further risk.

Demolitions, violence and movement restrictions, including restrictions on access to livelihoods, schools and hospitals, have steadily eroded years of hard-won human development gains while exacerbating human insecurity.

The continued expansion of Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution and a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace.

The International Court of Justice was equally clear in its advisory opinion of 19 July 2024: Israel is under an obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities, and to evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The law is crystal clear and so is what needs to be done.

What is needed now is action.

At this critical moment, let me reiterate the Secretary-General’s unequivocal position:

The unlawful continued presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory must be brought to an end as rapidly as possible, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice.

The inalienable rights of the Palestinian people must be realized.

International law must be respected, and accountability ensured.

The prospect of a unified, contiguous, sovereign Palestinian State must be preserved.

The path must be opened for a just lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

There is only one viable route: the two-State solution in line with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.

Anything short of a just political solution will condemn Palestinians and Israelis alike to further suffering, loss and destruction. It will perpetuate the cycles of violence, dispossession and insecurity that have inflicted such profound human suffering for generations. Our collective responsibility extends beyond ending the conflict. It is to help create the conditions for a future defined by peace, dignity and opportunity. Together, the international community must help transform today’s suffering into hope, recovery and sustainable development, so that future generations of Palestinians and Israelis can live in security, prosperity and mutual respect.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

In closing, allow me to reiterate the Secretary-General’s appeal to the international community for a solution with Israel and a fully independent, democratic, contiguous, viable and sovereign Palestinian State, of which Gaza is an integral part – living side by side in peace and security within secure and recognized borders, on the basis of the pre-1967 lines, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States.

This Conference is an opportunity to reaffirm a simple truth:

Jerusalem must not be used to divide.

It must remain as a city that brings people together, a city where people of all faiths can live side by side in peace, exercise their freedom of worship, and look to the future with hope. Not through occupation, exclusion or restrictions.

But through the rule of international law, justice, mutual respect and peace.

Thank you.

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