Transcripts For CSPAN2 Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20140807

It would go right here of my heart. I have are real and the spot. Its okay. I had a great career at nasa. I got to do a bunch of really awesome things. Most importantly i flew with some really great crews. Near the end of my red up to my Second Mission that came back and was flying to train for a shuttle landing simulation that we had doing. We landed that date. The day that this happened, this is back in 2010. It spacex launched this rocket, the falcon nine. At the top you see that dragon spacecraft. Went up into space. That went around the earth to times, came back, landed in the pacific ocean. Spacex became the first private company to send something into space and bring it back. At that time that was something that only about six or seven nations have accomplished. That was a really big deal. We landed they came up. They saw the big nasa logo and said, hey, congratulations on that also flight. That was so cool. So excited my first reaction was, well, that was really spacex, not nasa. And i thought, wait a minute. Its a publicprivate partnership. Nasa was very much involved and it never would have happened without nasa. Once i made that realization i took all the credit. Thank you very much. Glad you like that. I designed it myself. But i saw something, some excitement that i have not seen in a while. That was really interesting. I started looking around at what was happening, this new initiative that nasa was taking to involve the private sector more and give more freedom to the private sector to integrate. I saw all this innovation happening. I saw companies doing really great work. I knew that this was a promise for a really Bright Future in space. This is where progress was going to happen, and i wanted to be a part of it. Something was very difficult. I voluntarily stopped being an astronaut. That was a really great cake, but i voluntarily stepped away from that and said, want to sign up with spacex. Ive been here for three and a half years working on turning the space craft that we used to take cargo of to the space station into a humancarrying vehicle. This is what it looked like. You compare that to the previous slide, significant differences in the spacecraft. This is the one that will take people. We had now four times successfully brought cargo of and brought car go home. This guy has a bunch of advancements that make it suitable for carrying people. It will carry up to seven people. The interior looks awesome in that picture. Were going to put a lot of cargo and stuff and there. It will look quite that specious capable of carrying up to seven people. An ecosystem and life support system that you need. We have all launch escape system the key thing we are doing to improve safety is an ability we did not have on shuttle. If youre having a bad day on the falcon nine, the falcon nine launch vehicle is having a bad day you can light up those engines and have a launch abort system like an ejection seat that will take the capsule the safety just like we had previously. So we are working on that. This second picture, one of those engines. If this happens on the pad you will have about five to six gs of initial acceleration. Then there will be a nice thats what those fans are for. We have the capability to use those engines also. We hold on to them and use them for a landing. We always love parachutes at least for back up, but we want to eventually land a thing on propulsion so you can fill it up with gas and fly it again. All talk about this in a moment. We are trying at spacex to get more and more like you guys. We are trying to bring space more and more into commercial aviation. And one of the examples of that is elon musk will say this, you know, you never see a 737 land with parachutes. Pack in or get new ones. He wants to be reusable. He once as much of the space rocket comes back, you taxi to the gate, filling up with gas and go again. Thats the model we are trying to attain. So thats one example. We also have some doubt as land and Harder Services and on land obviously instead of right now our cargo ship comes back to the ocean. Thats not a good way to bring people back. We are trying to do is take nasa astronauts to and from the International Space station. We have a heat shield that it is capable of three times the heat flux of a nominal entry. So what that means is at least from a thermal prevention standpoint we can do missions to the moon. We are looking beyond. Unlike a said, we want to be more like you guys. We are trying hard to be as good as you. One of the ways i can describe how far we have to go is on this chart. The first thing i want to point out is that this is not the scale, all logarithmic scale. What i did was went and got all the statistics on how risky are different endeavors, different events. You see the one out there on the far left that has the lowest chance of fatality. Its actually one in over five and a half million. So better than one in five and a half million. That is you, commercial air flights. By the way, all these numbers are dead on accurate because ive got them all from which to appeal. [laughter] if you have any questions, its a simple answer. Anyway, you guys know youre in the one in a million plus level chance of fatality on a domestic flight. As you go down from there the next when you see is driving from los angeles to san francisco, one in 174,000. Military aircraft is one in about a hundred thousand. General aviation, one in 27,000. And maybe next year can come back and talk to you guys about why general aviation is nowhere near as good as you guys. But then in combat military aircraft in combat, one in 7,500. Im still talking about aviation i have not gotten to anything in space. The next thing is the requirement of where nasa wants us to be. This is what they want us to attain with the next generation the spacecraft. And thats one in 270. That is our aspirational goal. One in 270. You guys are at one in five and a half million. Where have we been up until now . Space shuttle, one in 68. 135 Space Shuttle missions. So one in 68. If you climb mount everest, thats slightly riskier, one in 67. About the same dangers as flying in the Space Shuttle. Even worse, one in 58. Finally for comparisons sake, modern ejection seat, the north there is misleading because that is when the guys pull the handle that is the success rate after the poet. Many of them pull it way too late. In no, if you were straight and level inside the heart of the envelope that number would be a lot better. Look how bad we are in space. We have a long way to go. Why is that . Why are we so much worse . Well, some of this is basic physics. The Kinetic Energy is roughly 100 times, two orders of magnitude what it would be of a boeing 757. I was actually flying over here and not that i procrastinated, but i was putting my presentation together on the plane ride. I was sitting in the back of a united 757 from lax to dulles. Ask the flight attendant, can you give me a favor . And trying to put this presentation together for this keynote address and giving. Can you ask the captain our gross take off weight and crew speed at knots. She elected me like what . What kind of request. All i wanted to ask was to you want something to drink. She actually did, and i get these numbers from the captain. A massive 242,000 pounds, ten times less than that at just over 20,000 pounds. The speed, look at the speed. When i converted 480 not to milesperhour at 552. Ogle velocity at low earth orbit is 17,500 milesperhour. Theres a huge difference in the energy. We go 30 times as fast as that 757 the we have 100 times the energy. If you got it, runover by a dragon it would feel like you just got run over by 10757 s. At the end result is going to be the same. [laughter] anyway, there is lot more energy involved. And then as far as los, we have to design our vehicle to survive up to 30 gs. That only happens during emergency cases, but that is what we design for. We have a thermal environment that is unforgiving plus or minus hundreds of degrees. We have vibration and acoustics. Our engines shake more and make more noise than airliners. And we have a much more difficult radiation environment. Our avionics have to struggle with that. There are some things that are just the laws of physics. There are other things that dont have to deal with the laws of physics that explain why we have not close this gap faster. If you think about it, we have been flying in space now with humans for over 50 years. Its about the same time we have been flying jet passenger planes so in that same time look at the improvements you guys have made in safety from you dont we cant say well, airplanes are safe to because we have been doing them longer. Twice as long. But if you look at jet aviation and where it was at the same time, a look at the leaps and strides the you have made. We have gone to one in 68. But the flat rate has been a lot less. So we flew during the shuttle years an average of four and a half per year. That is probably how many take offs occur from dulles and about ten minutes for so. So obviously the flight rate is vastly different. The rate of new Vehicle Development is vastly different. We are about to do our first test flights. When we do that that would be the first human test flight of any space vehicle in the United States for over 30 years. The last time we did test flights with humans on board, the very first Space Shuttle flight in 1981. We have not been it takes us 30 years to get to the next generation of vehicle. I dont know how many boeing and airbus and Mcdonnell Douglas airplanes came and went in that same 30 your time frame. But the other thing those things are difficult. The demand in the economics of such. One of the things that we can do something about, we find it is difficult to incorporate new technologies, which sounds weird. You think of space and nasa has been on the cutting edge, the latest and greatest in technology, but in reality and nasa cares a lot about safety. All of us the work in this business care about safety. In a weird way we care too much. Its a weird thing to say, but we have our risk aversion has led to kind of a situation where its hard to innovate. Its hard to incorporate new technology. So as a Contractor Building a new vehicle the path of least resistance is to do the same thing and the same technology, the same processes that we have always used. If i do that i will sail through certification. There will be no questions asked we will have to come up with reams and reams of data. If i try something new, if i try manufacturing with 3d printing which we are using to build a rocket engines, if i want to use modern electronics instead of space qualified the way theyve always been done, if i want to do Software Engineering in an agile way instead of using Software Standards that were written for mainframe computing i have a mountain to climb. I have a really tough uphill battle to try to get certified because theyre is a tremendous burden placed on doing things in a different way. The thing about that is the fear is if you dont really closely examine new technologies you can get burned and something unexpected can happen. But the perverse effect is that by being so concerned about doing something new because you will do something risky you look in safety at one in 68. You will never get better. So we have this risk aversion leading us to some extent to paralysis. The other thing is once you build it is hard to improve it. One thing that is really important is continuous improvement. You need to listen to the vehicle, look carefully. You guys look really carefully. Every time youre flying around your sending a range of data down to central locations where you go through and analyze the data, your engines, performance, environment. They collect a lot of data, but its important that when you see a problem youre able to fix it. The problem we have is that we have this high cost structure in the industry. That makes it very expensive to change things. We have solved that problem with spacex to a large degree because bear vertically integrated. Make about 80 percent and our own facility. So if you want to change something we dont have to go to our subcontractors vendor many tears down and write and get the lawyers involved and reread the contract in the subsystems packs. We do it all. So we dont have all the barriers, the cost barriers to make the change, but we do have a certification barrier. The way we do cert right now in space, it really discourages any change to the baseline configuration. Once you have the design base line, if you change anything it is expensive because of the paperwork burden involved. Of give you my favorite example. After we flew in atlantis we stop at the time that you might be the last flight. Turned out that we ended up buying one more time which was a great thing for the space station program. But we thought we might we called ourselves the first final flight. And so while were up the day before we did them burn to come home we went up to the flight deck and took one of our mission patches. We took that sticker and put it on the flight deck. The reason it was pretty easy to access in 0g but difficult to get to. We thought maybe nobody would find it. We put up there. We sign our names. And we put some words at the top on paraphrasing. The first final flight of atlantis. She was a great ship. Well, guess what . While they were doing the maintenance to turn around and fly somebody found it. And they said, you know what, guys, were going to have to scrape it off. If we let it stay there we have to do all this paperwork. We have to the reid to the drawing, the engineering drawing. As to be redone. We estimate it will cost a couple million dollars. And not making this up. There were like, okay. Scrape off. Thats how hard it is to change anything, even something as simple as putting a sticker on. So when they rolled atlantis and the Visitor Center at the Kennedy Space center somebody else who knew the story, it was still there. The technician that was charged with scrapping and often do it. [laughter] you know what, atlantis flew one more mission. [laughter] anyway, that is how hard it is to change something. And this is really bad. If you look at the to catastrophes we have, challenger and columbia, what happened was not that we killed people because we were changing things and not being careful. What happened was we kill people because there was a problem that we knew about that we didnt fix in both cases. We were continuously improving family would have potentially solve those problems and save those lives. I assert that the problem we have is not that we changed too many things but that were not changing enough. There are other things that we did move heaven and earth to fix. Other problems like cracks in the speed lines. We stood down te fleet and spent a lot of money and fix the that was probably the right thing to do, but with the vehicle as complicated as spacecraft you cant really know whats going to kill your next. It is very, very difficult. Whenever fixed the film coming off the tank, not gas and we killed two crews. Well, i think im doing pretty well on time. What i would like to do i might need a little help to start this movie. I dont want to end on that note i have a really cool movie. Ed spacex we are all about that continuing improvement, constantly searching for ways we make our product and process is better. We are not going to take the path of least resistance. And not going to do things the way of always been done. Were going to make this better. The only way were going to get to a place where we are really doing Amazing Things in space. Heres a preview. Three, two, one. And left off. And humanrated dragon is not going to be an issue. Yes. So i can tell you, look. I know you had it was kind of of little bit negative about where we are right now in terms of space. But i can tell you, this is a painful time. For about three years now since atlantis flew her last flight the United States of america no longer has the capability to send men and women in the space. We have to rely on our good friends, the russians, to take our astronauts up and down to the space station. Now, this is not a good place for this country to be. We led the way in space for so long. It is not what any of us are working in the space industry are comfortable with. What were doing is we are retooling. And when i tell people, it is never sexy when you retool the factory. You never bring tours in and take the trams by. It is when the bright, shiny toys rollout of the factory and start flying around the people going to get excited. Nasa has not stepped down one big from committing to a human space flights. In fact, popular contrary to popular myth, the budgets at nasa have stayed flat or gone higher over the past six years. We are not backing down. We simply had to stop flying the shuttle because it was costing us around 3 billion per year, and there was no way congress was torn to give us another 3 billion to do something new. As i made clear, it is important that we do something new. We have to do better than one in 68 and have a program that is sustainable as well. Exactly what were doing and what nasa has been focused on. It seemed soon the whole world will see that. Right now were in this painful time or we dont have the capability to send humans into space, but stick with us because in just a couple more years we will be spent sending humans and the space again, doing human test flights. We will be launching the americans on american rockets launching from american soil. We will come roaring back, and it will be awesome. Stay tuned. [applause] [applause] thanks. A question. Absolutely. Be happy to. [inaudible question] a lot of similarities, but a lot of differences. We can identify with a lot of what you just said. Dr. Garrett reisman has agreed to take one are two questions if we have any out there. I have one. That was a great presentation. Are there any technological advances in the work that you guys have done that we can use and vice versa . What have we done if he found would be useful for what you do . Absolutely. Some of the things that might be of most benefit the we had , we are finding that the freedom you have to do things they never could before because you were constrained by the machining process, you can print. So i think were making rocket engines chefs. Once we get comfortable with the performance and the strength of material, i think that holds great promise. In addition, there is lot that we can learn from you. In fact, that is where we started. How can we make now we are fine people. How can we make avionics better . Hey, what are the avionics, the flight computer and how many are in this triple seven . Mr. Looking at those architectures and learned how you guys do this similar redundancy, the backup modes in the events of the automated system. We are learning already a lot for me when others. Hi. Brian smith, nasa ames. And as a guy and a pilot. Can you speak a little bit to the Human Factors of the dragon flight deck to give us a little bit of insight . Sure. The dragon has seven people, but it really is a commander and pilot. The commander and a pilot because pilot and copilot. So many thousands of hours. So they dont want to be called a copilot. A pilot and the commander. Its all kind of weird. Anyway cr and. Yeah. We call it ffrm. Whatever. Its the same thing. So in dragon we will have a commander in the pilot. There is going to be and the basic mode and this is another thing that i could talk to you guys about all day. Where do you draw the line between automation and humans . That is a debate that has been going on in both of our areas of expertise for a long time. And it is a debate that is alive and well. Where we are at right now with dragon is, the primary mode of operation is going to be automatic, and it has to be because were going to use exactly the same vehicle to take cargo of but no one sitting inside. So it has to work with nobody at the controls and maybe just a little bit of help from the ground. We look at the data and by the way one thing i mentioned that hampers us is our loaf lightweight but one thing that helps us as basics the rockets uc launching when we launch a satellite but we did a couple days ago we used the same rocket thats going to be carrying peoples of the flight rate is going to be instead of four and a half a year when to be one a month where we are at right now and we will get to about three times that rate soon. That is one we will build without having to fly people every single time that we do buk at the data and then we tried to put humans in the loop we are certainly going to look at that data as well. We have had debriefings at the end and the first thing you do is come home the first thing is have a ceremony tha but after that [laughter] you spend about two weeks doing nothing but the briefing every day on every system and group that is involved in the flight. Thanks for coming. Lets gave another round of applause. [applause] okay that concludes the business portion of the 60th air safety for him. Over the two past days we have heard a number of presentations from some of the worlds leading expert on aviation safety, security and pilot health. On topics as varied as sleep apnea, flight fire not to mention the rules that cover those things. I dont know about you but as i always do ive learned a lot. We saw examples of excellent performance in team work. So less than one hour outside of the doors and that is generously sponsored so you wont want to miss that. Its a reception will run until 10 00 and then headed back into the ballroom and i will advise you to go with your possessions with you and turned the room around for the awards banquet and we will honor the pilots that went above and beyond in the past year. I want to thank you all for your attention and her dissertation this week. I look forward to seeing you at the reception just cited before you leave, one last reminder we have the critiques either online or filling out forms and putting them into baskets we want to hear what we did right and what we can do better so please take the opportunity to do that. Again, thank you and may we stand adjourned. [applause] montana senator john walsh said today that he wont be coming back to the Senate Confirming what was already the most likely conclusion to the campaign. Walsh announced ending the bid to the seat he was appointed to in february and the decision to walk away from the race highlights how unlikely victory would have been against republican representative after a recent New York Times report on walshs appearance plagiarism at the college in 2007. Again, that story in roll call today. Tonight on cspan2 continue to bring booktv highlights starting at eight eastern with her latest never trust a liberal over three especially a republican and then a Panel Featuring cornell west members of the Un General Assembly discussed the ongoing conflict in gaza and the efforts of the region speaking from egypt the un coordinator for the middle east Peace Process says the goal should be to end the blockade on the gaza and address the security needs. I called to order the informal meeting of the plenary to hear briefings on the situation in gaza. As noted august 4, 2014, i have invited the following. Mr. Robert United Nations special coordinator for the middle east Peace Process, mr. Pear commissioner general of the relief and world agency for palestine refugees in the near east, the United Nations commissioner for human rights and the assistant secretarygeneral and the deputy emergency relief coordinator mr. Kang who is with us on the podium area to. I take this opportunity to warmly welcome our secretarygeneral and our deputy secretary general and our distinguished refers to this meeting. Mr. Serry and pillay are joining by conference. I now give you the secretarygeneral mr. Ban kimoon. President of the General Assembly, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen i think the General Assembly for convening this session on the tragic situation in gaza. As you meet this morning kind you sense the long overdue ceasefire is holding. For the moment the constant firing of the rockets and the missiles and mortars has subsided. We expect the parties to fully respect the ceasefire. Weve all contributed to the agreement including egypt, the United States, turkey, the air of the states, the European Union and many other international actors. We have all been working day and night but of course we cannot rest as the suffering continues. This has come at the price that is almost too much to bear. The destruction and gaza have shocked and ashamed of the world. More than 1,000 palestinians have been killed by the vast majority of civilians including hundreds of women and children. Three civilians in israel were also killed as were the 64 israeli soldiers. People on both sides held at the right to life but also the right for life free from fear. Of course we understand the security right to defend citizens from the threat of the attacks by hamas. At the same time the fighting has raised serious attention about the respect for the principles of the distinction and the proportionality in the International Humanitarian law. Perhaps nothing symbolized more that that is unleashed on the people of gaza than the people transitioning in the un facilities, harboring civilians who have been fooled to seek a safe haven. These attacks were outrageous and unjustifiable. Yes we uncovered cases in the weapons that were stored in a small number of abandoned buildings. Yes, there were reports that the rockets were fired on the premises. Let me be clear that suspicion doesnt justify the jeopardizing lives and safety of many thousands of innocent civilians. International humanitarian law requires the protection by the parties of civilians including the un staff and premises. We must be respected and a sure protections to those in need. We must have not combat drones and those that violate the trust must be to the accountability and justice. The most recent case on the un facility will be formed to coordinate. In the breaches of the International Law must be investigated. Here before the General Assembly i want to convey the personal message to the many colleagues serving the people. Thank you for your bravery and for your sacrifice. Thank you for saving lives. I join you in the morning hour r fallen colleagues and pay our highest tribute. Tomorrow the un flag will be flown in their memory. Mr. President , excellencies you will soon hear from the un senior officials about the humanitarian catastrophe in gaza. I urge all members states to respond swiftly and generously to the emergency to address the most pressing humanitarian needs. The task before us is meeting the humanitarian needs of the people of gaza and providing care to the wounded and traumatized and ensuring that people have food and water, housing the many homeless families and repairing the vital infrastructure. We now face an enormous Reconstruction Task in the level where homes, schools and hospitals have been the straight and damaged. What we must do even more, we must turn into those prayer that address the underlying issues in the country ending rocket fire from gaza, the smuggling and offering the crossings, lifting the blockade and bringing gaza back under one Palestinian Government that sets the plo commitment. I urge the parties to heed the International Communitys call to return to the negotiations in order to end between the israelis and estonians in a viable two state solution. The last four weeks has been a terrible reminder that only the political settlement can bring security and peace to the israelis and palestinians alike. I repeat, only the settlement will bring sustainable peace and security to the palestinians and the israelis alike. Only through the exercise of more into Political Missions we enjoy the Better Future that other people yearn for and deserve. Mr. President can excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, as the secretarygeneral, i have made repeated visits to the region including gaza. I have seen the war etched in the faces of the women and children. In 2009 i stood before the warehouse still smoldering from the aftermath of the attack and yet the attacks happened again and again. Before my most recent trip i had already traveled to the region twice to end the hostilities in gaza and yet the attacks happened again then and now. The suffering in gaza and the western bank as well as israel must end. We have to continue like this to build, destroy the build and destroy . We may build again but this will be the last time to rebuild. This must stop now. They must go back to the negotiating table. They are putting the International Community citizens on this concern looking helplessly as many people being killed. The United Nations stands ready to make this the last time and we have to do Everything Possible to help those in need and support the Peace Process. I count on the engagement of all of you and i urge you to accept the response body for peace and for future generations of their people. Thank you very much. I think the secretarygeneral for his statement and i give the floor to the United Nations special coordinator in the middle east Peace Process who is joining us over the video conference. Colleagues and distinguished members of the General Assembly, im sure that we are all very much relieved with the secretarygeneral to answer the bloodshed. Im now in cairo to su support f those that we commend the efforts of egypt and the parties for entering into the dialogue to make the ceasefire durable and to address the underlying issues. Like the secretarygeneral i carry with me the experience of the war in six years between israel and gaza. It would be cynical and irresponsible if yet again that talks would be in the previous status quo. It would be in 2008 and 2009 war. The death toll is great in putting on the israeli side. As my colleagues will evaporate the need to emerge. At the onset of the crisis we deployed every possible effort including through the personal engagement of the secretarygeneral to bring about the link to the violence and in this regard we worked closely together with regional and international stakeholders. Our primary goal has been to stop the fighting and the loss of life and it has been painful to see that its taking so long into the fighting took called. On the earlier occasions the United Nations has been successful in offering the force to allow civilians to attend the necessities of their daily lives so disrupted by the hostilities. On the 17th of july they began allowing civilians to bury the injured, restock with food and other supplies or get out other vital services. We provided the infrastructures that were also initiated. On the 25th of july responding to the call of the secretarygeneral at the end of the trip from cairo the parties agreed to another ceasefire getting civilians another search window. This gives civilians they retrieved from violence and dictating the hostilities if they wanted. Despite the best efforts. And the concerted International Efforts in the prolonged ceasefire that would hold the initiations in cairo today as a result on the 31st of july and the human and terry and ceasefire for 72 hours based on assurances by the parties we have good reasons to hold the ceasefire would be respected and present lives from being lost. It took four days of unacceptable violence proposed by egypt. We have been laid out the new ceasefire by the foreign minister of egypt. We are hopeful that the ceasefire stands a better chance to hold up and has withdrawn its troops from gaza meeting the parties are no longer confronting each other in the immediate proximity. Still he urged the partie urge o exercise their utmost restraint and refrain from actions that could be interpreted as a breach from the ceasefire and report rather than retaliate against these actions. Mr. President , distinguished members, part of the fundamental issues at the root of this stability into the development and the conflict in gaza has already been identified in the Security Council resolution 1860 in 2009. But they remain unimplemented. A creation is the blockade on gaza address the legitimate security needs. For the past six years gaza has been inflicted by too many restrictions despite the specification. Such wellknown longer do. Given the massive destruction that has been brought onto gaza got the skills of which we are only beginning to comprehend at the first assessment launched. Gaza crossings must be opened in such a way that is compatible with israels security concern including measures that would counter and to safeguard the civilian use of the materials. It is my conviction that the way to achieve these interrelated goals is to bring back the Palestinian Authority to gaza. The underlining issues stand to further the chance of being resolved if they are part of a comprehensive effort to reunite the palestinian territory and the one legitimate government in the commitments. As part of this effort it is imperative to address the issue of the government. Tens of thousands of employees hired after 2007 and working in gaza are not getting paid well over 60,000 employees continue to receive settlement without the essential government functions that gaza desperately needs. This is simply not sustainable. We are looking forward to the rightful responsibilities and gaza and encouraged by developments such as the palestinian delegation to address these issues through talks under the leadership. As part of this exercise the consensus should also deploy its own Security Forces to gaza, the redeployment roughly the equipment of the socalled corridor would be an urgent and most useful step that would go a long way to enabling the full reopening of the crossings. As needed at the un or other organizations offer practical assistance to the process including the expertise on the important issue of the Security Sector reform. Mr. President established members the United Nations will work hard for this agenda. We await to them especially during the past month. We believe we can make an important conservation and advancing the comprehensive approach that they need to bring about irreversible change for the better. My office stands ready to play a role alongside the Palestinian Authority and shoring this transformative agenda is implemented. This may also need action by the members of including the Security Council at the appropriate time. The support of the community will be key while it is not merely the responsibility of the parties to move forward in a way that will leave gaza and israel away from the brink and out of the crisis for good. With all eyes on a gaza and understandably so given that good of the emergency we must not lose sight of the bigger picture, the escalation just behind us in the tense situation in the west bank and East Jerusalem. It is a warning of the reality before us if we do not see the one state reality on the ground and restore hope and the prospect for a two state solution israel and palestine living sidebyside in peace and security. Its also a symptom of our collective failure for such a long period to help the parties and the conflict that began in 1967. We must urge the support of the parties finding a way back to the negotiations and restoring the political horizon. Thank you mr. President. I think the United Nations special coordinator for the middle east Peace Process for his briefing. I now give the floor to the general who is also joining us over videoconference. Thank you very much mr. President. Mr. President and secretary general of excellency, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen allow me first to thank the secretarygeneral or his important remarks about the conflict that has unfolded in gaza since the eighth of july and also add my voice to the appeal of the International Community to take Decisive Action to address the causes and consequences of the most recent round of violence. In that regard i convey my utmost appreciation to the president of the General Assembly for convening this briefing that further advances the General Assemblys rightful role addressing the humanitarian needs and wellbeing of the refugees and in the pursuit of the just and comprehensive resolution of the era of israeli conflict including the plight of the refugees. That role is central to the work on behalf of the palestine refugees through that mandate given to us by the General Assembly. I reminded the membership of more thathatmore than anyone ele refugees now to assist and protect them in establishing over 1989. In gaza today we are experiencing the second day which like many others would be extended and consolidated into the lasting. It is a bittersweet moment. On the one hand the fighting and the killing was critically needed. On the other is the momen it ist when the full extent of the staggering and frankly catastrophic human cost of the world it becomes fully visible. The 9,500 injured civilians. After people displaced by the obstructions from the Israeli Defense forces of these 270,000 were sheltered and the schools throughout the strip this was over five times the number that we had in the installations during the 20082009 conflict. Nothing brought home to me the suffering and pain more vividly than my recent visits to the hospital in gaza where the broken bodies of children, some very Young Children into the local despair and powerlessness of the phases of their parents and relatives convey that to me once again a universal war. It was the reminder that the death and injury is never and should never be allowed to be anonymous. Palestinians are not statistics. If we have the time mr. President i would share with you some of the stories behind the youngest and oldest victims of the conflict. Behind each and every one of them, there is a personal history and destiny just as important as any of ours. This conflict has not seen only buildings and infrastructure damaged. It has been capable. The israeli civilians are unacceptable and have been deceased. The conflict doesnt spare the installations. The premises have been damaged. Six of the schools were hit directly by the rocket fire in the vicinity with a serious loss of life and injuries. This is particularly the case in we condemned such military actions by israel x. Plus ackley we cannot comprehend why they occurred and even less late have been so repeatedly. We have asked for investigations to be carried out and for accountability. There were also incidences where the weapons were stored by armed groups in some of the unused schools. The world knows about these because the inspections work and because we informed everyone on the ground and in the world through our delivery of Public Communications and the combination of these abuses of the sanctity of the premises and its plain to see the population of the team is present on the ground has gone through a lot in recent weeks anthe recent weekss opportunity mr. President to express my appreciation to my colleagues at 12,500 of them for dedication and courage. I want to inform you that as of this morning all flags across are flying at half mast to honor the memory of the colleagues that lost their lives in the beginning of the conflict as well as the staff that were killed in other fields of operation. We are touched by the expressions of sympathy and support that we have witnessed an audience most grateful to the secretarygeneral joining this initiative as of tomorrow. Excellencys and distinguished delegates since yesterday morning at the beginning of the estimated 100,000 displaced people that were sheltered have started to return to their homes. They are leaving shelters in the hope of regarding their lives but right now the foremost question they will face and we will with them is what are they going back to. Some will find their homes damaged and others destroyed and they wont return to the neighborhoods there is no electricity because the power plant has been destroyed and where there is no water available. These are the neighborhoods despite the difficulties children once played in the streets and bombs were forged. Remind us that beyond the physical destruction the population would have to review the emotional and psychological scholars from this and other rounds of conflicts. Theyve now experienced three successes in the block aid but remember they include a powerful sense of being abandoned by the world, the failure to be protected and will have a lasting effect on people. Should the currency hold the situation presents the family and agencies working with human challenges to address the coming months. Those going home in seeking to read over their lives and those having to go back requires food aid to the families unable to meet their needs. The territory and under these circumstances to these outbreaks are becoming a serious concern. I note in this regard its little more than two months away. Furthermore there is the pressing question of how we bring to 250,000 backtoschool. We have to deal with the continuing use of the significant numbers of the schools. They should be unable to open. In addressing these concerns we are engaging with the government of the National Consensus at the highest level including the president and the prime minister. More widely, the upcoming assessments will tell us more about the extensive reconstruction needs that we will need to be addressed for the homes, public buildings and infrastructure in the situation of the gaza strip with a vie thw to addressing the disaster this. We welcome the engagement of the authorities and we call on them to address families requirement on the urgent basis. The delegates and closing powwow with me to share the progress and change to occur. Those that existed in gaza before the round of fighting will not be enough. Is this time for the comprehensive action to resolve the underlying issues and the wide in israelipalestinian conflict . On my very first visit the commissioner general i pointed out that the situations in the population and for the palestine refugees was utterly unsustainable. To be sure, israel has legitimate security concerns that must be addressed. At the same time it must be listed. Until and unless that happens, gaza and for that matter the west bank under the occupation will remain dependent on humanitarian assistance. As it is all too well known, nowhere in the world does the humanitarian assistance allowed make up for the denial of the dignity and rights. Thank you mr. President. I think the commissioner general for his briefing and give the floor to the United Nations commission for human rights who is also joining us over a life video conference. Mr. President , distinguished members of the assembly as we were between israel and hamas and other groups called the immeasurable suffering [inaudible] to move forward from violence to peace. And the International Community i have stated that the parties civilians must not be challenged and must be protected. If ever the civilians including more than 400 children have been told and injured so the operation on the night of july. Caught in the midst of the uncertainties with little protection to be found. They launched the insecurity so they have been killed in israel. In the International Law i have come them the rocket fired and i have been clear that the military should be located in the densely populated areas. However, the account of i wonder party after the obligations on the International Law. They play on the distinction between the civilians that combat and the civilian objects and military objectives. The proportionality and the anticorruption. In the violation of these principles the civilians must be condemned. The conflict be viewed in isolation from the repeated operations in gaza or from the occupation. The Security Council resolution affirmed that the principle of the United Nations acquired the withdrawal of the armed forces from the occupied settlements of the refugee. The resolution is to be territory has been ignored. Many of those refugees in the facility occupation placed in 2007 have made gaza unsustainable. The occupation in gaza in the west Bank Including East Jerusalem on human rights including the rights to selfdetermination must be addressed. Thousands of homes have been the straight and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. People need water, food, shelter and above all a safety. Including even the United Nations have not been protected in this conflict. Obstacles and personnel engaged in searching for the transporting and killing the civilians and must be safeguarded. The statements of these locations must be respected at all times. In addition to the civilians are facing not legitimate challenges and all cautions should be taken to protect civilians. It is a terrible failure for the humanity not to act on yet another devastating crisis in gaza. One that has now shifted in the casualties and the duration. This operation of 2008 and 2009. The investigation into the accountability and after the military operation has not been met. This must be found. The commission then established by the Human Rights Council would help regarding those committed by the parties beginning to address the accountability as well as to the west Bank Including East Jerusalem. It is contingent and regulations that will be projected in march of 2015 should begin reconsidered as followed with appropriate action. In 2009 the mission noted to address the situation. Such a recommendation is still today. The role is to end the impunity in the placements where the National Authorities have been unable or unwilling to do so. In conclusion, there is one constant efforts to evade the nature of the International Human rights and humanitarian law. There can be no exceptions to the norms. They ensure that the value maintained on the values and the Human Dignity is indeed human life there would be no security without justice International Humanitarian law and the human rights law and ensuring the accountability are essential for peace. The conflict and the Security Council and the General Assembly and the individuals must act to bring the conflict to an end. The secretarygeneral strongly called for the talks to the groundwork for the ceasefire and for the issues including the end of gaza and almost five decades of occupation. Thank you mr. President. I think the United Nations for the human rights worker briefings. I now give the floor to the assistant secretarygeneral for humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief coordinator. Mr. President , mr. Secretary general, on behalf of the humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, i think you for this opportunity to brief the General Assembly on the humanitarian situation in gaza. Mr. President , as the previous speakers we welcomed the ceasefire that began yesterday that has brought the violence and muchneeded risk to the people of gaza who have suffered a month of intense conflict with little room to flee or seek shelter. As we have passionately and powerfully underscored the founder that it addresses the root causes of the conflict. Mr. President , over 1,860 1,860 palestinians have been killed. Of those identified at least 1,370 were civilians including 420 children in the 201 women. At least 122 palestinian families have had three or four family members killed accounting for half of the civilian fatalities. The israelis faced indiscriminate rocket fire in which the soldiers and civilians have been killed. One quarter of the population were displaced by the conflict and they fled for their life with nothing. An estimated 60,000 have lost everything in thei their homes d to rubble. The installations, public buildings and open spaces when their homes and neighbors came under fire. We hosted a sum 190 at the peak of the conflict. They are still hosted and the other facilities including the buildings have been hit and damaged. The staff that have been killed the Public Health system is on the verge of collapse. One third of hospitals, 14 primary Health Clinics and 29 Palestinian Ministry of Health Ambulances have been damaged in the fighting. More than 40 of medical staff were unable to reach the places of work due to widespread violence. Half of all public primary Health Clinics were closed. Basic Emergency Care is severely compromised at the time when treatment including for the more than 9,500 injured is urgently required. Hospitals and clinics have been overwhelmed by the numbers of casualties and the severity of the wound. Doctors have beethe doctors havn hallways and parking lots and there was already a critical shortage of medical in the gaza strip. Medical teams have struggled to save lives in dangerous circumstances. The damage to the water sanitation system has been immense. More than 1 Million People do not have access to water. Gazas only power plant was damaged last week and theater damaged as well planting much of the strips into darkness but the longterm consequences are far greater. Hospitals dont have electricity to adequately power critical machinery. Food production is reduced. Water and sewage cannot be pumped. Some people have been without water for nearly two weeks. Sewage is backing up and risks flooding the lowlying areas and contaminating the water system. This makes the outbreak of the communicable order Borne Disease is a very serious task. A very serious risk. Mr. President prevalence of the unexploded ordinance makes the comprehensive assessment very difficult. But the preliminary reports revealed a situation of other devastation particularly in areas that israel did claire danes no go zone. Large packs of neighborhoods damaged or destroyed. The staff on the ground reports the level of destruction to civilian infrastructure, private homes and land is much greater than in the previous conflicts. We remain deeply concerned about the ceasefire that it will not hold. Many people have returned home but only to assess the damage and to salvage what they can and then returned to the shelters. Some shops in the center are open and people are able to stock up. Dozens of people want to or will have to remain in shelters despite the overcrowding, shortage of food and an adequate hygiene facilities. Buildings designed to educate 500 children are sheltering over 3,000 people. The humanitarian workers have tirelessly supported people with basic assistance. In addition to the efforts of the colleagues, we provided food to the displaced people of hospitals. The who facilitated the transfer to the hospitals and clinics. Unicef is supporting the water sanitation systems. Our ngo partners played a Critical Role in delivering the muchneeded aid. The ceasefire has enabled us support could be stepped up to d we can now reach people trapped by fighting. But the needs remain enormous. The population of gaza, over half of them children were already destitute before the outbreak of the latest conflict. Seven years of blockade driven on employment to 43 . Food and security to around 57 iof the population come and its left approximately 80 of the people dependent on external assistance. Significant and sustained International Commitment is required to repair the damaged infrastructure and restore likelihoods. What are, sanitation and electricity infrastructure and network must be urgently repaired and to do so we need a quick minute and tools. We need more medicine to be sent to gaza. There are at least 50 patients a day to the west bank and in jerusalem. For those that can return to their homes, we must provide a basic supply that they need. We need to find alternative venues for the shelters so that the Upcoming School years bitter due to begin in just three weeks is not disrupted. The funding is also urgently required. The un partners have appealed for 367 million to address immediate needs. I strongly encourage the Member States to respond quickly and generously to the appeal. People need help now. The world watched the impact of the conflict on children and civilians. Of restoring trust and dealing take generations. With the trauma of the war could we witnessed the violations in the International Humanitarian human rights law. The negotiations are critical. People want peace, security and stability. The israelis want the same. We cannot allow the return to the state of active conflict where there is an absence of protection of civilians. Mr. President , no one has escaped this conflict. People illustrated that the International Community was not able to protect them during the fighting and are akin to us again for help. We cannot fail them. People deserve to live in peace, security and dignity. Theyve been deprived of this for too long. The blockade must be lifted. The cycle must end for good so that we can live free from the fear of and reality of the war and conflict. Thank you very much. Thank you for the briefing. Before opening the floor i would like to inform the members the general needs to leave this time due to a commitment. I would also like to inform the members that both mr. Serry michelet shortly around 11. 015. So at that time, i will give both an opportunity to a sponsor to any questions that have been raised up until then. To the members to effectively use as the distinguished may i request delegations to make their statements as concise as possible and not any longer than three minutes . Thank you in advance for your cooperation. What we now invite the observer of the state of pakistan. Thank you for convening the meeting and the response to the other groups request to allow the General Assembly to receive these important briefings as we collectively consider the crisis in palestine are rising from this criminal district of war against the occupation and the strip. As we determine the most appropriate international response, this calamity based on the International Law and the un in political and moral sensibilities on the question of palestine and our shared humanity. Its only fitting that the General Assembly makes its contribution. I think the secretary general for his presence at this meeting and for his dedicated advocacy for peace including the recent mission to the region and efforts to promote a ceasefire. I also think the commissioner for, the commissioner, the special coordinator for the middle east Peace Process and the secretarygeneral for the humanitarian efforts and that emergency relief coordinator for their comprehensive and compelling situation. On the people and their leadership is to convey to them there is on the ground but gratitude for the tireless efforts to alleviate to the extent possible under the conditions in gaza the extreme hardships by people including the emergency aid in food, water, shelter and medical care and to raise the International Awareness of the massive Human Rights Violations and the humanitarian law being committed by Israel Occupied in the public. They have done so by placing their own lives in the juror and for this, the Palestinian People will never forget the sacrific sacrifices. Weve lost 11 Staff Members and again we express our deepest condolences to the un family for the lives of the un personnel so tragically taken in this aggression. We would also like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude for the compassionate and generous support of states from all around the world in this enormous humanitarian relief effort. Pain, sorrow and anger of thousands of palestinians and indeed the entire palestinian nation review the loss of loved ones including so many innocent children and the 1. 8 Million People in gaza trying to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives under the unbearable and humane conditions inflicting this military campaign and the efforts of the un agencies and humanitarian organizations on the ground continue to serve as a lifeline for our people. Helping them to survive and reminding them that they are not alone in this. That has continuously brought us together to address such crises and that has repeatedly brought shame to the global family. Damage the credibility of the u. N. , undermined International Goals and allow the suffering of so many innocent people who go on for far too long. In reality while much is said about the rule of law and human rights the constant appeasement of israel has fostered the belief that it is a state above the law a mean from punishment, even when it commits war crimes and threatens International Peace and security. Plus, despite our collective relief, at the humanitarian ceasefire at the moment, we remain deeply grieved by the death destruction and deprivation systematically inflicted against defenseless civilian population in gaza in broad daylight and in grave breach meant with the humanitarian human rights law. Nothing could justify the killing including massacres and the maiming of children, women and men. Nothing can justify the wants wants and describe distractions of homes and civilian infrastructure reflecting the humanitarian disaster with massive health, social, economic psychological and developmental consequences. Nothing can justify inflicting terror and trauma on an entire people. While we are actively seeking in and to the violence within amedi and comprehensive ceasefire and a large palestinian, a large palestinian delegation is participating in the ongoing talks to secure a ceasefire on the basis of the Egyptian Initiative, we will continue to call for full respect of International Law and appeal to the International Community not to relent in this demand for israel and the occupying power. We are also simultaneously seeking just and Sustainable Solutions to resolve the underlying issues that have brought so much misery to our people including in and to the israeli blockade which has suffocated and disfigured life in gaza for the past eight years. And we will not prevent exposing the crimes of the occupying power and in seeking accountability fully aware that there can be no peace in the absence of justice. Mr. President , we have all heard the briefings, and the figures are staggering. The tragic stories and images of the dead, wounded and broken lives are weighing heavily on our hearts and conscious. The death toll stands at more than 1860 palestinians killed by the Israeli Occupying forces. All estimates indicate that at least 85 of those killed have been civilians, including the killing of at least 429 childr children, 243 women and 79 elderly persons. Graphic reflection of israelis deplorable disregard for civilian life is the fact that at least 122 families as we heard this morning, lost three or more family members in the same violent incident, totaling more than 420 fatalities. Most in bombings and airstrikes leveling homes on top of entire families and others in the israeli strikes in schools sheltering the space where children are sleeping next to their parents, slaughtered in grave breach of humanitarian and human rights. More than 9000560 palestinians have been injured including 2877 children, 1853 women and 374 elderly by israili is excessive and indiscriminate force. Many have been severely burned and many of the injured will suffer permanent disabilities including thousands of children who will struggle for the rest of their lives with the physical and psychological scars of the israelis brutality against. The Israeli Aggression has caused a massive wave of displacement suffered yet again by our refugees who comprise the majority of gazas population. Its estimated over half a Million People, more than a quarter of the palestinian civilian population in gaza have been displaced. With more than 270,000 who have sought shelter in schools. Of the displaced, at least 65,000 people will not be able to return to their homes which have either been completely destroyed or damaged beyond repair. In total, more than 5500 have been destroyed. More than 4600 homes partially damaged and more than 30,000 other homes have sustained damage. This does not include the destruction brought by the forces on the other civilian properties and infrastructure including hospitals, schools, mosques, churches and water, sanitation and Electricity Networks including gazas power plant all of which were already struggling under the crippling impact of malarkey. Visit as we regrettably know by now has led to what the u. N. Concluding describing as a Health Disaster of widespread proportions. A critical shortage of medical equipment and medicines have left many struggling to survive and hospitals are near collapse with vital supplies almost depleted and lack of electricity leaving them dependent on unreliable generators placing many more civilian lives at risk. Infections and other diseases are also on the rise due to the lack of access to save water, raw sewage in the streets and on hygienic conditions including an overcrowded schools sheltering thousands yet only having the capacity for hundreds. President Mahmoud Abbas has declared gaza a disaster area. There is a desperate and vast need for humanitarian assistance of all kinds requiring the mobilization of all humanitarian relief capacities and the disposal of the u. N. We appeal to all Member States to support this effort broadly and in any way possible including by contributing generously to the gazas appeal which presents the strategy of the humanitarian community including anna was to respond to the Current Crisis in the gaza strip. Devastating the gaza strip and giving people hope especially our Younger Generation who have lived all of their lives under occupation and in gaza have endured another deadly war. Mr. President selfdefense according to the charter does not permit such savagery and cannot preclude the wrongfulness of such actions and this right cannot be invoked by israel to justify this premeditated military aggression against the Palestinian People that it has subjugated through unending oppression, polarization and collective punishment under its 47 the year military occupation of the palestinian territory including in jerusalem since 1967. This belligerent occupation of palestine is the source of all the ills and evils we are confronting today and any efforts to address this crisis and to find Lasting Solutions must be undertaken in this context. We must remind repeatedly there is no symmetry in this conflict. There is an occupying power with clear legal obligations including the obligation to ensure the safety wellbeing and protection of the civilian population under occupation and there is an occupied people entitled to the protections of International Humanitarian law including under the Fourth Geneva Convention and their human rights including they are in a winnable right to selfdetermination and freedom. These rights are being grossly violated by israel and occupying power with disastrous consequences as the eminent briefers have borne witness today. This war has proven yet again that israel is the occupying power is totally unwilling to uphold its obligations and is the direct source of the suffering and insecurity of our people. We reiterate the request made by president abbas to the secretary general for the provision of International Protection for the Palestinian People. The International Community must uphold its responsibilities and rise to this challenge and give true meaning to the pledge an obligation to protect civilians which has been thrown into such grave doubt by this war on our people. We have begun the discussion with the u. N. At all levels and are ready to discuss with all interested Member States so that we might collect may collectively determine how to provide this desperately needed protection until this occupation is brought to them and, to an effective end. This will also be a focus of our efforts for a high contracting parties to the four geneva conventions who we have asks switzerland to consider enforcement measures. It is our hope that our combined efforts will bring about the substandard transformation of the situation to bring calm and salvage the greatly diminished prospects for peace. We thus continue to ask the Security Council to uphold its duties and adopt a draft resolution that is now before it in order to ensure a durable ceasefire and address the underlying issues that continue to be the cause of so much suffering and instability including ending the inhumane israeli blockade of gaza. We will persist in all of these efforts and remain unrelenting and the pursuit of their rights, justice, freedom and dignity that the Palestinian People have been so wrongfully denied but which are rightfully theirs to claim trade great i thank you very much mr. President. I now give the floor to the representative israel. Mr. President , Winston Churchill one of the great architects of this institution is remembered for his remarkable ability to perceive danger long before the rest of the world had woken up to the threat. In 1935, four years before world war ii churchville criticized the International Community for standing by as germany rapidly rearmed itself. In his words, the family of nations suffered from a foresight and an unwillingness to act when action would be simply effective and the lack of Clear Thinking and confusion of counsel until the emergency comes and until selfpreservation strikes its jarring call. The International Community is once again facing a severe lack of foresight, an unwillingness to see. Everyday we are confronted by stories of radical islamic terrorism. Isis is purging iraq of christians. Boko haram has kidnapped schoolgirls in nigeria and gunmen are raiding fishing villages on the somalian coast and yet this is simply doesnt utter a word. It can only muster its outrage when israel acts to defend its citizens. The double standards are absolutely appalling. In iraq, over 1600 people were killed in july. In libya, clashes between rival militias killed 200 people last month and in Nigeria Boko Haram assaulted nearly 3000 people this year. It may just be me but i didnt hear the air group rally to condemn these atrocities. Instead, this group gangs up against the only democratic nation in the middle east and is defending its citizens from the totalitarian forces threatening every enlightened country in this assembly. I heard the head of speaking today in a special envoy on the briefings of high u. N. Officials this morning. They talked about addressing the causes and consequences of this conflict, so lets begin by reminding this assembly of something. When i headed israels Foreign Service in 2005, israel turned every inch of gaza to the palestinians. We hoped this would serve as a model for two societies to live sidebyside in peace but instead hamas builds a terrorist stronghold. We went out completely out of gaza, gave them greenhouses. Gaza could have turned into an amazing place. Does israel have an interest in gaza . We left gaza never to look back on to gaza but look at what hamas created in gaza. And i havent heard a clear and unequivocal statement by the officials of the United Nations saying squarely and unequivocally that all attempts to achieve a ceasefire were broken by hamas. Israel said yes to each and every one of them. Hamas said no and now its impossible to utter that statement. And yes you say and i sent sentiments that israel has legitimate security needs that must be addressed. Very nice words, but how do you address, how do you defend your citizens when hamas uses the money that comes from good people in this assembly to build gaza to build terror tunnels. Hundreds of millions, cement, steel instead of building kindergartens and schools and hospitals . Creating a launching pad for nearly 10,000 missiles. You ask yourself, my god in that small place how could they amassed so many rockets in one place . Those are the consequences . We went out of gaza because we wanted that to be a model for the next stage. It is clear that some in the International Community have lost their way. This institution was founded to stand for truth, for justice and for more clarity. This is no longer the case. Instead of more clarity we see more ambiguity. Instead of justice we see travesties of justice and instead of truth we see falsehoods and fabrications. It might be too much for you or to ask you to stand on our side between salacious civilization but at least have the decency to swallow your selective outrage as israel wages war against extremist war groups seeking to eradicate the values that we hold very dear. Mr. President , israel is on the frontline of the war against radical extremism. The battle we fight today is the same battle that you all will fight tomorrow. Hamas like isis and al qaeda shares of disdain for democracy, a contempt for modernity and a willingness to target innocent civilians. And yet some of you have abandoned the only democracy in the middle east standing against the tide of terrorism. What does this say about your values . What does it mean for the next generation . This institution is being held hostage by some in this assembly for the worst human rights abuses. We are nations backed by some members of the nonalignment group have the members but they dont have the morris. They issue could and push through resolutions demonizing israel. In fact i wouldnt be surprised if the arab states passed a resolution saying that terror tunnels were actually simply an irrigation system and the rockets were nothing more than shooting stars. Mr. President israel did everything in its power to avoid this whole thing. We accepted every ceasefire. Even as the people of israel came under attack. The world witnessed hamas is understanding of ceasefires. What were those understandings . Israel sees an hamas fires. We are left with no choice. We send our sons and daughters into gaza for one reason and one reason only, to restore sustained quiet in israel and disrupt the hamas infrastructure that has produced terror and violence for well over a decade. Israel deeply regrets the loss of innocent lives. We are heartbroken as each and every one in this room by the stories and images of loss and grief that have emerged from gaza. To us, the death of any civilian israeli or palestinian is a tragedy. Israel faces an enemy that does not abide by any rules or mora morays. Hamas has no problem with abusing humanitarian centers and religious institutions for terrorist purposes. It stores weapons in our facilities, transports terrorists in ambulances and fires rockets indiscriminately at mosques, schools and hospitals deep into the heart of civilian centers. Six stories below gaza, six stories below gaza are miles of dense tunnels crisscrossing like a giant wave. Thousands of tons of concrete and supported by massive beams these terror tunnels extend like tentacles into israel ending at the doorsteps of our communities. For years the International Community criticized israel for restricting the entry of Construction Material into gaza and for Years International communities believed it was sending money to develop those. In truth like i said, the Construction Materials were only aiding hamas to build terrorist strongholds. The fact that hamas directs its budget underground rather than aboveground proves once again that it has no concern for the welfare of the Palestinian People. Let me remind you that hamas unity government, this idea is absolutely absurd. Its like inviting isis to participate in the Iraqi Government and yet when it comes to israel this absurdities somehow is acceptable. Few nations have the courage to admit that hamas is committing a double war crime. Targeting its civilians while hiding behind palestinian civilians. Few still have the courage to admit that hamas is willing to see its own children killed so i can build sympathy for its goals. By not vocally and unequivocally condemning hamas, you are condemning another generation of israelis and palestinians who are further suffering. There is only one way to achieve sustained quiet in israel and build a peaceful and prosperous gaza. Hamas must be disarmed. Gaza must be demilitarized and the International Community must divorce itself from the romantic notion of hamas as freedom fighters. Hamas has been clear about its intentions. It is a genocidal organization committed to the destruction and murder of the jewish people. A few days ago hamas spokesman vows he bought tomb called on palestinians to murder israelis by any means saying and i quote anyone with a knife, club or weapon who does not run down a and killed dozens of scientists with these themes does not believe to belong to palestine and many in the International Community are still not convinced of hamas is murderous intentions. This is a dangerous delusion. The renowned israeli novelist and peace activists expresses it best when he said and i quote i have been amended compromise on my life that even a man of compromise cannot approach hamas and say maybe we meet halfway and israel only exists on mondays, wednesdays and fridays. Mr. President yesterday the jewish people marked a national day of mourning commemorating the shame of jewish tragedies that occurred on this day and stretching back thousands of years. I look around the world and i see no and to the grief from the persian gulf to the gulf of the number. Countless innocent men women and children are being oppressed and murdered by extremist groups. No nation and now people are immune to this threat. The jewish people know the dangers of intolerance and indifference all too well. Every generation our enemies have risen up against us and this generation is no different. For thousands of years we face to this threat alone but it does not have to be this way. No nation should stand alone while its sons are kidnapped and brutally murdered by terrorists. No nation should alone, should stand alone as thousands rained upon our cities and towns and no nation should stand alone as its enemy but its a fast network of tunnels to ambush its civilians. Every member of this assembly have a choice. You can take a firm stand against terrorism were stand on the sidelines as the threat grows stronger throughout the world. You can support israels right to defend its citizens or support some of the worst human rights abuses. He can stand up for peace and freedom are sacrificed years of persecution on the altar of petty politics and personal agendas. 70 years ago Winston Churchill bemoaned what he saw as the inability of mankind to act until the emergency comes. Today im here to issue a warning. Stand with israel and stand against terror before it is too late, before the danger lands on your doorstep and selfpreservation strikes its thank you mr. President. I thank debriefers who were with us and have either left or are about to leave. The next speaker is lebanon on behalf of the arab states. [speaking in native tongue] translator to hear briefings by the secretarygeneral and the high officials of the United Nations regarding the impact of the Israeli Aggression on the gaza strip, the threats and challenges that the humanitarian level which is ultimate. In this respect i would like to thank the secretarygeneral as well as pillay and mr. Kang for their exhaustive briefings and a very painful figures they shared with us. I would like to extend my most heartfelt condolences to the United Nations regarding the victims of the Israeli Aggression against gaza. This meeting is taking place during a truce, a 72 hour truce and we welcome the Egyptian Initiative as well as to thank them for their efforts. We welcome the palestinian delegations participation in negotiations in cairo to achieve a permanent ceasefire which would lead to a lifting of the barricade on gaza to restore dignified life to our Palestinian People. President , over a month has passed and the civilian population has suffered from israeli which is ongoing. It is unprecedented aggression. The seas on gaza is being punished continuously. A few figures for you. 1850 victims most of them children, women and the elderly. A few more figures. 9000 wounded and injured. The majority of them children, women and the elderly