Secretary-General's remarks to the Special Meeting Commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People [as delivered]
United Nations Secretary-General
25 November 2025
New York, UN
Statements | António Guterres, Secretary-General
Delivered by Courtenay Rattray, Chef de Cabinet
I have the honour to deliver a message from the Secretary-General.
Today, we gather to reaffirm a simple truth: The Palestinian people have a right to dignity, to justice, and to self-determination.
Yet over the last two years, these rights have been violated beyond comprehension.
Gaza lies in ruins.
Hunger, disease and trauma run rampant.
Schools, homes and hospitals lie shattered.
And tens of thousands of people — the majority women and children — have lost their lives.
The people in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, also endured unspeakable hardship amidst Israeli military operations, settler violence, settlement expansion, evictions, and demolitions.
The October ceasefire agreement offers glimmers of hope. And the adoption of the resolution on Gaza by the Security Council is an important step in its consolidation.
I appreciate the efforts of the mediators — principally Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, and the United States — and urge all parties to abide by it in full, and move swiftly towards the next phase.
It is essential to translate this diplomatic momentum into concrete and urgently needed progress on the ground.
Lifesaving humanitarian aid must enter Gaza without obstruction and at scale. Israel's obligations are clear, as outlined by the International Court of Justice in its recent Advisory Opinion.
And I call on all Member States to meet the vital $4 billion target of the Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
UNRWA too remains a lifeline. A lifeline for millions of Palestinians. The international community must stand behind it, in the occupied West Bank, in Gaza, and in its work with Palestinian refugees across the region.
Statehood for the Palestinians is a right. I repeat my call for an end to the unlawful occupation of the Palestinian Territory — as affirmed by the International Court of Justice and the General Assembly — and for irreversible progress towards a two-State solution, in line with international law and relevant UN resolutions, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security within their secure and recognized borders, on the basis of pre-1967 lines, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States.
Excellencies,
Many of the recent attacks in the occupied West Bank were directed at Palestinians attempting to harvest their olive crops.
It is hard to ignore the irony:
This symbol of peace — native to the Middle East, known throughout the world, and featured on the UN flag itself — trampled.
It is emblematic of the way this tragedy has tested the norms that have guided the international community for decades.
More journalists have been killed than in any conflict since the Second World War — the vast majority of them Palestinians.
More humanitarians, most of them UN colleagues of UNRWA, have died than at any point in the history of our Organization — again, the majority of them Palestinians.
To deliver justice for Palestine is to stand up for rights and laws everywhere.
The United Nations will never waver in its commitment to the Palestinian people and their right for self-determination.
I call on all governments, civil society, faith leaders and ordinary citizens to raise their voices with us.
Dear friends,
Hope can become reality.
Hope that children in Palestine and Israel will one day wake to a world without fear.
Hope that families across the Middle East will live in dignity, not despair.
Hope that two peoples — bound by history, geography and humanity — will live side by side in peace.
On this International Day of Solidarity, let us turn that hope into action, and help the olive tree grow once more.
For justice, for humanity, and for peace.
Thank you.
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