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USUN PRESS RELEASE #   013(09)
January 17, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 		Office of Press and Public Diplomacy
United States Mission to the United Nations
140 East 45th Street
New York, N.Y. 10017
Statement by Ambassador Alejandro Wolff, Deputy US Permanent Representative, on the situation in the Middle East, in the General Assembly, January 17, 2009
Mr. President, as we stated earlier today, the United States is deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza and southern Israel. This is a very serious matter which is now best dealt with through active diplomatic efforts on the ground, including the Egyptian initiative. The basic elements for a durable cease-fire have been laid out.

The UN has spoken through Security Council Resolution 1860, and the Secretary General is in the region right now working to find a solution and ensure the resolution’s implementation.

Other initiatives that complement and support these efforts are in play as well, including the Memorandum of Understanding regarding the prevention of the supply of arms and related materials to terrorist groups signed today in Washington, D.C. between the United States and Israel. This is an effort to end the direct cause of the current hostilities – the flow of weapons and explosives into Gaza.

A separate General Assembly resolution is neither necessary nor helpful and certainly not an unbalanced one that is silent on the issue of Hamas rockets. All efforts should be focused on the real work of implementing Security Council Resolution 1860 out in the region, so that we can then turn again back to the goals of UN Security Council Resolution 1850 – and that is a lasting peace based on an enduring commitment to mutual recognition, freedom from violence, incitement, and terror, and the two-state solution, building upon previous agreements and obligations.

Thank you.