At UN, FM Sa'ar reminds UK foreign secretary of Britain's role in re-establishing Jewish homeland

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar took part in a UN Security Council session on the Middle East on Wednesday evening, where he sparred with British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who was chairing the meeting.

During the discussion, Cooper criticized a recent Israeli cabinet decision to lift restrictions on Jewish land purchases in Judea and Samaria.

She also condemned recent attacks by Jewish settlers in the Palestinian territories, saying, “This is deeply, deeply wrong and a clear contravention of the resolutions of this council, and counterproductive; it only makes the Israeli and Palestinian people less secure.”  

During her remarks, Secretary Cooper said, "We must prevent the destabilization of the West Bank and preserve the viability of a Palestinian state.” 

She also criticized Israel’s withholding of tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority, citing concerns over the measure, which Israel says is tied to the Authority’s support for terrorism.

“We have seen the Palestinian economy face strangulation, including the Israeli government withholding some of the Palestinian Authority's own tax revenues,” Cooper stated. 

“A two-state solution can be the gateway to transform the region with normalization, regional integration, and peaceful coexistence,” she continued. “But security cannot be achieved by an indefinite or humiliating occupation that denies security and sovereignty to the Palestinian people.” 

Other speakers, including Rosemary DeCarlo, the UN under secretary general for political and peacebuilding affairs, also decried Israeli actions in Judea and Samaria. DeCarlo said, “Widespread raids have been accompanied by home takeovers, mass detentions, movement restrictions, and repeated displacement of Palestinian families, particularly in the north [of Samaria].” 

In response, Minister Sa’ar reminded Cooper and the UN Security Council of Britain's role in re-establishing a Jewish presence in the historical homeland of the Jewish people.

“Jewish presence in the land of Israel, even throughout our long exile, has never ceased, for even a day,” Sa’ar stated. 

“Amazingly,” Sa’ar continued, “there are so many powers trying to replace historical truth with modern lies.” 

Jewish presence in the Land of Israel has never ceased, for even a day.
This is probably the clearest case of proven and documented historical rights of any nation to any land.
Watch my full speech at the UN Security Council >>https://t.co/h0aK9dCS6t

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) February 19, 2026

Sa’ar referred to the consistent archaeological record of Jewish and Israelite history in the land of Israel, and asked, “How can Jewish presence in our ancestral homeland violate international law?” 

He then turned to Cooper and said, “Madam Secretary, in 1917, the British government issued the historic Balfour Declaration, in order to reestablish a national home for the Jewish people in our land.” 

“The same places, in the heart of our ancient homeland, you claim the Jews are forbidden to live in, and that allegedly violate international law, you recognized as belonging to [the] national home for the Jewish people.” 

During his remarks, Sa’ar displayed a map of the original British Mandate for Palestine, granted by the League of Nations for the establishment of a Jewish national home.

“In 1921, then secretary of state for the colonies, Winston Churchill said on a visit to the land of Israel, ‘It is manifestly right that the Jews should have a national home, and where else could that be but in this land, which for more than 3,000 years they have been intimately and profoundly associated.’” 

“In 1922, the UN’s predecessor, the League of Nations council, tasked Britain with reestablishing a Jewish national home,” he continued, before asking, “Madam president [referring to her role as Security Council president], what have you left of the lofty historical tradition of Balfour and Churchill?” 

Sa’ar also addressed the claims of illegal Jewish settlement by pointing to the corresponding phenomenon of illegal Palestinian construction in Area C of Judea and Samaria. 

“Nearly 300 structures were built per month, only in 2025, by Palestinians in Area C. Massive illegal building, it’s a blatant violation of our agreements,” Sa’ar noted. “Yet, you aren’t saying a word about it. The condemnations are reserved solely for building intended for Jewish communities.” 

Following his comments, Sa'ar condemned anti-Israel statements made in the meeting, saying they represent a “hypocritical obsession against Jewish presence in the heart of our tiny land.” 

“The claim that Israelis cannot live in Judea and Samaria isn't just inconsistent with international law and Britain’s own Balfour Declaration, but it is also morally distorted,” Sa’ar argued. “How can Jews live in London, Paris, or New York, but not in the cradle of our civilization?”