Palestinians at Crossroad over Israeli Aggression — Either ‘International Will or That of the Occupier Will Prevail’, Says Palestine’s Permanent Observer
Peace and security can never be achieved by “wiping out Gaza” or by crushing the skulls of infants and shedding the blood of children, the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine told a special meeting of the Palestinian Rights Committee today to observe the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Riyad H. Mansour, delivering a message from Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, said that the International Day comes at a time when people in the Gaza Strip are facing an existential threat and the deliberate and systematic targeting of civilians. “The current Israeli aggression places us at a crossroad” — “either the international will or that of the occupier will prevail.”
Since 7 October, the Israeli occupying forces have committed horrific international crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, he said. They killed and injured more than 60,000 Palestinians, 70 per cent of whom are children, women and elderly persons, while displacing more than 1.7 million in a blatant attempt to impose a new Nakba.
“This war is an extension of the constant aggressions of this repugnant occupation against our people in an attempt to perpetuate and entrench its colonization and occupation of the territory of the State of Palestine, including Jerusalem,” he said, stressing that the main cause of the dangerous escalation in the region is the absence and neglect of the rights of the Palestinian people.
He warned that some have gone so far as to be complicit in the crime of genocide, the crimes of the occupation and its terrorism, granting it immunity from accountability and punishment, as well as giving an absolute authorization to kill and unleash aggression against Palestinian people, while supplying weapons. The time has come to hold an international peace conference and reject Israel’s intransigence in opposing the recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to exist and to self-determination.
Ahmad Faisal Muhamad (Malaysia), Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, said that despite the Committee’s persistent calls for action to resolve the Palestine question, 76 years have elapsed since the adoption of General Assembly resolution 181 (II), which called for the partition of Palestine into two States. Palestinians continue to endure systematic violations of their inalienable human rights, including to self-determination and refugee return.
He said that this year’s commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Nakba — the catastrophic displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and lands — is a sober reminder of Palestinian people’s struggle to maintain their dignity and memory despite all odds. Israel continues to inflict the Nakba in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, he added, calling for an end to the siege of Gaza and 16 years of Israeli blockade. The international community must recommit to usher the independence of the State of Palestine. “Let us view this solemn commemoration as a call to action for renewed hope,” he said.
Dennis Francis (Trinidad and Tobago), General Assembly President, said the situation in the Middle East 75 years ago marked the first significant crisis for the newly established United Nations. The situation not only remains unresolved but is also deteriorating at an alarming rate. Insecurity and violence thrive in an atmosphere of tragedy and despair. Violence begets violence, he said, reiterating the Assembly’s undiminished call for peace. He advocated for open channels of communication leading to a two-State solution as the only viable option for lasting peace and appealed to the international community to leverage its power to seek compromise and direct dialogue. The journey of Israelis and Palestinians demands mutual respect and acknowledgement of each other’s narratives.
Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, speaking on the Secretary-General’s behalf, said that, while clearly condemning Hamas’ terror attacks of 7 October, nothing could justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. She called for reflection on the collective failure to realize the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights and to enable them to live in peace and dignity. This must start with a long-term humanitarian ceasefire, unrestricted access for life-saving aid, the release of all hostages, the protection of civilians and an end to violations of international humanitarian law.
“We must be united in demanding an end to the occupation and the blockade of Gaza,” she stressed. The UN will not waver in its commitment to the Palestinian people. It is long past time to move in a determined, irreversible way towards a two-State solution based on UN resolutions and international law, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security with Jerusalem as the capital of both States.
Also addressing the meeting was Zhang Jun (China), Security Council President, who noted that this year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Oslo process. He stressed that a just comprehensive solution can only be achieved by peaceful means. The Council has remained seized of the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestine question. It regularly receives briefings and convenes for additional meetings. It issued a presidential statement in February (document S/PRST/2023/1) and adopted resolution 2712 (2023), the first such text on the Israel-Palestine conflict since 2017. Its implementation is important, he said, highlighting the need for the security of both Israel and Palestine.
Statements
FATIMA KYARI MOHAMMED, Permanent Observer for the African Union, emphasized that the Palestinian people’s cause has never been more urgent. Continued hostilities in Gaza and the occupied territories clearly violate international law and have unspeakable consequences for Palestinian civilians and for peace in the region. The war must stop, hostages must be released, and a humanitarian ceasefire must become permanent. She called for the start of political dialogue to implement two sovereign, peaceful and viable States, as well as the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The African Union will work tirelessly with others to ensure the establishment of an independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital. Also, the segregation and structural inequality between Palestinians and Israelis sadly resembles the apartheid system that took place in southern Africa. The current situation calls for the international community’s urgent and concrete action to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.
MAGED ABDELFATTAH ABDELAZIZ, Permanent Observer of the League of Arab States, delivering a message of Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League, reaffirmed the group’s solidarity with the Palestinian people. Recalling the Nakba, he said the same chapter of history is repeating itself. The world is witnessing the brutal and barbaric aggression by Israel, with atrocities such as war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, committed before the very eyes of the international community. He stressed the need to hold Israel accountable, welcoming efforts of the International Criminal Court to ensure justice. Calls to end the occupation and agree on a two-State solution have not been heeded, allowing Israel to act with impunity. He welcomed Spain’s recent recognition of the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and urged other countries to follow suit.
YASHAR T. ALIYEV (Azerbaijan), speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, reaffirmed its unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people and support for their inalienable human rights. He reiterated longstanding calls to intensify all necessary efforts to end the injustice and advance a peaceful, just solution based on international law and UN resolutions. He further reiterated grave concern about the lack of accountability for Israel’s countless violations as the occupying Power, including killing and injuring innocent Palestinian civilians. The absence of accountability fuels a culture of impunity and destabilizes the situation, diminishing peace prospects. The international community’s solidarity with the just Palestinian cause must be directed to all efforts in support of their rights and the State of Palestine’s independence and sovereignty in all of the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Palestine must also be admitted as a full UN Member State.
HAMEED AJIBAIYE OPELOYERU, Permanent Observer of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, delivering a message from the Organization’s Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha, called for activating the international judicial mechanisms and the process of international criminal justice to deter the Israeli occupation, prevent it from committing more crimes and ensure its accountability for past and current violations. The organization rejects Israel’s crimes, as well as forced displacements and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, and reasserts that the State of Palestine encompasses the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including the occupied city of Al-Quds, as a single geographical unit. He called for stronger joint efforts to launch a political process under multilateral auspices.
PETER MOHAN MAITHRI PIERIS (Sri Lanka), Chair of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, said that earlier this month, he presented the fifty-fifth report of the Special Committee covering the period from September 2022 to September 2023. It updates several issues of concern, including the continued expansion of Israeli settlements, settler violence, the human rights situation of Palestine refugees, the situation in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there. It is concerning that Israel has not granted the Special Committee access to the occupied territories since 1968. This year, the Special Committee travelled to Jordan, as it does every year, and to Egypt for the first time since 2014. He joins the international calls for a just and lasting resolution of the question of Palestine based on a two-State solution.
PETER MAKARI, Executive for the Middle East and Europe of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, said the past several weeks have again confirmed the wilful blindness of major world Powers to the Palestinian people’s suffering. Some global Powers, particularly the United States, have been complicit and permissive, enabling a powerful army to occupy and annex the land of another. The world condemned the Russian Federation invasion of Ukraine, but Western Powers have blamed the victim — an inverted logic — in the decades-long Israeli occupation and annexation of Palestinian lands. Stressing that Israeli policies and practices conform to the international legal definition of the crime of apartheid, he rejects any theology or ideology, including Christian Zionism, that privileges or excludes any nation, race, culture or religion. Ethnic cleansing is now happening, and the international community should impose an arms embargo both to and from Israel. There is no military solution to the conflict, as peace with justice can prevail only when all the region’s people are properly respected and humanely treated with their rights, equality and dignity.
AHMAD FAISAL MUHAMAD (Malaysia), Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, said the Committee received messages of support from the Heads of State of Egypt, Venezuela, Iran, Jordan, Algeria, China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Maldives, Russian Federation, Kyrgyzstan, Tunisia, Viet Nam, Sri Lanka, Senegal, Nicaragua, Brunei Darussalam, Kuwait, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Türkiye, Morocco, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Qatar, as well as from the Heads of Government of Lebanon, India, Malta, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, South Africa and Thailand, and from the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Syria, Japan, Bahrain, Argentina, Mauritania, Cuba, Ecuador, Philippines, Namibia, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan, along with the Government of Guyana.
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