General Assembly Session 56 meeting 70

Mr. Shen Guofang (China)

The Middle East issue is a burning issue of very long standing and one about which the international community is extremely concerned.

Although the people of Palestine have achieved partial self-determination in Gaza and the West Bank, after experiencing many years of warfare, achieving a just and lasting solution to the Middle East issue still seems remote, since the peace talks between Palestine and Israel have taken so many twists and because existing agreements between the two sides remain to be fully implemented. This new round of violence in the conflict between Palestine and Israel, which began in September 2000, has continued for a long time, has led to many innocent civilian casualties and huge property losses on both sides, particularly on the Palestinian side. It has also led to increasing tension in the region, making the Middle East peace process even more difficult and complicated. Recent developments are having an increasingly negative impact on peace and stability in the world.

We have noted the positive efforts of the parties concerned since last September to de-escalate the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis and to resume the peace talks between the two sides. We express our appreciation for those efforts. Regrettably, however, the violence between the Palestinians and the Israelis has not stopped; it continues to escalate, and the situation in the Middle East, rather than improve, has further deteriorated. Security is far from being safeguarded by either side and both peoples continue to live in the shadow of violence and conflict.

It is therefore necessary for the international community and the parties concerned to draw profound lessons from the situation. It has been repeatedly demonstrated in the past and currently in the Middle East that conflict and confrontation will only serve to deepen mutual hatred and complicate issues, while dialogue and negotiation are the only way to peace.

The Security Council, which has a special responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, should play an important role in promoting a solution to the Middle East question. Its overriding priority now is to take resolute action to end the violence and ease tensions as soon as possible and to fulfil the promise to protect civilians in armed conflict.

The issue of the Middle East has a close bearing on international peace and security as a whole. An early end to the Palestine-Israeli conflict and the realization of peace in the Middle East are therefore in the fundamental interests of all. We strongly appeal to the two sides to earnestly implement their existing agreements, respond actively to the mediation efforts by the international community and return to the negotiation table at an early date. We also hope that those parties that have an influence on the two sides will play a positive role in promoting an end to the conflict as well as the early resumption of the peace talks.

At the core of the Middle East issue lies the question of Palestine. Without the restoration of the legitimate national rights of the Palestinians, including their right to independent statehood, it will be impossible to arrive at a fair, just and lasting solution to the issue of the Middle East. We have always maintained that relevant United Nations resolutions on this issue and the principle of land for peace are the basis for Middle East peace talks, and that the faithful implementation of existing agreements and understandings between the two sides constitutes a precondition for their mutual trust.

The Chinese Government and people have all along supported the just cause of the Palestinian people in restoring their legitimate national rights. We welcome all efforts by the international community to restore regional stability and will work, as always, with the rest of the international community to make a positive contribution to the realization of a comprehensive and just solution to the issue of the Middle East, including the question of Palestine.

Mr. Thayeb (Indonesia)

The coincidence of the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which was held yesterday, and the consideration by the General Assembly of the question of Palestine is a solemn reminder to Member States of the United Nations that, more than half a century since the adoption of General Assembly resolution 181 (II), the Palestinian people have yet to exercise their right to self-determination and independence. Over the years, scores of General Assembly and Security Council resolutions have been adopted, but they remain unimplemented.

The great hopes and optimism generated by the Madrid Peace Conference a decade ago, and by numerous subsequent peace agreements and accords, have all but dissipated, and the rhetoric on paper can hardly be said to have made any tangible improvement in the lives of the people in the occupied territories. The Palestinian people remain dispossessed of their lands and continue to be deprived of their right to return to their homeland. The economic gains made during the heady days of the peace process have vanished, with the nascent economy being placed in a very precarious situation by the occupying Power.

Today the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories is tragically spiralling rapidly out of control, resulting in the breakdown of the peace talks, escalating violence on the ground and the subjection of the Palestinians to illegal occupation. As the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People has chronicled, during the course of the past year alone there have been scores of casualties, inflicted mainly on the civilian population. Of great concern is the use of deadly military force to suppress the outbreak of Palestinian protests against occupation. Also alarming is the resort to selective assassination of Palestinian leaders, which in the process has claimed even more lives of innocent bystanders, including children.

On the other hand, the occupying Power's illegal settlement activities continue unabated, coupled with its military incursions into territory already under Palestinian control. How can such a state of affairs be allowed to exist without grave ramifications for the region in particular, as well as for the peace and security of the world at large?

Since the unravelling of the peace process and the recent crisis in the region, the international community has voiced its deep dismay at the atrocities perpetuated against an entire nation and its people. It was against that backdrop that the Security Council met several times over the past year to consider the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. Regrettably, the Council was not able to take any tangible action, such as sending international observers to the occupied territories to protect Palestinian civilians under Israeli occupation and to maintain a measure of peace and security.

It is also pertinent to mention the convening of the fifth special session of the Commission on Human Rights, in October 2000, at the behest of the overwhelming majority of member countries, to address the serious deterioration of the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. That resulted in the adoption of several strong measures by the Commission, incorporated in its resolution (S-5/1). It is indeed untenable that demands set forth in that resolution are being ignored while the occupying Power flagrantly violates the Fourth Geneva Convention. It is in that context that my delegation supports the endeavours to reconvene, at Geneva on 5 December, the Conference of High Contracting Parties in order to ensure respect for the provisions of the Convention and to ensure the protection of the Palestinian people.

There can be no alternative but for the parties to move forward to restore calm in the occupied territories, thereby enabling an environment conducive to the resumption of peace negotiations. That should be a priority for the international community. As unequivocal condemnation was voiced at the violence and terror inflicted on innocent civilians in the aftermath of the horrific terrorist attacks on 11 September, so too should we be mindful of the onslaught of violence and terror against the people in the occupied territories, coupled with the foreign occupation of the lands.

Violence begets violence and serves no purpose. It certainly does not provide for any degree of security. Security can prevail only if there is stable peace and if a people's yearning for freedom and independence is realized. What is at stake here is the urgency of attaining a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine, and especially enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights in accordance with all relevant United Nations resolutions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international law.

It has been our steadfast position that for peace to endure, it must be achieved within the framework of international legality and on the basis of the following principles: the withdrawal of Israel from Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, and from other occupied territories; respect for the right of all States in the region to live in peace within secure and internationally recognized boundaries; and the recognition and exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, primarily the right to self-determination.

In an environment of deepening crisis and a relapsed peace process, the Sharm el-Sheikh and Taba understandings were small but important steps to bridge the differences between the parties. Likewise, the Mitchell report offered some practical recommendations for a return to the peace negotiations. The Palestinian leaders demonstrated great sagacity and commitment to the peace process by accepting those recommendations as a stepping-stone to move forward.

It is self-evident that international efforts are central to ending this conflict, including the assistance of the United Nations and the co-sponsors of the peace process. We have also taken note of the statement made by the United States "to work towards the day when two States -- Israel and Palestine -- live peacefully together". Also significant is its announcement regarding contributing actively to a third-party monitoring and verification mechanism for a ceasefire acceptable to both sides and to the implementation of the Mitchell and Tenet plans, as well as to work with the international community to help rebuild the Palestinian economy.

Let us in the international community therefore seize this opportunity and redouble our concerted efforts to bring finality to the issue of Palestine and thus make the vision of peace, security and sustainable development a reality for all the Palestinian people.

Mr. De Saram (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lanka has continuously and consistently extended its firm and unqualified support to the people of Palestine.

Yesterday, on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestine People, the President of Sri Lanka, Ms. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, reaffirmed such support in her message, in these words:

"I wish to reiterate unequivocally Sri Lanka's firm and unwavering support for the people of Palestine in their continuing struggle under President Yasser Arafat's leadership to achieve their inalienable rights, legitimate aspirations and yearning for statehood.

"Consistent with this policy, Sri Lanka has accorded formal recognition to a State of Palestine. It is deeply gratifying to note that there is growing international recognition of the urgent imperative to end occupation and establish a Palestinian State as a just and durable basis for peace in the region."

It has been one of the principal responsibilities of the United Nations to maintain international awareness on the subject of the people of Palestine. It is a responsibility that the General Assembly, in particular, has discharged conscientiously through its annual consideration of the reports of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, which address the depressing and troubling circumstances of the Palestinians of the occupied territories.

To the Chairman of the Committee, the Permanent Representative of Senegal, Ambassador Papa Louis Fall, and to the Committee as a whole, much appreciation is due and should be conveyed, and I do so on behalf of the delegation of Sri Lanka.

To those of us who in earlier years expressed support for a State of Palestine, the now evolving general, explicit, international recognition of the legitimacy of, and necessity for, a State of Palestine is a most impressive and a most significant development.

The tragedy is that, to reach this stage, there has had to be so much pain, suffering, death and destruction, to which there still seems to be no end. Justice and peace still remain elusive. There was a time last year when there were glimmers of hope that developments in the peace process might possibly, in the not too distant future, lead to tangible improvements in the unfortunate circumstances in which the Palestinians of the occupied territories live out their lives. There were, however, the tragic occurrences of the closing days of September 2000 in East Jerusalem and the ensuing, engulfing violence that still continues.

It is unquestionable that there is a yearning for peace. Yet for peace to be achieved, there has to be a return to the peace process. Until such time as the peace process is satisfactorily concluded, contemporary human rights standards and obligations and the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention must surely be fully recognized and fully honoured.

The report before us in the General Assembly today -- the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People -- tells of a severity of control, unknown before, that has settled on the occupied territories. The cycle of violence and counter-violence, violence and counter-violence, continues. There are hostile confrontations almost daily between Israeli forces and the Palestinians. The Israeli authorities have enforced their systems of civilian and military regulation with extraordinary intensity.

The heightened tension and violence since September 2000 have caused death and injury to a great number of Palestinians and Israelis, with Palestinians suffering by far the greater casualties.

There are other grave aspects to the occupation: the complex system of controls imposed on the movement of persons, vehicles and goods into and out of, between and within the occupied Palestinian territories; checkpoints, curfews and closures, resulting in what has often been referred to as a state of siege; settlements; the destruction of Palestinian homes and lands; and the disproportionate and excessive use of military force.

The overall consequences of such a manner of occupation have had catastrophic effects on the occupied territories as a whole: disruption of trade and employment and the ensuing general poverty; disruption in the provision of health services; disruption in schools and in the lives of the children; disruption in the provision of public services; disruption in education, and distraught and depressed parents; inadequacy of public revenues; and an all-pervasive cloud of frustration, desperation and hopelessness that appears to have enveloped all the occupied territories.

The conditions of the Palestinians in refugee camps are particularly distressing. They have no means of subsistence outside the refugee camps. When access to and exit from a refugee camp are closed and the Palestinians in a refugee camp are unable to obtain employment outside the camp, they, their families and their children are without any means of subsistence.

A sense of overwhelming despair appears to have enveloped the occupied territories, the countries of the region and the international community as a whole. It is to the Mitchell report and the steps being taken pursuant thereto that all now seem to turn in great expectation. One can only hope that there will soon be a return to the processes of dialogue and peace, leading to the day when all States in the region will live together peacefully in security and friendship, within internationally recognized borders.

The direct and indirect consequences of a general occupation of peoples and territories for such a long period of time are traumatic in the most profound ways -- reaching across the entire spectrum of human relationships and affecting so unhappily the occupied, as well as the occupier.

Mr. Jerandi (Tunisia)

The General Assembly is once again considering the question of Palestine, as it has done in past years. Our meeting today is taking place against the background of a deterioration of the situation in the Middle East on the whole and a standstill in the peace process. It is a source of deep concern that the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif, which has been critical since the Al-Aqsa intifada in September, should enter into its second year without any tangible easing of tensions, despite the many international efforts that have been made to restore security and to give the peace process another chance.

The situation has further deteriorated, owing to the dangerous escalation of practices by the Israeli authorities in the occupied territories that violate relevant United Nations resolutions and international agreements signed by the Israeli and Palestinian sides. Israel has forged ahead with a policy of aggression against a defenceless Palestinian people, and has used excessive, disproportionate military force to attack Palestinian civilians and elected officials through its so-called targeted assassinations. This is actually a policy aimed at the physical liquidation of people, which runs contrary to international and humanitarian laws, and also to logic. Israel has also launched raids on areas that fall under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority and has reoccupied them. Furthermore, it has gone ahead with building new settlements, subverting Palestinian authorities, uprooting trees and demolishing Palestinian houses with a view to gaining time and consolidating a fait accompli. These practices, which are continued by Israel within the framework of a consistent and elaborate policy, run entirely contrary to international law, particularly humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949.

Israel is defying repeated appeals made by various international organizations, foremost among which has been the United Nations, calling for respect for international legitimacy and United Nations resolutions, particularly Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).

This bloody confrontation has had a negative impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. The repeated closures of towns and villages and the economic blockade practiced by Israel have caused heavy losses for the Palestinian economy and have led to an alarming rise in the levels of unemployment, poverty, despair and suffering, resulting in a humanitarian tragedy for Palestinians in the occupied territories, whose lives, safety and security are targeted. This can only serve to exacerbate the tension and instability.

Tunisia, which has been following with great concern the deterioration of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, would like to reiterate its condemnation of the constant attacks carried out by the Israeli Army against innocent civilians and their property and their holy sites. We also condemn the repeated assassinations that are being carried out by Israelis.

Tunisia also reaffirms its full solidarity with the Palestinian people and its support for their just cause, on all levels, and their legitimate struggle to regain all their inalienable rights, including the right to establish an independent State on their land, with the holy city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

We firmly believe that this critical situation, more than ever before, requires the United Nations and the Security Council, in particular, to shoulder their responsibilities in dealing with the deteriorating situation by providing urgently the necessary protection to Palestinian civilians and by implementing the recommendations contained in the Mitchell and Tenet reports so as to get Israel to renounce its practices.

Tunisia, which has always seen peaceful and political settlement as a strategic option, once again urges the international community and the sponsors of the peace process to exert further efforts to bring Israel to recognize the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, to participate in a serious and responsible manner in the peace process and to respect international law and United Nations resolutions, particularly Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), and the principle of "land for peace."

The establishment of a just and lasting peace in the region requires, in accordance with the relevant resolutions and decisions, the full and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Syrian Golan and the remaining occupied Lebanese territory.

Tunisia notes with satisfaction the position recently put forward by the United States President George Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell, which supports the establishment of a Palestinian State in line with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council. We hope that these positions will be translated into practical and concrete initiatives on the basis of a well-defined, agreed-upon agenda to pave the way for putting an end to violence and calming the situation and for pursuing the path of peace towards the provision of a just solution.

In conclusion, I would like to express my appreciation and to salutations to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for the actions it has carried out to ensure the implementation of the rights of the Palestinians and make them a reality. This work must continue until we reach a final solution to the question of Palestine by establishing an independent Palestinian State, with the holy city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

Mr. Mannan (Bangladesh)

Today, the United Nations is observing the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people. It is befitting that the General Assembly has commenced the debate on the question of Palestine under agenda item 41 to coincide with the event. With your permission, Mr. President, we will combine our intervention on this agenda item with agenda item 42 on the Situation in the Middle East.

It has already been three and a half decades since the Palestinians fell under illegal occupation by Israel. Yet their fundamental rights to self-determination and to a sovereign State have remained unrealized. Millions of Palestinians still live in refugee camps, deprived of their natural right to return to their ancestral home. The report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People eloquently documents the continued violation of the rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people in the occupied territory. We owe our appreciation to Ambassador Papa Louis Fall and members of his Committee for presenting us the report in document A/56/35.

The 1991 Madrid Peace Conference and successive agreements, from Oslo to Sharm el-Sheikh, generated euphoria, hope and optimism in the region, and peace seemed near and real. Regrettably, the hope soon withered away and was overtaken by the hostility and confrontation that had engulfed the region prior to the beginning of the peace process. The situation has once again become volatile. The Palestinian intifada that followed the highly provocative visit of then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon to Al-Haram Al-Sharif resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian civilians. Tens of thousands were wounded and permanently disabled, a large number of them women and children. Now, over a year later, not a single day passes without the media bringing us news of bloody events in the occupied territory.

My delegation is appalled by the recent aggressive reoccupation of Palestinian cities and villages. These actions have exacerbated the already volatile situation in the Middle East. The international community has raised its voice in rejection of this attitude and has demanded that Israel withdraw its troops from Palestinian self-rule areas without delay in order to facilitate the return of a climate of trust for making peace. We therefore reiterate our demand for a full and immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian self-rule areas and that they return to positions held prior to September 2000.

Israel has continued to pursue a policy of collective punishment in the form of closures, blockades and restrictions of movement imposed on the people of the occupied territories. Under the pretext of security, these acts are being deliberately perpetrated by Israel with the purpose of demoralizing the Palestinian people. Restrictions on the movement of people and goods within the Palestinian and Arab occupied territories and other areas have had a devastating effect on the already fragile Palestinian economy. This is unacceptable, and we reiterate our condemnation of this policy.

The Israeli policy of confiscation of land with a view to expanding the illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian land has been the major source of threat to the peace process. The international community has urged Israel to refrain from such acts, since their continuation would create further imbalances in the population structure of the cities. It is also a clear violation of the relevant resolution adopted by the Security Council.

In the course of the past year, Israel has resorted to a policy of targeted assassination of Palestinian political activists and leaders. At least 50 Palestinians have been killed in these targeted attacks by Israeli security. These extrajudicial killings by the Israeli authorities are a clear violation of international law and civility. We add our voice to the international community's unequivocal condemnation of these criminal acts and urge Israel to cease forthwith.

The present situation in the Middle East makes it incumbent upon the international community to put the peace process back on track. In this connection, Bangladesh fully endorses the recommendations of the Mitchell Committee and the Tenet plan as confidence-building measures to restore the dialogue. We commend the Palestinian leadership for accepting the report in its entirety. But we regret that Israel, on the other hand, continues to impose conditions for the implementation of these recommendations. We urge the sponsors of the peace process to exert pressure on Israel to start implementing the recommendations in a comprehensive manner, without preconditions. In this regard, we are encouraged to note recent initiatives indicating a more active involvement of the international community in this issue.

The situation in the occupied Syrian Golan is not very different. The Israeli leadership has never pursued serious negotiations with Syria within the framework of the Arab-Israel peace process. Rather, it has made repeated attempts to alter the demographic and legal character of the area by establishing new settlements and imposing its laws on Syrian citizens in contravention of all relevant Security Council resolutions. Bangladesh condemns such attempts. We call upon Israel to see reason and to end occupation of the Syrian Golan and the remaining occupied parts of southern Lebanon in the implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 425 (1981) and 252 (1968).

Bangladesh reiterates its total support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to establish an independent State with Jerusalem as its capital. We reaffirm that the United Nations has a permanent responsibility in the Middle East until a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement is reached. We believe that the active involvement of the United Nations and the international community is essential in this endeavour. Bangladesh views with satisfaction the resumption of the active role of the United States of America. Palestinians are the victims of the worst tragedy of humankind, and we all have a moral responsibility to support their legitimate cause.

Mr. Mannan (Bangladesh)

We have every confidence that the ennobling spirit of the faiths that emanates from the Holy Land will ultimately prevail, and the time will indeed come when the Muslim, the Christian and the Jew shall live side by side in peace and harmony as all those faiths enjoin. Bangladesh can hope for nothing more.

Mr. Kafando (Burkina Faso)

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