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Special Meeting in Observance of International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People
In a meeting commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, to be observed 29 November, the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine called on the international community to stop selective and biased policies in applying justice, stressing that the lack of implementation of United Nations resolutions on Israel enabled that country to continue behaving as “a State above the law”.
Riyad Mansour, speaking on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas, told the Palestinian Rights Committee that while the Day of Solidarity would come two months after the raising of Palestine’s flag at the United Nations Headquarters, resolutions adopted by the General Assembly, Security Council and other bodies still remained unfulfilled. That deepened convictions of a double standard about those decisions.
Israeli actions in and around Jerusalem, including violations by settlers and extremists against Christian and Muslim holy places, risked turning the conflict from a political and legal one to a religious one with “disastrous consequences” for everyone, he warned. The Israeli “iron fist” was unsustainable as it kept the region in a constant spiral of violence, bloodshed and conflict. The international powers must stop selective and biased policies in applying justice and desist from “equating the victim with the executioner”.
Desra Percaya (Indonesia), Vice-Chair of the Palestinian Rights Committee, known formally as the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, underlined the significance of 29 November. On that day in 1947, the United Nations General Assembly had adopted resolution 181, also referred to as the “partition resolution”, which provided for the establishment in Palestine of both a “Jewish State” and an “Arab State”.
That day was a symbolic one for the Israeli people, as the same resolution led to the birth of their State the following year, he pointed out. However, the State of Palestine was now occupied, being denied the same rights the State of Israel enjoyed, including the right to self-determination and the right to national independence and sovereignty. "History teaches us that when you have an unhappy neighbour, you are not safe," he stressed, calling on the United Nations to resolve the question of Palestine in all aspects.
Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, speaking on behalf of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said that settlements and settler violence, including punitive demolitions, continued. That ran contrary to Israel’s stated intention to pursue a two-State solution. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s repeated assurances that he had no intention to change the status quo at Al Haram Al Sharif should be followed by action.
Similarly, Mogens Lykketoft (Denmark), General Assembly President, and Matthew Rycroft (United Kingdom), Security Council President for November, also voiced concern about the lack of progress and called for new momentum to find a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Recalling the flag of the State of Palestine being raised at Headquarters in New York, Mr. Kykketoft said, “Simply put, the Palestinian people had waited too long.”
Amrith Rohan Perera (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 during his Committee’s mission to Amman in August 2015, it had been seriously disturbed by the situation of human rights in the Occupied Territories as evidenced by the testimonies from civil society representatives, victims and witnesses of Israeli violations, as well as by Palestinian and United Nations officials. Some key concerns included excessive use of force by Israeli security forces, and corporate involvement in the settlements and the exploitation of natural resources.
Speaking on behalf of civil society, Brad Parker, of the Defence for Children International Palestine, said that instability and violence defined Palestinian children’s lives as Israeli settlers operated with increasing impunity and the military targeted them with live ammunition to quash protests. Each year, around 700 children were arrested and prosecuted in the West Bank, the majority charged with throwing stones. Children were reporting that Israeli interrogators used solitary confinement among other measures to coerce confessions. International juvenile justice standards demanded that children should only be deprived of liberty as a measure of last resort. Yet, despite those obligations, Israeli authorities failed to comply with international law.
Reading out messages by their leaders were representatives of Iran, on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the African Union.
Before adjournment, Mr. Percaya read out a list of officials, Heads of State and Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Governments and civil society organizations that had sent messages of solidarity, and which would be published in a special bulletin of the Division for Palestinian Rights.
