GA/PAL/97/7
1 December 1997





A special meeting was held at the Palais des Nations this afternoon to mark the
International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People.

Mr. Vladimir Petrovsky, Director-General of the United Nations Office at
Geneva, read out a statement on behalf of United Nations Secretary-General
Mr. Kofi Annan. The Secretary-General said that since the General Assembly
had decided on 29 November 1947 to partition Palestine, each of his
predecessors had been deeply involved in the search for an equitable and
peaceful settlement of this issue. He pledged to continue these efforts.

The meeting also heard a statement by Mr. Michael Bartolo, Representative of
the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian
People. Mr. Bartolo said that 50 years after the adoption of the partition
resolution and at the threshold of the next millennium, the situation of
dispossession and denial of the national rights of the Palestinian people could
not continue to be tolerated by the world community. Mr. Nabil Ramlawi,
Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, also addressed the
meeting and stressed that Israel was solely responsible for the stalemate in the
peace process after it reneged on all its peace commitments. He underlined the
importance of Palestinians achieving self-determination and an independent state
with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The special meeting was addressed by representatives of the Special
Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the
Palestinians and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, the League of Arab
States, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Non-Aligned
movement, the Organization of African Unity and the International Coordinating
Committee for Non-Governmental Organizations on the Question of Palestine.

Messages of support from Tunisia, Malta, Bangladesh, Turkey and the
European Union were also distributed at the meeting.


STATEMENTS


Mr. VLADIMIR PETROVSKY, Director-General of the United Nations
Office at Geneva, read out a statement on behalf of United Nations
Secretary-General Mr. KOFI ANNAN in which he said that since the General
Assembly had decided on 29 November 1947 to partition Palestine, each of his
predecessors had been deeply involved in the search for an equitable and
peaceful settlement of this issue. He pledged to continue these efforts. The
Secretary-General praised developments in the Middle East peace process, but
urged that it was of utmost importance to prevent these achievements from
dissipating and to build on them to fulfil the hopes of all the peoples of the
region for a future of peace.

“The promotion of social and economic development and of cooperative
relationships throughout the region is essential to create an environment
favourable to a lasting peace,” the Secretary-General said.

“The United Nations continues to attach the utmost importance to improving the
living conditions in the Palestinian territories as an essential accompaniment to
the peace negotiations. In this regard, I have been seriously concerned at the
steady economic decline in the West Bank and in Gaza, particularly in the light
of prolonged closures and other punitive measures,” said Mr. ANNAN, adding
that the serious financial situation faced by UNRWA must also be addressed.

The meeting also heard a statement by Mr. MICHAEL BARTOLO,
Representative of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People. Mr. BARTOLO said that 50 years after the adoption of the
partition resolution and at the threshold of the next millennium, the situation of
dispossession and denial of the national rights of the Palestinian people could
not continue to be tolerated by the world community. He said it was “absolutely
crucial that the situation not be allowed to stagnate further, and that the
necessary initiatives be taken to inject new momentum into the peace process.”

Mrs. ABSA CLAUDE DIALLO, Representative of the Special Committee to
Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian
People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, criticized, among other
things, Israel’s closure of the occupied territories and use of force during
interrogation of Palestinian detainees. She said Palestinians were faced by the
virtual breakdown in the peace process and an escalation of human rights
violations. She warned that if agreements were not fully implemented, the cycle
of violence and conflict would threaten the peace and stability of the region.

Mr. IBRAHIM MIRGHANI IBRAHIM, Representative of the League of
Arab States, warned that extremism and militancy controlled Israel’s policies
and this was reflected in the settlement policies. While Arab countries had
chosen peace as their strategic goal, Israel’s actions had pushed the region to
the edge of an abyss. He said that the Arab people were ready to shoulder the
consequences of peace. If the Israeli Government was sincere in its search for
peace, then it should only express its readiness to resume serious negotiations to
reach this goal.

Mr. NANGUYALAI TARZI read out a statement on behalf of Mr.
AZEDDINE LARAKI, Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference, in which he expressed concern about Israel’s settlement policies in
Jerusalem and other Palestinian territories. He urged the international community
to act firmly to force Israel to abide by the principles of the peace process and
implement signed agreements which would ensure Israel’s withdrawal from all
occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, including Jerusalem, the occupied
Syrian Golan and the occupied Lebanese territories. The agreements should
enable Palestinians to exercise their inalienable national rights, including
self-determination and an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.

ALBERTO DIAZ URIB read out a statement on behalf of the President of
Colombia which currently leads the Non-Aligned Movement. He said that
throughout its history, the Non-Aligned movement had maintained its
unwavering support of the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights. The
Non-Aligned movement regretted that the atmosphere of harmony which had
been achieved had worsened noticeably. It deplored recent events, which led to
the loss of innocent lives, and also regretted the radical position of the
Government of Israel and its extreme measures which not only went against the
spirit of the peace process but also violated the rights of Palestinian people. It
was essential to restore confidence among the Middle East parties. The
Non-Aligned movement endorsed all the United Nations and Security Council
resolutions on Jerusalem, and considered all Israeli measures concerning the
holy city null and void.

VENANT WEGE-NZOMWITA, Representative of the Organization of
African Unity, said the celebration today was an opportunity for the OAU to
reaffirm its solidarity with the Palestinian people. No one could say that there
had been progress in implementing the peace agreements entered in freely by
the parties including Israel. The present Israeli Government, through it untimely
measures to satisfy extremist elements in the country, had endangered the peace
process. Israeli authorities continued to confiscate Palestinian land and to
establish settlements on it. The OAU reaffirmed its support of the heroic
struggle of the Palestinian people for their inalienable rights, including their right
to self-determination and an independent state on their territory with East
Jerusalem as its capital.

The International Coordinating Committee for Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs) on the Question of Palestine noted that as in most
countries in the world, women in the Middle East had not been given a chance
to have a leadership role or to be fully involved in the peace negotiations and
they remained largely under represented at most levels of government. Mrs.
CAROLINE NJUKI, who read out the Committee’s statement, said that many
women in the region were working for a peaceful resolution of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She underlined that while the United Nations and
many NGOs were committed to the support of the Palestinian cause, much
more had to be done by the international community as a whole, not
withstanding the inclusion of women in all plans of action.

Mr. NABIL RAMLAWI, Permanent Observer of Palestine, also addressed the
meeting and said that the celebration today was especially important because of
Israel’s flagrant violation of Palestinian rights. The world today realized that the
stalement in the peace process between the Arabs and Israel was caused by the
reneging of the Israeli Government of the principles of the peace process set by
the Madrid conference, including the principle of land for peace. The
Government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reneged on the
agreements and refused to implement whatever had been agreed upon so far.

Mr. RAMLAWI said that the building of Israeli settlements on occupied
Palestinian territories was a serious violation of international law and reflected
Israel’s intention to continue its occupation of the Palestinian lands. Israel was
also changing the geographic and demographic features of occupied East
Jerusalem with the aim of removing its Arab characteristics and religious
importance. Israel used terrorism and security as an excuse to run away from its
political commitments.

“The Israeli Government’s understanding of peace is different from that of the
world. When Israel talks of peace, it means security for Israel, increasing its
occupation of Palestinian territories and continuing to build settlements there,
seizing lands, destructing homes, detaining thousands of Palestinians,
implementing mass punishments and reneging on its international commitments
according to agreements it signed,” Mr. RAMLAWI said.

He affirmed that Israel’s reneging on its commitments and the peace agreements
it signed has led to the stalemate of the peace process, and that the Israeli
Government was solely responsible for this. He underlined the importance of
Palestinians achieving self-determination and an independent state with East
Jerusalem as its capital.