{"id":119950,"date":"2017-06-29T16:16:38","date_gmt":"2017-06-29T16:16:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=119950"},"modified":"2024-09-06T12:07:34","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T16:07:34","slug":"n-forum-to-mark-fifty-years-of-occupation-the-path-to-independence-justice-and-peace-for-palestine-new-york-29-june-2017-press-release-gapal1387","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/n-forum-to-mark-fifty-years-of-occupation-the-path-to-independence-justice-and-peace-for-palestine-new-york-29-june-2017-press-release-gapal1387\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Forum to Mark Fifty Years of Occupation: The Path to Independence Justice, and Peace for Palestine (New York, 29 June 2017) – Press Release (GA\/PAL\/1387)"},"content":{"rendered":"
Please visit the\u00a0Conference website<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/h5>\n
29 JUNE 2016<\/strong>
\nGA\/PAL\/1387<\/strong><\/h5>\n

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fran\u00e7ais<\/a><\/p>\n

Ending 50\u00a0years of occupation by Israel was not only a matter of international security, but also of defeating Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL\/Da\u2019esh), a senior Palestinian official said today as Headquarters hosted a forum to commemorate that milestone.<\/p>\n

In opening remarks at the two-day June forum marking 50\u00a0years of occupation in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Syrian Golan following the 1967 war, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Secretary-General Saeb Erakat said the occupation had created the \u201cright environment for the birth of extremism\u201d in the Middle East.\u00a0 Yet, 99\u00a0per cent of those fighting ISIL were Arabs, he pointed out.\u00a0 \u201cLet me be very clear; we have a political conflict\u201d, not a religious one.<\/p>\n

While emphasizing that the best option for the Palestinian people was \u201cto live and let live\u201d, he declared: \u00a0\u201cUnfortunately, we do not have a partner in Israel today,\u201d adding that it was time to hold that country\u2019s Government accountable and to rebuke the apartheid policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. \u00a0Israel believed it could continue enforcing apartheid and get away with it, he added, pointing out that in the West Bank, 60\u00a0per percent of which remained outside Palestinian control, locals compelled to carry identification cards had different vehicle registration plates from those issued to Israelis.<\/p>\n

Urging countries to recognize the two-State solution, he said discriminatory laws were being discussed in the Knesset.\u00a0 \u201cIn 2017, a nation State that bragged about being the only democracy in the region is introducing laws to ban Palestinians from using buses, from using roads,\u201d he said, adding:\u00a0 \u201cThis cannot stand.\u201d\u00a0 Occupation should not be rewarded.<\/p>\n

He said that although he recognized Israel\u2019s right to exist \u2014 stressing \u201cwe are going to live and let live\u201d \u2014 he wanted Israelis to change from occupier to neighbour.\u00a0 \u201cWe have negotiated enough,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s time for decisions.\u201d\u00a0 Ending the occupation was a direct responsibility of the international community, yet Israel, with its settlement policies, continued to enjoy military might, as well as the backing of the United States Congress and Ambassador Nikki Haley.\u00a0 \u201cIf it is my word against any Israeli, or the United States Congress, I do not stand a chance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The new Trump Administration offered an opportunity to engage and give peace a chance, he continued, pointing out that no one stood to lose more in the absence of peace than the Palestinian people. \u00a0Hopefully, a day would come when Israel would sit at the table without feeling as though they were merely doing the Palestinians a favour, he said. \u00a0Perhaps a day would come when they would feel as though they were doing themselves a favour as well.\u00a0 He also emphasized that Hamas was a democratically elected Palestinian political party, and that there could never be a Palestinian State without Gaza.\u00a0 The time had come for Hamas to end its \u201ccoup d\u2019\u00e9tat\u201d and allow the Government to function in Gaza, he stressed. \u00a0\u201cWe must resort to ballots not bullets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Secretary-General, in remarks delivered by Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, said that ending the occupation was the only way to lay the foundation for an enduring peace that met both Israeli security needs and Palestinian aspirations for statehood. \u00a0Resolving the conflict would also help to remove a driver of violent extremism and terrorism in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Fifty years of Israeli occupation, and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Syrians had imposed a heavy humanitarian and development burden on the Palestinian people, he continued. \u00a0Generations of Palestinians had grown up in crowded refugee camps, many in abject poverty, and with little or no prospect of a better life for their children, he said, adding that 50\u00a0long years of occupation had fuelled recurring cycles of violence and retribution.\u00a0 It was vital to return to direct negotiations, he emphasized.\u00a0 \u201cIt is time to end the conflict by establishing an independent Palestinian State, side by side in peace and security with the State of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Deputy Secretary-General spoke in her personal capacity, underscoring the deep despair of the Palestinian people. \u00a0The international community had for far too long failed to find a just and lasting solution to their displacement, she said, noting that generations of Palestinians and Israelis had been confined by a conflict that had shaped their world with concrete walls, checkpoints and watch towers, all under a heavy atmosphere of fear, mutual distrust and despair.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome think that the situation can be managed,\u201d she said. \u00a0\u201cThey are wrong; it must be resolved.\u201d \u00a0A two-State solution was the only path to ensure that Palestinians and Israelis could live in peace, security and dignity. \u00a0It was crucial to end all unilateral actions undermining a two-State solution, she said, pointing out that settlement construction \u2014 illegal under international law \u2014 had prevented progress, as incitement to violence had exacerbated mistrust between Palestinians and Israelis.\u00a0 Spotlighting the occupation\u2019s humanitarian cost, she said nearly half of the 4.8\u00a0million people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory depended on humanitarian assistance. \u00a0In Gaza, the situation continued to deteriorate because of an energy crisis. \u00a0As usual, the most vulnerable were paying the highest price for political failure.<\/p>\n

For the last 50\u00a0years, the question of Palestinian had remained a symbol and rallying cry, she said, while cautioning that it was easily misappropriated and exploited by extremist groups. \u00a0Peace required political will from all sides, and the international community had a responsibility to support that process, she stressed, while looking forward to a future in which Palestinians and Israelis would each enjoy security and thriving democracy.<\/p>\n

Fod\u00e9 Seck (Senegal), Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, said that since its creation in 1975, the Committee had worked tirelessly to mobilize efforts towards ending the occupation. \u00a0Unfortunately, there were still two realities in the Middle East: \u00a0a democratic and prosperous State of Israel \u2014 as envisaged by the Â鶹APP \u2014 on one side, and the Palestinian people in search of an independent and viable State on the other.\u00a0 Today\u2019s gathering was occurring in the midst of worrying developments, both in terms of the situation on the ground and the political process. \u00a0The Committee would continue to support the common goal of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, he said.<\/p>\n

The Committee held two panel discussions, \u201cThe Costs and Consequences of Fifty Years of Occupation\u201d in the morning, and \u201cBeyond Occupation: \u00a0The Path Ahead to Palestinian Independence and a Just Peace\u201d in the afternoon.<\/p>\n

The forum will reconvene at 10\u00a0a.m. Friday, 30\u00a0June.<\/p>\n

Panel I<\/u><\/p>\n

Moderating the morning panel discussion, on \u201cThe Costs and Consequences of 50\u00a0Years of Occupation\u201d, was Michele Dunne, Director and Senior Fellow, Middle East Programme, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.\u00a0 It featured presentations by the following panellists:\u00a0 Saeb Erakat, Secretary-General, Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO); Shlomo Ben-Ami, former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Israel; Nabil A. Elaraby, former Secretary-General, League of Arab States; and Zaha Hassan, former Coordinator and Senior Legal Adviser to the Palestinian Negotiating Team.<\/p>\n

Ms. DUNNE opened the discussion by recalling that Israel had taken control of East Jerusalem, West Bank, Gaza, Golan and Sinai at the end of June\u00a01967 war, eventually, returning Sinai to Egypt while the other territories remained in a patchwork of different arrangements.<\/p>\n

Mr. ELARABY described the 50\u00a0years of Israeli occupation as an affront to the international legal order, recalling that, when a permanent member of the Security Council had occupied Crimea, the international community had decided to take action.\u00a0 \u201cHere, you looked the other way,\u201d he pointed out.\u00a0 He recalled that he had been present in the Council in June\u00a01967 and in October\u00a01973, and had participated in the 1973\u00a0peace conference in Geneva.\u00a0 \u201cI have seen attempts by the international community to do something,\u201d he emphasized.\u00a0 \u201cNow the narrative is \u2018let\u2019s talk\u2019.\u201d\u00a0 Noting that he had negotiated with Israel over for more than 15\u00a0years, he stressed that time was of great strategic importance.\u00a0 Two principles must apply to the Palestinian territories, as the International Court of Justice had made clear:\u00a0 non-annexation and the welfare of the population.\u00a0 It was important to see a conference dedicated to implementing resolutions\u00a0242\u00a0(1967) and\u00a0338\u00a0(1973), he said, noting its similarity to the 1973\u00a0Geneva meeting.\u00a0 During the Camp David negotiations, he added, it had been agreed that resolution\u00a0242\u00a0(1967) would apply to Palestinian territories, but all kinds of justifications had been advanced simply to postpone that action.<\/p>\n

Mr. BEN-AMI said that, for Israel, 1967\u00a0meant military grandeur on the one hand, and moral and political crisis on the other.\u00a0 At that time, Israel\u2019s historic encounter with Judea and Samaria had shifted every political party to different positions from their pre-1967\u00a0attitudes.\u00a0 The National Religious Party had been the least \u201ctrigger happy\u201d in government, but that had changed after its contact with the biblical lands of Judea and Samaria \u2014 the terms used at the time.\u00a0 The Haaretz<\/em> newspaper had been affected by a messianic sense, he recalled.\u00a0 Settlements had been started by the bloc of the faithful and sanctioned by the Labour Party.\u00a0 The distinction between political settlements in the heart of the West Bank \u2014 biblically sensitive places \u2014 and others favoured by the Labour Party had blurred with the Likud Party\u2019s ascension to power, he said, pointing out that the rise of the Israeli right could not be separated from the 1967\u00a0war.\u00a0 The \u201cold secular, modernizing Israel\u201d was in decline while \u201cJerusalem Israel\u201d was on the rise, he said.\u00a0 It represented Jewish history and the rise of ethnic nationalism reflected in the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu, whose power base had realized that emphasizing Israel\u2019s Jewish character was a \u201cwinning horse\u201d.<\/p>\n

Some had cautioned that the persistence of occupation would create spill-over effects on the other side of the Green Line, including the rise of illiberal practices, he continued.\u00a0 Today, Israel was endorsing all kinds of laws that one would not expect in a liberal democracy, which in turn, was related to the \u201cecosystem\u201d established in the Territories.\u00a0 Israel had never had the kind of global outreach it enjoyed today, and the \u201cBoycott, Divestment Sanctions\u201d campaign had had only a marginal effect \u2014 if any \u2014 on conditions inside the country.\u00a0 Israel\u2019s shift to the right was also linked to perceptions of why the peace process had failed.\u00a0 \u201cWe do not want a one-State solution,\u201d he emphasized, while noting that many questioned why Israel would make any effort towards two States now, when its economy was booming, international relations had never been better, and there was a friendly United States Administration in place.\u00a0 Israel had become a tacit member of the Sunni alliance in the Middle East, he said.\u00a0 \u201cWhy go back to the 1967\u00a0borders?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. HASSAN said no part of the conflict revealed the pervasive oppression, particularly of young people, more than the situation in Gaza, where they represented more than 60\u00a0per\u00a0cent of the population.\u00a0 She said that, had she been born in Gaza, she would more than likely have been the child of a refugee, someone who had known nothing other than occupation, who had graduated from high school during the first Intifada, who had seen friends arrested and possibly killed.\u00a0 She said that she would have seen the Oslo Accords and carried hope for the creation of a State, which would have been dashed quickly.\u00a0 Palestinians in Gaza must feel powerless, praying that their food did not spoil, that their children would not give up hope and provoke their own suicide.\u00a0 Emphasizing that she would not count on a peace agreement between the Palestinians and Israel, she said young people today were probably not seeking a Palestinian State since they knew nothing other than humiliation.\u00a0 \u201cWhat they do want to see is their dignity preserved,\u201d she said.\u00a0 Noting that 2017\u00a0also marked a decade of the siege on Gaza, she said that she would have been \u201cmost interested\u201d in trying to survive it.\u00a0 It could be that Governments all over the world welcomed Israel, but the reality was that their solidarity with Palestinians was growing, having witnessed three invasions of Gaza and Israel\u2019s disproportionate use of force.\u00a0 Eventually, Israel would need to ask if it wanted to be known as a racist State or welcomed into the family of nations as a true democracy.<\/p>\n

Mr. ERAKAT described the question of Palestine as the longest-running issue on the Â鶹APP agenda, marked by the killing of thousands of people and the exile of millions, most of whom still lived in refugee camps; the demolition of 50,000\u00a0homes since\u00a01967; and the confiscation of land and exploitation of natural resources for colonial settlers living in occupied Palestine.\u00a0 \u201cLet me be very clear:\u00a0 We have a political conflict,\u201d not a religious one, he said.\u00a0 While calling Judaism one of God\u2019s great religions, he said Israel\u2019s Prime Minister was trying to transform the conflict into a religious one.\u00a0 Israel believed it could continue enforcing apartheid and get away with it, yet 99\u00a0per\u00a0cent of those fighting Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL\/Da\u2019esh) were Arabs.\u00a0 He recalled that King Salman of Saudi Arabia had been approached at an Arab-American summit about the possibility of rapprochement with Israel, and had remarked that, should Israel withdraw to the 1967\u00a0borders, \u201cthen we\u2019ll talk of normalization, not before\u201d.\u00a0 Urging countries to recognize the two-State solution, he said discriminatory laws were being discussed that in the Knesset.\u00a0 \u201cIn\u00a02017, a nation State that bragged about being the only democracy in the region is introducing laws to ban Palestinians from using buses, from using roads, he said, emphasizing:\u00a0 \u201cThis cannot stand.\u201d\u00a0 Occupation should not be rewarded.\u00a0 He said that although he recognized Israel\u2019s right to exist \u2014 stressing \u201cwe are going to live and let live\u201d\u00a0\u2014 he wanted Israelis to change from occupier to neighbour.\u00a0 \u201cWe have negotiated enough,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s time for decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the ensuing discussion, a speaker from Seeds of Peace<\/u> recalled a young Palestinian man\u2019s comments about the essential need for hope.\u00a0 A speaker from Al-Haq<\/u>, which he described as a Palestinian human rights organization, said there were key questions around who benefited from the occupation, and whether the Israeli elite was exploiting religion for economic gain, thereby placing civilians in harm\u2019s way.\u00a0 A speaker from The Jerusalem Post<\/u><\/em> asked about the presence of speakers from organizations like Al-Haq, with its alleged ties to terror organizations such as Hamas, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, while another, from Save Israel Stop the Occupation<\/u>, asked how one could oppose the occupation if one did not recognize it.<\/p>\n

Mr. BEN-AMI, on the occupation\u2019s beneficiaries, emphasized that the colonial reality, especially in terms of \u201creal estate\u201d, could not be denied.\u00a0 Israel was a city-State built around Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with parts of the West Bank the providing \u201cnatural suburban land\u201d.\u00a0 For Orthodox Jews, real estate was expensive, so they were settling in neighbourhoods or settlements adjacent to the Green Line, but on the Palestinian side.\u00a0 The Orthodox, historically \u201ca-Zionist\u201d or anti-Zionist, were becoming nationalist, he said, noting that the cheap real estate they had in the West Bank had served a purpose.\u00a0 Describing other elements of cui bono<\/em> (who benefits?), he said that when one occupied a land, it became a dependent economy.\u00a0 The highways traversing the West Bank from north to south, where one would normally pay tolls to the Palestinians, and aquifers mostly used for Israeli purposes, were among the colonial components that could not be denied, he said.<\/p>\n

Ms. HASSAN said there was a growing movement among the young Jewish community in the United States to work for the end of the occupation, noting efforts by Jewish Voice for Peace to lobby Congress.\u00a0 That country\u2019s Democratic Party was also changing, especially during President Barak Obama\u2019s term, and skipping speeches by Prime Minister Netanyahu.\u00a0 Noting that young Jews were largely Democrats, she expressed her belief that they would become a driving force for change.<\/p>\n

Mr. ERAKAT underlined the need for hope, pointing out that when Prime Minister Netanyahu commented that \u201cyour State is not on my watch\u201d, the message was one of despair.\u00a0 He added that he held the Prime Minister accountable for the plight of Palestinians today, noting that those fighting ISIL were from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Mr. ELARABY called the occupation the biggest challenge to the international legal order.<\/p>\n

In another round of questions, the director and producer of the film Disturbing the Peace<\/em> \u2014 about former enemy combatants working to end the violence \u2014 said apathy was the biggest obstacle and asked the panellists how to overcome it.<\/p>\n

Mr. BEN-AMI commended any initiative focused on bringing Israelis and Palestinians together to explain the benefits of peace.\u00a0 Emphasizing that change would not be generated by pedagogic exercises, however important, he said that his son was a physician in Tel Aviv who regularly treated Gazans.\u00a0 Yet, that ability was absent when politicians sat around the table to address the Temple Mount or the return of refugees.\u00a0 \u201cPeace is not about trust, it is about respect,\u201d he said, pointing out, however, that Israelis did not address Palestinians with respect.\u00a0 Negotiating with what looked like a movement created insecurity because it was not a State, he said, stressing that a change of attitude on the part of leaders would make a difference.<\/p>\n

Mr. ERAKAT said the future was about two equal neighbours, adding that he often asked himself what Israeli negotiators had against him.\u00a0 He added that he recognized them, wanted to make peace with them, and more than 70\u00a0per\u00a0cent of Israelis and Palestinians wanted nothing less than two States based on the 1967\u00a0lines.\u00a0 Yet, new Israeli politicians believed that the cost of killing Palestinians was much lower than that of taking a risk on him as a person.<\/p>\n

AGHIN MEHDIYEV, Organization of Islamic Cooperation<\/u> (OIC), said that, for over five decades, Palestinians had lived under one of history\u2019s most oppressive colonial regimes, which seized land for its colonial settlements in actions amounting to war crimes.\u00a0 The world could not simply stand by, he said, emphasizing that the issue must be addressed meaningfully.\u00a0 The solution to the Middle East situation depended on resolving the Palestinian question, he said, citing the international consensus on a two-State solution based on the peace process, Security Council resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, among other efforts.\u00a0 The Â鶹APP had a special duty to find a solution, he stressed, calling upon the Security Council to fulfil its moral, legal and political responsibility for peace and justice in the region during\u00a02017.<\/p>\n

ABDULAZIZ S M A ALJARALLAH (Kuwait<\/u>), speaking on behalf of the League of Arab States deplored Israel\u2019s defiance of Â鶹APP resolutions, noting that its unlawful policies in Palestine continued unabated.\u00a0 Its inhumane practices, including the Gaza blockade, constituted grave violations of international law, as did its targeted air strikes and settlement activities, including in East Jerusalem.\u00a0 The League opposed all unilateral steps aimed at undermining the two-State solution, he said, underlining that a lasting, comprehensive and just peace was a strategic Arab choice that could only happen through resumed negotiations.\u00a0 Peace should be based on the relevant resolutions, the land-for-peace principle, the 2002\u00a0Arab Peace Initiative and the Road Map, all of which called for Israel\u2019s withdrawal from Palestinian, Syrian and other Arab territories, he said, calling also for the implementation of resolution\u00a02334\u00a0(2016) condemning Israel\u2019s settlement activities.<\/p>\n

ANA SILVIA RODR\u00cdGUEZ ABASCAL (Cuba<\/u>) said the occupation and the overall Israeli-Palestinian conflict threatened international peace, citing construction of the separation wall, flagrant human rights violations, the killing of children, administrative detention, isolation, home demolitions and collective punishment.\u00a0 The Security Council must work to end the occupation, she said, emphasizing that the only solution was the peaceful coexistence of two independent States, including a sovereign State of Palestine with its capital in East Jerusalem, within the pre-1967\u00a0borders.\u00a0 She reaffirmed Cuba\u2019s solidarity with struggle of Palestinians to exercise their right to independence and sovereignty.<\/p>\n

DIAN TRIANSYAH DJANI (Indonesia<\/u>) said there was no mystery about where Palestine had been or where it ought to be.\u00a0 Palestinian children had seen their dreams of an independent homeland dashed, their land turned into settlements, a wall built to divide their people, as well as repeated violence.\u00a0 On 23\u00a0December\u00a02016, the Council had adopted resolution\u00a02334\u00a0(2016), he recalled, describing that text as among the most significant on the Palestinian file.\u00a0 It warned that ending all settlement activities was essential for salvaging the two-State solution, and declared settlements illegal.\u00a0 The Council also stated it would not recognize any change to the 4 June 1967 lines, he said, suggesting a look at the past in order to forge a path forward.\u00a0 The answers lay in resolution\u00a02334\u00a0(2016), the land for peace principle, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Middle East Quartet\u2019s Road Map, he reiterated.<\/p>\n

JAIME HERMIDA CASTILLO (Nicaragua<\/u>), recalling General Assembly resolution\u00a0181\u00a0(1947), which called for the establishment of two States, said resolution\u00a02334\u00a0(2016) must also be implemented.\u00a0 Nicaragua supported dialogue and reaffirmed the position of the Heads of State attending the seventeenth Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Margarita, as well as the statement by the Movement\u2019s Ministerial Committee on 27\u00a0June.\u00a0 He underscored the role of the Â鶹APP Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), expressing hope that its budget deficit would be overcome.<\/p>\n

CARMELO INGUANEZ (Malta<\/u>) emphasized that the viability of the two-State solution was a core priority due to the frustration on the ground arising from the absence of a political horizon.\u00a0 Peace could not be imposed, and would not be attained unless the parties embarked on a negotiation process, he said, adding that the international community was obliged to help them launch a meaningful process that would lead to a comprehensive and durable peace.\u00a0 The expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem\u2019s Areas\u00a0C and\u00a0D placed the parties on a high-stakes collision course, with the legalization bill fuelling that threat, he noted, describing those activities as illegal and an obstacle to peace.\u00a0 It was incumbent upon all concerned to distinguish between the State of Israel and the territories occupied since\u00a01967, he stressed.\u00a0 Concern by the situation in Gaza and by the discovery of tunnels built under two UNRWA schools there, he called for the start of meaningful direct peace negotiations.<\/p>\n

Panel II<\/u><\/p>\n

Moderating the second discussion, titled \u201cBeyond Occupation: \u00a0The Path ahead to Palestinian Independence and a Just Peace\u201d, was Mouin Rabbani, Senior Fellow, Institute for Palestine Studies. \u00a0Making presentations were the following panellists: \u00a0Robert Serry, former Â鶹APP Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process; Galia Golan-Gild, Darwin Professor Emerita, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Aida Touma-Saliman, Member of Knesset from the Joint List, Israel; and Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine to the Â鶹APP.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0SERRY said there was a possibility of renewed United States-led peace talks, but one would have to be a very big optimist to believe that the next round of talks would finally produce peace and a lasting solution. \u00a0There had been much talk recently of regionalizing peace talks, he said, cautioning that such a step would risk reinforcing ongoing regional instability and deepening the Sunni-Shiite divide. \u00a0He expressed concern that perhaps the Â鶹APP had become part of the problem rather than the solution.\u00a0 If the efforts of the United States had not been fruitful, it may be time for Europe to intervene. \u00a0\u201cWhose backyard is it, after all?\u201d \u00a0The core principle of a Europe-led conference would be to end belligerency against Israel and to recognize Palestine. \u00a0Europe could be the catalyst for achieving that, he said, adding that while the Arabs ended their belligerency against Israel, Europe could recognize the State of Palestine, he suggested, while underscoring the role of the Palestinian delegation and stressing that any future peace efforts must ensure the stabilization of Gaza.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0GOLAN-GILD said much had happened since 1967, spotlighting the PLO\u2019s 1988 decision to recognize Israel. \u00a0While there were solutions to the issues of Jerusalem, borders, security and even refugees, leaders were needed who could go forward and do what must be done, she emphasized. \u00a0Another decision that had paved the way forward was Security Council resolution 2334 (2016), a practical decision designed to address what had been going on since 1967. \u00a0It was designed to stop Israel\u2019s creeping annexation of land, as well as Israeli actions that would render a two-State solution impossible. \u00a0Israel\u2019s task was to change public opinion, which was the only way to get leaders to enter negotiations with a different attitude, she said. \u00a0Civil society and opposition parties, with help of the international community, must change in Israel Government. \u00a0\u201cI do believe we can work together against the occupation and for peace,\u201d she stressed.\u00a0 Israel had a right to exist, and there could be two sovereign States, side by side, she insisted. \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s not too late yet,\u201d she added, warning against extremists on both sides gaining ground.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0TOUMA-SALIMAN said that as a Palestinian member of the Knesset, she had a view of the situation from within and from the other side as well. \u00a0Reclaiming the word \u201coccupation\u201d would help in addressing it. \u00a0\u201cThere is a State that is still occupying people who do not have a right to self-determination,\u201d she stressed, adding that framing it in that way helped people understand the situation and analyse it accurately. \u00a0\u201cAll people of the world have a right to resist occupation.\u201d\u00a0 She said the international community had a responsibility to guarantee that occupation was not profitable but costly. \u00a0The current situation was a crucial juncture in Palestinian history, she said, noting that all the talk of a two-State solution did not address the already existing one-State situation. \u00a0Israel was ruling with the tendency of an apartheid State and the window for a two-State solution was closing, warning: \u00a0\u201cWe are in the last one- to two-year window.\u201d\u00a0 The international community must take responsibility, and the Palestinians must end the division among them. \u00a0Describing unity as a significant tool in the liberation struggle, she said peace forces inside Israel must also take responsibility for their future, while expressing concern that civil society was being persecuted by the Government, which attacked any basis for democracy \u201cagain and again\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0MANSOUR said the Palestinian struggle against occupation was built on the steadfastness of the people living in the occupied territories. \u00a0Some of them had succeeded in pushing the limits and, therefore, in liberating their lands. \u00a0If that became a massive phenomenon, then the struggle against the occupation would be intensified. \u00a0\u201cIt is our duty as Palestinians,\u201d he said, emphasizing that unity was crucial. \u00a0Noting that Palestinians were fighting harder today for their national rights, he said today\u2019s generation had grown up within the reality of the State of Israel and were not afraid or too timid to stand up to it. \u00a0The Knesset was racist in nature and their anger was growing, perhaps because Palestinians were growing stronger, he said, emphasizing that the State of Palestine existed but remained under occupation. \u00a0He also underlined the efforts of anti-occupation civil society, particularly in the United States and including among the Jewish community. \u00a0The international community, particularly countries in Europe, must intensify their efforts and advocate a two-State solution, he added.<\/p>\n

In the ensuing discussion, a representative of Al-Awda: Palestine Right to Return Coalition<\/u> sought clarification of Mr.\u00a0Serry\u2019s comments about Arab belligerency against Israel.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0SERRY said Arabs had a part to play in resolving any conflict with Israel.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0GOLAN-GILD, asked by a representative of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation<\/u> how to deal with Israel when so many of its people viewed themselves as the \u201cchosen people\u201d, said she did not believe most Israelis saw themselves as the \u201cchosen people\u201d. \u00a0However, a sense of victimhood remained prevalent in that society, she said, adding that \u201cfear of manipulation\u201d continued to work and the Government played it.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0TOUMA-SALIMAN described the generation of young people who had absolutely no idea of everyday Palestinian struggles as the most dangerous creation of Israel\u2019s right-wing Government.<\/p>\n

When asked by a representative of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America<\/u> how religious leaders could support a solution in the Middle East, she said Prime Minister Netanyahu continued to spread the idea that the conflict was between Arab terrorists and Jews. \u00a0However, religious reconciliation would only happen when the occupation ended, she said, emphasizing that the prevailing situation now was not religious, but purely political.<\/p>\n

Ms.\u00a0GOLAN-GILD agreed, pointing out that President Trump was somehow tying the Israeli-Palestinian to the fight against ISIL\/Da\u2019esh. \u00a0Religious leaders standing up together might make a difference, she suggested.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For information media. Not an official record.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Please visit the\u00a0Conference website\u00a0for more information. 29 JUNE 2016 GA\/PAL\/1387   fran\u00e7ais Ending 50\u00a0years of occupation by Israel was not only a matter of international security, but also of defeating Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL\/Da\u2019esh), a senior Palestinian official said today as Headquarters hosted a forum to commemorate that milestone. In opening […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2433,1329],"document-source":[1753,2173,1897],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1805],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542,6541],"class_list":["post-119950","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-french-text","document-category-press-release","document-source-ceirpp","document-source-division-for-palestinian-rights-dpr","document-source-united-nations-department-of-public-information-dpi","document-subject-occupation","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english","document-language-french"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/119950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/119950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":300917,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/119950\/revisions\/300917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=119950"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=119950"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=119950"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=119950"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=119950"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=119950"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=119950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}