{"id":120086,"date":"2017-07-20T18:57:11","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T18:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=120086"},"modified":"2017-10-25T19:04:43","modified_gmt":"2017-10-25T19:04:43","slug":"international-conference-on-the-question-of-jerusalem-baku-azerbaijan-20-21-july-2017-plenary-i-press-release-gapal1392","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/international-conference-on-the-question-of-jerusalem-baku-azerbaijan-20-21-july-2017-plenary-i-press-release-gapal1392\/","title":{"rendered":"International Conference on the Question of Jerusalem (Baku, Azerbaijan, 20-21 July 2017) – Plenary I – Press Release (GA\/PAL\/1392)"},"content":{"rendered":"
20 JULY 2017<\/strong>
\nGA\/PAL1392<\/strong><\/h5>\n
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, 20\u00a0July \u2014 Warning that tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem had reached a breaking point, speakers outlined a range of challenges \u2014 from increasing discrimination against Palestinian women to a recent \u201cweaponization of religion\u201d at the Al-Haram al-Sharif\/Temple Mount \u2014 as the International Conference on the Question of Jerusalem held its first plenary session this afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are on the edge of a volcano,\u201d warned Daniel Seidemann, Director of Terrestrial Jerusalem and one of this afternoon\u2019s panellists.\u00a0 Noting that radical Israeli right ideology had moved into the mainstream and transformed Al-Haram al\u2011Sharif\/Temple Mount from a secure, Muslim Palestinian space into one of tension and danger, he said events on the ground over the next 48\u00a0to 72\u00a0hours would be critical.\u00a0 Indeed, if Israel responded to the peaceful Palestinian protests at Al\u2011Aqsa Mosque by backing down, a crisis could still be averted.<\/p>\n

Imad Abukishek, President of Al-Quds University in Jerusalem, urged participants to view recent escalations through the lens of Israel\u2019s long-standing and feverish attempts to obliterate the city\u2019s Islamic and Christian character.\u00a0 They included the establishment of the \u201cJerusalem\u00a02020\u201d plan, which aimed to reduce the city\u2019s Palestinian population to no more than 20\u00a0per\u00a0cent of its residents, as well increasing the number of settlements and building the \u201cracist wall of separation\u201d on Occupied Palestinian Territory with the aim of further isolating the population between the West Bank and Jerusalem, he said.<\/p>\n

Hadeel Abdo, Project Coordinator for the Â鶹APP Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, outlined the many particular challenges confronting Palestinian women living in East Jerusalem.\u00a0 They included struggles to navigate Israeli laws and accessing justice, especially in cases of domestic abuse or everyday matters such as obtaining a driver\u2019s licence \u2014 as well as embedded racism, discrimination in the workplace, online surveillance and pervasive fear, she said.<\/p>\n

Following those presentations, speakers representing non-governmental organizations and civil society expressed concern about the situation on the ground, asking the panellists to suggest ways to reduce tensions and move towards a peaceful solution.\u00a0 In response, speakers underscored the importance of international solidarity, efforts to improve education and opportunities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and restoring respectful dialogue in which each party would respect the fact that Jerusalem belonged to all peoples and all religions equally.<\/p>\n

The Conference will reconvene at 9\u00a0a.m. on Friday, 21\u00a0July, to continue its work.<\/p>\n

Statement<\/u><\/p>\n

The representative of Morocco<\/u> delivered a statement at the outset of the afternoon session, underlining his country\u2019s special relationship with Palestine and its long support for a settlement that would preserve the Palestinian people\u2019s right to create an independent and viable State with East Jerusalem as its capital.\u00a0 Morocco was also host to the Bayt Mal Al Quds Agency, the operational institution of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation\u2019s\u00a0(OIC) Al Quds Committee, which was committed to helping the Palestinians remain steadfast on their lands.\u00a0 In particular, it undertook efforts in the areas of health, education and population, as well as efforts to safeguard religious and civilizational heritage.\u00a0 Noting that Morocco supported more than 80\u00a0per\u00a0cent of that agency\u2019s budget, he called upon other States to increase their participation.<\/p>\n

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

The Conference then held the first of its three plenary discussions, on the theme \u201clife in East Jerusalem under occupation\u201d.\u00a0 Chaired by Husnan Bey Fananie\u00a0(Indonesia), it featured three panellists:\u00a0 Imad Abukishek, President of Al-Quds University in Jerusalem; Daniel Seidemann, Director of Terrestrial Jerusalem; and Hadeel Abdo, Project Coordinator, Â鶹APP Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.<\/p>\n

Mr. ABUKISHEK drew attention to Israel\u2019s long-standing and \u201cfeverish\u201d attempts to obliterate the Islamic and Christian character of Jerusalem, noting that such actions continued unabated despite repeated condemnations by the international community.\u00a0 On the contrary, Israel continued to work towards Jerusalem\u2019s judaization, an effort that had culminated in the \u201cJerusalem\u00a02020\u201d plan aimed at reducing the city\u2019s Palestinian population to no more than 20\u00a0per\u00a0cent of its residents.\u00a0 \u201cThis closes the last window of opportunity\u201d to avoid a political catastrophe, he warned, emphasizing that creating a new, irrevocable status quo would render the two-State solution impossible.<\/p>\n

Asserting that Israel was also replacing Jerusalem\u2019s Palestinian population with Israeli settlers \u2014 supported by a \u201cwar machine\u201d that killed and arrested without regard for laws, ethics or morals \u2014 he went on to outline challenges facing Jerusalem\u2019s Palestinian population in education, housing and social services, among other areas.\u00a0 The Israeli authorities had expanded the border of Jerusalem into the West Bank and built a \u201cracist wall of separation\u201d intended to further isolate the city\u2019s Palestinian population from the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.\u00a0 Noting that Israeli settlements had more than doubled in size since\u00a01993, he said holy sites, including Al-Haram al-Sharif\/Temple Mount, had been targeted with a view to further transforming Jerusalem\u2019s historical character.\u00a0 It was high time to hold Israel accountable and finally end the occupation, he emphasized, urging Member States to give full support to the cause of the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n

Mr. SEIDEMANN, emphasizing that relations between Israelis and Palestinians were \u201cstrained to the breaking point\u201d, recalled his recent urgent meeting with European Union representatives following two serious changes on the ground \u2014 the surge in Israeli settlement activities and the increasing radicalization around Al-Haram al-Sharif\/Temple Mount.\u00a0 \u201cWe are on the edge of a volcano,\u201d he warned, noting that no incident more serious had been seen since\u00a02000.\u00a0 Indeed, events on the ground over the next\u00a048 to\u00a072\u00a0hours would be critical.\u00a0 Asking whether installing metal detectors at the entrance to Al-Aqsa Mosque\/Haram al-Sharif following a violent 14\u00a0July incident constituted a violation of the status quo, he pointed out that the site had historically been designated as an exclusive place of worship for Muslims.\u00a0 Non-Muslim visitors had been permitted as guests, and it had long been the policy of many Israeli Governments that no Jewish prayer was permitted on the Temple Mount.<\/p>\n

In contrast to that historical status quo, he continued, previously radical views had today moved into the political mainstream and transformed Al-Haram al-Sharif\/Temple Mount from a secure, Muslim Palestinian space into one of tension and danger.\u00a0 Warning against such \u201cweaponization of religion\u201d, he said the parties were in a \u201cfrenzy of mutual denial\u201d in which each side ignored the other\u2019s claim to the city.\u00a0 While it was indeed generally legitimate to use metal detectors to prevent the smuggling of dangerous objects into public spaces, it was undeniable that, since Israeli police and border control officers were symbols of the occupation, their presence and actions at the gates of the Al-Aqsa Mosque were seen as a threat and a humiliation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been an occupying Power so long that it is no longer possible to separate conflict management and permanent status,\u201d he continued, underlining that the Government\u2019s reaction to the coherent, non-violent Palestinian protests at the holy site would have great significance going forward.\u00a0 Indeed, if Israel decided to back down now, a crisis could still be averted.\u00a0 \u201cWe are living in a situation where the brakes have been removed,\u201d and in which facts and accountability no longer mattered, he said.\u00a0 There was need to identify alternate sources of stability, including finally addressing the core issue of occupation.<\/p>\n

Ms. ABDO described a joint project of the Â鶹APP Development Programme\u00a0(UNDP) and UN-Women intended to create a better understanding of Palestinian women\u2019s access to justice in occupied East Jerusalem.\u00a0 She noted that, whereas Israeli law provided \u201cpermanent resident\u201d identification cards to Palestinians living in the city, they could be revoked at any time, did not give the right to reunite with family members and were not automatically passed down to children.\u00a0 In recent years, she noted, East Jerusalem had seen growing levels of violence, including attacks against Palestinian women.\u00a0 The Women\u2019s Studies Centre in Jerusalem had therefore conducted a study using feminist methodology to document the voices of the city\u2019s Palestinian women, including through interviews and the collection of letters, court records and other documents.\u00a0 Among its findings, the study revealed that Palestinian women and girls navigating the Israeli legal system struggled with challenges in such simple areas as obtaining a driver\u2019s licence.<\/p>\n

She went on to state that Palestinian survivors of domestic violence faced significant obstacles because they feared visits by the Israeli police, from whom they sought protection.\u00a0 Indeed, Palestinian women suffering abuse often refrained from calling the police, particularly if they were not legal residents of Jerusalem.\u00a0 The study also revealed that Palestinian women\u2019s access to the city\u2019s labour market was impacted by embedded racism, that women who spoke out politically or sought justice risked being fired, and that their social media accounts were under constant surveillance by employers.\u00a0 Letters from younger women and girls also revealed daily struggles, including constant fear and thoughts of death, as well as discrimination in higher education and in seeking employment opportunities.<\/p>\n

Discussion<\/u><\/p>\n

In the ensuing dialogue, participants expressed concern about the recent events, asking the panellists to suggest ways to reduce tensions and move towards a peaceful solution against that complex backdrop.<\/p>\n

Mr. SEIDEMANN underlined the need to promptly establish a respectful discourse on Jerusalem, emphasizing that the city belonged to all and that \u201cno one is entitled to denigrate or deny the attachment of anyone else\u201d.\u00a0 Jews, like Muslims, were deeply connected to sites in the holy land, \u201cand we have to respect that\u201d.\u00a0 Nevertheless, no attachment could justify changing the status quo, he stressed.<\/p>\n

The observer for the State of Palestine<\/u> said the installation of metal detectors and other restrictions at Al-Haram al-Sharif\/Temple Mount was \u201cchanging the reality\u201d on the ground with the goal of frustrating Palestinians and preventing them from accessing their holy sites.\u00a0 That action \u2014 alongside the expansion of settlements, the demolition of Palestinian homes and the continued imposition of hardships in the Occupied Palestinian Territory \u2014 was a \u201cvery sophisticated form of ethnic cleansing\u201d, and would only deepen the hatred and resentment between the parties.\u00a0 In that regard, he expressed hope that more Israelis would join Mr.\u00a0Seidemann in standing up to those policies.<\/p>\n

Mr. ABUKISHEK, asked how to improve the situation of those living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said that improving education would increase opportunities for Palestinians currently forced to seek education or employment abroad.<\/p>\n

A representative of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation<\/u> asked the panellists how Muslim nations could better educate their populations about the Palestinian cause, as some participants said the low attendance by Islamic countries was evidence of their lack of strong support for the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n

Mr. FANANIE (Indonesia), Conference Chair, responded by saying the occupation imposed against the Palestinians was deeply felt among his country\u2019s 240\u00a0million Muslims. \u00a0\u201cThis is the time to find our solidarity,\u201d not only among Muslim countries, but among humans all over the world, he added.<\/p>\n

Also speaking were representatives of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum, National Organization for Human Rights Palestine Committee, Â鶹APP Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, and several individual members of civil society.<\/p>\n

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

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