{"id":283428,"date":"2022-11-29T09:49:03","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T14:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&#038;p=283428"},"modified":"2022-11-30T14:44:55","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T19:44:55","slug":"amid-creeping-annexation-shrinking-civil-society-space-for-palestinians-israel-must-be-held-accountable-speakers-stress-at-meeting-marking-international-solidarity-day-press-release-ga-pal-1447","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/amid-creeping-annexation-shrinking-civil-society-space-for-palestinians-israel-must-be-held-accountable-speakers-stress-at-meeting-marking-international-solidarity-day-press-release-ga-pal-1447\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid Creeping Annexation, Shrinking Civil Society Space for Palestinians, Israel Must Be Held Accountable, Speakers Stress at Meeting Marking International Solidarity Day &#8211; Press Release (GA\/PAL\/1447)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"block\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-symbol field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item\" style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>GA\/PAL\/1447<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-dated field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item\" style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong><time datetime=\"2022-11-29T12:00:00Z\">29 NOVEMBER 2022<\/time><\/strong><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/press.un.org\/fr\/2022\/agpal1447.doc.htm\">Fran\u00e7ais<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/media.un.org\/en\/asset\/k1j\/k1jhim7sy3\">v<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/media.un.org\/en\/asset\/k1j\/k1jhim7sy3\">i<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/media.un.org\/en\/asset\/k1j\/k1jhim7sy3\">deo<\/a><\/p>\n<h4>State of Palestine\u2019s Permanent Observer Requests International Conference for Resolving All Final Status Issues, as Speakers Urge End to Deadly Violence<\/h4>\n<p>Against a background of increasing violence, shrinking civil society space and creeping annexation, speakers at a special meeting of the Palestinian Rights Committee to observe the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People stressed the need to mobilize efforts to hold Israel accountable, including through the International Court of Justice.<\/p>\n<p>Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine, delivering a message on behalf of Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, said t<span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">he international community cannot expect Israel to wake up one day and choose justice and peace.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>That country\u2019s violations have been referred to the International Court of Justice, he noted<span lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\">, also cautioning<\/span>\u00a0those States that have established diplomatic and trade relations with Israel that this violates international law.<\/p>\n<p>Stressing the importance of full membership for the State of Palestine in the Â鶹APP, he called for the convening of an international conference under the auspices of the Organization to resolve all final status issues.\u00a0 Recalling the assassination of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by the Israeli occupying forces and the attack on her funeral and coffin bearers, he described it as the one event that summarizes Israel and its occupation.<\/p>\n<p>Cheikh Niang (Senegal), Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, also highlighted the request for an advisory opinion from the Court on the legality of Israel\u2019s prolonged occupation, as recommended in a resolution approved this year by the General Assembly\u2019s Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization).\u00a0 Pointing to the dangerous escalation in military raids across the occupied West Bank in 2022, he stressed that such violence is not the answer to a just peace in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>Underscoring \u201cthe global consensus\u201d that Israel\u2019s provocative actions, especially in regard to the historic and legal status quo of Jerusalem and its holy sites, must end, he added that the occupation is not temporary but rather a creeping annexation.\u00a0 Highlighting the shrinking civil society space, he expressed concern about Israel\u2019s relentless targeting of Palestinian civil society organizations, including the decision to outlaw six that are partners to the Â鶹APP.<\/p>\n<p>Al-Haq, one of those organizations, participated in today\u2019s meeting, with its General Director, Shawan Jabarin, speaking by video because his Â鶹APP travel visa was denied.\u00a0 Criminalizing human rights defenders and organizations and labelling them terrorists is an attempt to silence them, he pointed out, adding that Israel adopts laws to systematically suppress all resistance to its settler colonial apartheid regime. \u00a0Calling on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to expedite the investigation into the situation in the State of Palestine, he underscored that persecution cannot last forever.<\/p>\n<p>The West Bank is a tinder-box in tension, Earle Courtenay Rattray, Chef de Cabinet, who also spoke on behalf of Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, said.\u00a0 2022 is on track to being the deadliest year for Palestinians since the tracking of fatalities began in 2005, he pointed out, calling for immediate steps to break the deadly cycle of violence, improve living conditions and enable the Â鶹APP Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to deliver on its mandate.<\/p>\n<p>Csaba K\u0151r\u00f6si (Hungary), President of the General Assembly, echoed the call for solidarity, adding that a fundamental element of solidarity is to walk in the shoes of the Palestinians.\u00a0 Solidarity must be shown through concrete steps, including giving UNRWA the funds it needs, he stressed, adding that all human beings are born equal and entitled to enjoy the same rights, whether they are Israeli citizens or not, whether they live in Palestine, Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Galilee or Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>Other speakers took up the call for predictable funding for UNRWA, including Peter Mohan Maithri Pieris (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, which recently visited the Agency\u2019s office and Palestinian refugee camps.\u00a0 He expressed concern about the demolitions of Palestinian-owned structures and the displacement of Palestinian residents, adding that the families of Palestinians killed continue to be deprived of closure through the denial of proper and dignified burials.<\/p>\n<p>During the meeting, the Committee screened two short documentaries:\u00a0\u00a0<em>Shireen Abu Akleh: \u00a0Narrator of the Palestinian Tale<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Yasser Murtaja:\u00a0 Armed with a Camera in Gaza<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Also speaking today were the representative of Ghana in his capacity as President of the Security Council for November, the Permanent Observers for the African Union, the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation\u00a0(OIC), and the representative of Azerbaijan, speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.<\/p>\n<p>The Chair read out a list of Heads of State and Government, ministers and civil society representatives who sent messages of solidarity and noted that these messages will be posted on the Â鶹APP website on the \u201cQuestion of Palestine\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><u>Opening Remarks<\/u><\/p>\n<p>CHEIKH NIANG (Senegal), Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, said that on this day \u2014 the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People \u2014 the promise of independence, self-determination and the realization of the Palestinian people\u2019s rights remains unfulfilled.\u00a0 For over 55\u00a0years, the Palestinian people and Palestine refugees have experienced increasing levels of dispossession, displacement, violence, insecurity and violations of human rights.\u00a0 The dangerous escalation in military raids across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 2022 has led to the killing and injury of civilians.\u00a0 Such violence is not the answer to a just peace in the Middle East as outlined in international law and countless Â鶹APP resolutions, he emphasized while calling for the immediate cessation of civilian killings and accountability for perpetrators.\u00a0 \u201cThe global consensus is clear that the provocative rhetoric and actions by Israel, especially in regard to the historic and legal status quo of Jerusalem and its holy sites, which greatly inflame tensions, must end,\u201d he underscored.<\/p>\n<p>Turning to Israel\u2019s ongoing expansion of illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the rise in settler violence, he voiced the Committee\u2019s grave concern that Israel\u2019s occupation is not temporary but rather a creeping annexation.\u00a0 Israel must reverse the dispossession and forcible displacement of Palestinians as well as the transfer of its population to occupied land.\u00a0 Condemning Israel\u2019s relentless targeting of Palestinian civil society organizations \u2014 including the decision to outlaw six that are partners to the Â鶹APP and the Committee \u2014 as well as the shrinking of space for them, he called on that country to fully lift its 15-year illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip.\u00a0 Such actions are the source of countless human rights violations, lead to Gaza\u2019s de-development and run contrary to peace and international law.\u00a0 The land, air and sea blockade must end, he stressed.<\/p>\n<p>While the promise of the Â鶹APP remains unfulfilled, he noted that the Assembly\u2019s Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) recommended five resolutions during its seventy-seventh session which include a request for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legality of Israel\u2019s prolonged occupation.\u00a0 It also includes an extension of the mandate for Â鶹APP Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).\u00a0 The Committee will continue to strongly appeal for sustainable and predictable funding for the Agency, he said.\u00a0 Going forward, it will also continue its targeted outreach with Member States and regional organizations to sustain international attention on the question of Palestine and advocate for the two-State solution.\u00a0 \u201cThe Committee will tirelessly continue to serve as a torchbearer until we reach a comprehensive solution based on international law and whereby Palestine and Israel will live side-by-side along the pre-1967 lines in peace and security,\u201d he pledged.<\/p>\n<p>CSABA K\u0150R\u00d6SI, President of the General Assembly, said the international community must consider the Palestinian plight through the lens of solidarity.\u00a0 The Palestinian people \u2014 like all people \u2014 have the inalienable right to live in dignity, with liberty, freedom of movement, freedom from fear and access to basic services.\u00a0 Peace must be translated into food, shelter, health and education, as well as freedom and human dignity: \u00a0a steadily better life.\u00a0 The tensions in the region remain very high, he said, stressing that the international community must aspire to change this, and to pioneer solutions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe international community must find a way to restore hope among Palestinians, especially the young generation, that all human beings are born equal and entitled to enjoy the same rights, whether they are Israeli citizens or not, living in Palestine, Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Galilee or Gaza,\u201d he said.\u00a0 Further, it must restore hope that prosperity cannot be a result of a zero-sum game but the outcome of an endeavour based on a historic compromise, that the right to development belongs to all, that the political leadership will be able to cater to their needs and that there are solutions.<\/p>\n<p>The international community must ensure Palestinian rights are protected for current and future generations, he said.\u00a0 A fundamental element of solidarity is understanding the plight of others and to \u201cwalk in their shoes\u201d.\u00a0 The international community must not stand in solidarity, but move in solidarity, reaffirming the Palestinians right to self-determination, he stressed.\u00a0 Solidarity must be shown through concrete steps, including giving UNRWA the funds that it needs to undertake its work.\u00a0 The political will to find long-term solutions seems low, nevertheless, UNRWA must be funded to enable it to undertake its task.\u00a0 Governments must find compromise, direct dialogue and have good-faith negotiations in the Middle East.\u00a0 The only way to end the conflict is with a just solution that takes into account the legitimate aspirations of all sides.\u00a0 There is no way to peace, rather peace is the way, he said, stressing the aim of a Middle East free of conflict and free to use the enormous potential of its peoples.<\/p>\n<p>HAROLD ADLAI AGYEMAN (Ghana), President of the Security Council, said a just lasting solution to the conflict in the Middle East can only be found through peaceful means.\u00a0 Over the course of the past year, the situation in the Middle East, including the question of Palestine, remained under review by the Council, and members continued to express their concern on the deteriorating situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, repeatedly underlining the importance of resuming negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians and reiterating that unilateral actions and violence will lead nowhere.\u00a0 Security Council members have reiterated regularly that a final settlement of all the final status issues can only be achieved through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians within the framework of Â鶹APP resolutions, including Council resolution\u00a02334\u00a0(2016).<\/p>\n<p>The Security Council remains committed to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East based on the vision of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security with mutually agreed and recognized borders, and with Jerusalem as the capital of both States, he said.\u00a0 The Council also supports an agreed and just resolution of the question of Palestinian refugees. \u00a0It commends the efforts of humanitarian agencies, particularly UNRWA, which provides a lifeline for refugees in the region.\u00a0 The Council will continue to follow closely the situation and consider the issue on a regular basis, as well as foster and support efforts to create peace for all in the Middle East, including real peace and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians.\u00a0 Only with dialogue and diplomacy will both attain the measures of freedom, dignity and peace that they both deserve, he stressed.<\/p>\n<p>EARLE COURTENAY RATTRAY, Chef de Cabinet, speaking on behalf of Â鶹APP Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, called on all parties to take immediate steps to reduce tensions and break the deadly cycle of violence.\u00a0 The longstanding drivers of conflict \u2014 including the ongoing occupation, settlement expansion, home demolitions and evictions \u2014 heighten anger, despair and hopelessness.\u00a0 Gaza, he added, continues to endure debilitating closures and humanitarian crises.\u00a0 All parties must engage to end the closures of Gaza and improve living conditions for all Palestinians.\u00a0 Commending donors for their support to UNRWA, he urged all to provide predictable and sustainable funding to enable the Agency to fully deliver on its mandate.\u00a0 \u201cThe Â鶹APP position is clear: \u00a0peace must advance and the occupation must end,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p>\n<p>Adding some of his own words, Mr.\u00a0RATTRAY said this day is a powerful reminder that the international community must never lose sight of the deteriorating situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.\u00a0 2022 is on track to being the deadliest year for Palestinians since the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs began systematically tracking fatalities in 2005.\u00a0 The West Bank, he continued, is a tinder-box in tension.\u00a0 The situation in Jerusalem is becoming more fragile amidst provocations and acts of violence in and around the holy sites.\u00a0 Gaza\u2019s 2\u00a0million Palestinian inhabitants continue to suffer under debilitating closures.\u00a0 While he welcomed the steps to ease access and movement over the past year, he nevertheless emphasized that more is required to reduce tensions and open a clear, political horizon.\u00a0 All must help in setting UNRWA on solid financial footing, he echoed.\u00a0 Without a credible, political pathway towards ending the occupation, the situation will only worsen.\u00a0 Demolitions, illegal settlement expansion, forced evictions, collective punitive measures, violence and incitement will not bring peace, he stressed.<\/p>\n<p><u>Statements<\/u><\/p>\n<p>RIYAD H. MANSOUR, Permanent Observer for the\u00a0<u>State of Palestine<\/u>, delivering a message on behalf of Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, expressed gratitude to the overwhelming majority of Member States for their support to the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.\u00a0 Describing \u201canother year of killing, siege, arrest, forced displacement and home demolitions,\u201d he drew attention to increasing violence against the Palestinian people and their Christian and Islamic holy site as well as the incitement to violence from Israeli officials and members of the Israeli Knesset.\u00a0 The Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was assassinated by the Israeli occupying forces in cold blood, and her funeral and coffin bearers were attacked, he recalled, adding \u201cthis is Israel and its occupation\u201d summarized in one event.\u00a0 The international community cannot expect the Israeli occupier to wake up one day, and choose justice and peace, he said, calling for intensification of efforts to put pressure on Israel to end its occupation and stop its crimes.<\/p>\n<p>The two-State solution, based on the 1967 borders, he continued, is enshrined in Â鶹APP resolutions, which identified the terms of reference and the basis for a settlement to the conflict, as well as the mechanisms to achieve it within a defined timeframe.\u00a0 Cautioning those States that have established trade or diplomatic offices in Jerusalem or concluded agreements with companies or educational institutions operating in settlements or buy products from these settlements, he said that such actions are in violation of international law. \u00a0The Israeli authorities are undermining the two-State solution and entrenching Apartheid.\u00a0 Therefore, the State of Palestine has referred the Israeli colonial system and all its violations to the International Court of Justice.\u00a0 The two-State solution cannot be left hostage to the occupier&#8217;s will, he added.<\/p>\n<p>Highlighting the importance of recognizing the State of Palestine and supporting its full membership in the Â鶹APP, he called for the convening of an international conference under the auspices of the Â鶹APP, with the aim of ending the occupation, resolving all final status issues, and defining a package of guarantees for the implementation of what has been agreed upon within a defined timeframe.\u00a0 The State of Palestine will continue working \u201cto unify our land and people\u201d and to hold presidential and legislative elections as soon as they can be organized in Jerusalem, as well as to form a national unity Government, he said.\u00a0 Thanking Algeria and Egypt for their sincere efforts to achieve Palestinian reconciliation, he added that the question of Palestine will remain the litmus test for the international community\u2019s credibility.\u00a0 \u201cOur people do not ask for more than what international law has granted other peoples around the world but will not accept any less,\u201d he underscored.<\/p>\n<p>PETER MOHAN MAITHRI PIERIS (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, provided an overview of the Committee\u2019s annual mission to Amman from 4 to 7\u00a0July\u00a02022 and its prior week of meetings in Geneva.\u00a0 In both Amman and Geneva, the Special Committee heard the testimonies of experts, high-level Palestinian government officials, Â鶹APP organizations and representatives of civil society organizations from the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the occupied Syrian Golan.\u00a0 The visits to UNRWA headquarters and Marka refugee camps as well as interactions with the Palestine refugees highlighted once again the daily violence and suffering of the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n<p>The Special Committee remains concerned that the families of Palestinians killed continue to be deprived of closure through the denial of proper and dignified burials, he noted.\u00a0 Settlement expansion has continued with demolitions of Palestinian-owned structures and displacement of Palestinian residents.\u00a0 The Special Committee appeals to the occupying powers to act with restraint, ensure the protection of human rights and guarantee access to humanitarian assistance, he said before spotlighting the situation in the Gaza strip.\u00a0 Turning to the work of UNRWA, he underscored the need for predictable and sustainable funding.\u00a0 There must be an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people as he called on concerned parties to create the necessary environment to facilitate confidence-building in support of resumed dialogue and negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>SALEM M. M. MATUG, Representative of the Office of the Permanent Observer of the\u00a0<u>African Union<\/u>, reading out a message from Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chair of the African Union Commission, said for many decades Israel has continued its policy of building settlements on confiscated or stolen Palestinian lands in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in clear violation of international norms and standards.\u00a0 These illegal settlements contribute to forced displacement; severely limit Palestinian access to basic resources, including land, water and religious sites; and prolong a system of segregation and structural inequality between Palestinians and Israelis.\u00a0 Now more than ever, there is a need for urgent and renewed efforts towards a two-State solution.\u00a0 The current situation calls for urgent action to end Israel\u2019s occupation of Palestinian land.<\/p>\n<p>The Israeli occupation in Palestine continues to greatly define every aspect of the daily lives of youth and camp residents, affecting everything from security and freedom of movement to livelihoods and employment, he continued.\u00a0 Palestinian refugees continue to face serious protection challenges due to the ongoing occupation, armed conflict and displacement.\u00a0 They are facing existential threats and sinking deeper into poverty and desperation.\u00a0 2022\u00a0 did not bring any of the aspired progress, as the peace talks are not yet back on track.\u00a0 African support to the Palestinian cause is based on the values of freedom and justice, and humanitarian principles that Africa defends in the international fora alongside all those striving to ensure that Palestine regains its right to exist as a key viable State in the Middle East, he said.\u00a0 The international community and all stakeholders must commit to re-launch the peace process and find a just, lasting solution to the conflict that would establish a sovereign, viable Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital.<\/p>\n<p>MAGED ABDELFATTAH ABDELAZIZ, Permanent Observer for the\u00a0<u>League of Arab States<\/u>, delivering a message on behalf of Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, expressed concern about the deadlock in the two-State solution, while Israel continues its racist occupation practices.\u00a0 Israel has not implemented any of the relevant 754\u00a0General Assembly resolutions, 94\u00a0Security Council resolutions or 96\u00a0Human Rights Council resolutions, he said.\u00a0 This proves how the occupying Power holds the will of the international community in contempt, he said, calling on the Â鶹APP to support all diplomatic efforts to bolster the State of Palestine internationally.\u00a0 It is unacceptable that Israel is a full member while the State of Palestine is still an observer despite having proven its merits for full membership, he added.<\/p>\n<p>Reiterating the call for an international conference to relaunch direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine, he applauded the new Australian Government\u2019s reversal of the previous Government&#8217;s recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel&#8217;s capital.\u00a0 Appealing to countries who moved or plan to move their embassy to occupied Jerusalem to change course as Australia did, he also encouraged the efforts of Jordan and Morocco to safeguard Christian and Muslim holy sites in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.\u00a0 Also welcoming \u201cArab efforts to close ranks around Palestine\u201d, he stressed the importance of ensuring that Israel does not obstruct the holding of elections in East Jerusalem and paid tribute to the heroic resistance of the Palestinian people in the face of Israeli terrorism.<\/p>\n<p>YASHAR T. ALIYEV (<u>Azerbaijan<\/u>), speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, called on all States to provide predictable and sufficient financial support to UNRWA.\u00a0 The international community must uphold its responsibilities and obligations towards the Palestine question and intensify all necessary efforts to bring an end to this injustice which advances a peaceful solution.\u00a0 He expressed his regret that, despite decades of the Palestinian people\u2019s good-faith participation in peace efforts, their plight has worsened and a just solution remains elusive.\u00a0 The Security Council remains paralyzed on this issue, notwithstanding its duties under the Charter of the Â鶹APP, as the situation only continues to further deteriorate and destabilize.<\/p>\n<p>The international community must urgently hold Israel accountable for its violations and bring them to a halt, including all illegal settlement and annexation activities, he stressed.\u00a0 Only such actions can salvage the prospects for peace, bring an end to the Israeli occupation and realize the two-State solution.\u00a0 Calling for the full and immediate lifting of the illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip, he then reiterated his grave concern about the lack of accountability for the countless violations being committed by the occupying Power, which fuel a culture of impunity, destabilize the situation on the ground and diminish the prospects for peace.\u00a0 The international community must address these grave violations, end this unjust situation, support the rights of the Palestinian people and the independence and sovereignty of the State of Palestine and allow that State to take its rightful place in the Organization as a full Member State.\u00a0 He went on to reaffirm his commitments to the restoration of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent, democratic and viable State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and to the achievement of a just solution for the plight of the Palestine refugees on the basis of Assembly resolution 194 (III).<\/p>\n<p>HAMEED AJIBAIYE OPELOYERU, Permanent Observer for the\u00a0<u>Organization of Islamic Cooperation<\/u>\u00a0(OIC), speaking on behalf of Hissein Brahim Taha, Secretary-General of OIC, reiterated his group\u2019s condemnation and rejection of Israel\u2019s policies of aggression, Judaization, colonial settlement, forced displacement and racial discrimination against the people of Palestine.\u00a0 The serious and deteriorating situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the city of Al\u2011Quds, is a direct result of escalation violations, attacks and crimes committed by the occupying power and its forces.\u00a0 There must be an immediate cessation of all Israeli measures aimed at altering the geographical and demographic status of holy places in Al\u2011Quds.\u00a0 The continuation of such illegal practices without deterrence or accountability will encourage Israel\u2019s persistence in committing more crimes and attacks against the Palestinian people, he cautioned.<\/p>\n<p>The Â鶹APP has a political, legal and humanitarian responsibility towards the persistence of the Israeli occupation and its attempts to impose a fait accompli on the ground, he continued.\u00a0 Israel must end its colonial plans to undermine the two-State solution and be held accountable for the violations and crimes it commits daily against the Palestinian people, their land and holy sites.\u00a0 He then drew attention to the plight of Palestinians within Israeli prisons, stressed the need to examine Israel\u2019s record of human rights violations and called on that country to abide by its international obligations and release all prisoners.\u00a0 As no security, peace or stability in the Middle East can be realized without a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the cause of Palestine, the international community must engage in a multilateral political process which ends the Israeli occupation, achieves justice, provides international protection for the Palestinian people and enables them to exercise their rights.<\/p>\n<p>SHAWAN JABARIN, General Director of\u00a0<u>Al-Haq<\/u>, who could not attend the meeting in person as his Â鶹APP travel visa had been denied and spoke via videoconference from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said persecution cannot last forever.\u00a0 \u201cPerpetrators of international crimes will be held accountable, and justice will prevail,\u201d he asserted, noting that Israel\u2019s occupation of Palestinian territory has entered its fifty-sixth year.\u00a0 Condemning the ongoing dispossession, land appropriations, imposed fragmentation, exile and persecution, he said that Israel implements its discriminatory system of laws and practices against the Palestinian people, expanding and entrenching its settler colonial apartheid regime. \u00a0For generations, Palestinians have been systemically denied their right to realize the dignified life they seek.\u00a0 While the shield of impunity encourages the perpetrators to continue their international crimes, Israel adopts laws to systematically suppress all resistance to its settler colonial apartheid regime. \u00a0Further, human rights defenders and organizations have been criminalized, deemed unlawful and labelled terrorists \u2013 all to silence them. \u00a0Israel\u2019s occupation has well exceeded its legal and moral parameters, he cautioned, urging the international community to end decades of impunity.\u00a0 To this end, he called on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to expedite its investigation into the situation of the State of Palestine, and on States to ensure protection for Palestinian civil society, coordinating with the Court.\u00a0 \u201cIt is time for the international community, particularly States in the Global North, to drop the selectivity and double standards in the implementation of international law,\u201d he underscored.<\/p>\n<p><u>Closing Remarks<\/u><\/p>\n<p>Mr.\u00a0NIANG said that the Committee had received messages of support and solidarity from many Heads of State and Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Governments and organizations.\u00a0 He read out a list of those messages of support in the order in which they were received, from the Heads of State of Egypt, Senegal, Iraq, Maldives, Qatar, Morocco, Iran, Viet Nam, Jordan, China, Tunisia, Russian Federation, Lao People\u2019s Democratic Republic, Brunei Darussalam, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, T\u00fcrkiye, Indonesia, Algeria, Kuwait and Venezuela; from the Heads of Government of India, Malta, Saudi Arabia, Mauritius, Bangladesh and Pakistan; from the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Syria, Kazakhstan, Botswana, Argentina, Nicaragua, Mexico, Namibia, Ecuador, Lebanon and Japan; from the Governments of Brazil and the Philippines; from the permanent observers for the European Union; and from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n<p>On behalf of the Committee, he expressed its sincere appreciation for all those messages of support and solidarity, as well as to all participants for their persistent efforts which, through 55\u00a0years of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory, aimed at achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the question of Palestine.\u00a0 He also thanked everyone who made the meeting possible, in particular, the staff members of the Division for Palestinian Rights in the Â鶹APP Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management, the Department of Global Communications, the Office of Central Support Services, interpreters and everyone who worked \u201cbehind the scenes\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>On 30\u00a0November, the General Assembly will begin its debate under the item &#8220;Question of Palestine&#8221;, he continued.\u00a0 He said he will introduce four draft resolutions related to this item and present the 2022 annual report of the Committee.\u00a0 He then encouraged Member States to vote with the traditional overwhelming majority granted to these four draft resolutions.<\/p>\n<p>PEDRO LUIS PEDROSO CUESTA (<u>Cuba<\/u>) noted that his country\u2019s Permanent Representative to the Â鶹APP sent a letter, which was also shared with the Secretariat, to the delegation of the State of Palestine in honour of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GA\/PAL\/1447 29 NOVEMBER 2022 Fran\u00e7ais video State of Palestine\u2019s Permanent Observer Requests International Conference for Resolving All Final Status Issues, as Speakers Urge End to Deadly Violence Against a background of increasing violence, shrinking civil society space and creeping annexation, speakers at a special meeting of the Palestinian Rights Committee to observe the International Day <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/amid-creeping-annexation-shrinking-civil-society-space-for-palestinians-israel-must-be-held-accountable-speakers-stress-at-meeting-marking-international-solidarity-day-press-release-ga-pal-1447\/\"> [&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"template-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[660,672,684,5334,5342,723,5308,759,780,807,810,5533,882,885,888,891,897,906,909,912,921,5749,933,963,969,5681,981,996,1005,1020,1035,1593,1053,1062,1074,1098,1101,1137,2241,1179,1182,1197,1218,1224],"document-category":[1329,2805,4389],"document-source":[5611,5435,1753,1365,4553,5364,2705,5352,1913,6169],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[5362,1749,2473],"entity":[1889,2077,1985,1729],"document-language":[6542,6541],"class_list":["post-283428","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","country-algeria","country-argentina","country-azerbaijan","country-bangladesh","country-botswana","country-brazil","country-brunei-darussalam","country-china","country-cuba","country-ecuador","country-egypt","country-ghana","country-india","country-indonesia","country-iran-islamic-republic-of","country-iraq","country-israel","country-japan","country-jordan","country-kazakhstan","country-kuwait","country-lao-peoples-democratic-republic","country-lebanon","country-maldives","country-malta","country-mauritius","country-mexico","country-morocco","country-namibia","country-nicaragua","country-pakistan","country-palestine-state-of","country-philippines","country-qatar","country-russian-federation","country-saudi-arabia","country-senegal","country-sri-lanka","country-syria","country-tunisia","country-turkiye","country-united-arab-emirates","country-venezuela","country-viet-nam","document-category-press-release","document-category-video","document-category-webcast","document-source-african-union-see-also-organization-of-african-unity-oau","document-source-al-haq","document-source-ceirpp","document-source-general-assembly","document-source-league-of-arab-states-las","document-source-non-aligned-movement-namsee-also-committee-on-palestine","document-source-organization-of-islamic-cooperation-oic","document-source-secretary-general","document-source-special-committee-to-investigate-israeli-practices","document-source-united-nations-department-of-global-communications","document-subject-ngo-civil-society","document-subject-palestine-question","document-subject-solidarity-day","entity-intergovernmental-organization-or-multilateral","entity-non-governmental-organization","entity-state","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english","document-language-french"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/283428","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":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/283428\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=283428"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=283428"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=283428"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=283428"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=283428"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=283428"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=283428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}