Unofficial transcript 
Agenda item 37 “Question of Palestine”, November 29, 2012

DJIBOUTI/OIC:  Madam President, ambassadors, distinguished delegates, it is a great honor to take the floor on behalf of the OIC and to convey the message of Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Mohamed Ali Youssouf, as the President of the OIC.  Once again, I shall continue my statement in English.
... here today at the General Assembly today to grant Palestine the status of nonmember observer state, which is yet another affirmation of the international community's continued support to the Palestinian cause and solidarity with the Palestinian people.  On behalf of the OIC group, I am pleased to express gratitude to the United Nations and all its organs working on this issue.  Particularly, I would like to thank the Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon and the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, His Excellency, Ambassador Abdou Salam Diallo, for their relentless efforts and initiative in support of the Palestinian cause.  
The OIC group believes that the international community has a special responsibility to assist the Palestinian people realize their national rights to self-determination, sovereignty and independent state in the territory occupied by Israel since 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital, as well as finding a just solution for the plight of the Palestinian refugees in line with United Nations resolution 194.  
In this regard, this afternoon the international community had a historic opportunity, as well as a responsibility to reaffirm its solidarity with the Palestinian people and support the just cause of the Palestinians for independence.  The Palestinians have been intensely negotiating with Israel in good faith over the last two decades to regain their territories, their inalienable rights and to live in peace and security.  None of these legitimate goals, unfortunately, is so far achieved, and none appears within the grasp of the Palestinians in the short term, given Israel's permanent strategy of shifting the goalposts.  
Madam Chair, it is unfortunate that on this very day of the Solidarity with the Palestinian People on the recognition of Palestine as a nonmember observer state, the prospects for peace and justice in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, are challenged by the occupying power, Israel's colonial and discriminatory policies and illegal practices.
Israel is continuing to illegally build settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.  It is constructing the apartheid wall, restricting Palestinians' access to worship places, escalating acts of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians, denying free movement of people and goods, and even more confiscating Palestinian homes and lands.
Israel's such daily violations of international law have become daily practices which are systematically undermining the prospects for a two-state solution.  The OIC group expresses great concern at the situation in occupied East Jerusalem where the Israeli settlement campaign is most intense and calls for a complete end to all settlement activities, excavations, including near Al Haram Al-Sharif, home demolitions, residency revocations and closure of Palestinian institutions in the city.
The group condemns the terror, violence and provocation by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians and properties, including homes, agricultural lands and Muslim and Christian holy sites and cautions that such actions are fueling religious sensitivities that leads to further destabilizations and must be brought to an immediate end by the occupying power.
Moreover, Israel's escalating military aggression and the illegal blockade it imposes on the Gaza Strip are not only a collective punishment against 1.5 million Palestinians in the street, they also represent the continuation of a war crime against humanity, which must stop.  
In this vein, the OIC group once again calls on the international community and the UN Security Council in particular to assume its responsibility to take the measures necessary for an immediate and permanent cessation of the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.  It is long overdue to end the Palestinian people's suffering and to provide them with protection and the necessary means facilitate the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Madam Chairman, Palestine accession to full membership of the United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organization UNESCO last year is an international recognition of the Palestinian rights.  This achievement illustrates concrete and positive support for the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people.  Similarly, the positive assessment of the United Nations, World Bank and International Monetary Fund about the implementation of the Palestinian National Authority's 2009 plan for constructing the institutions of an independent Palestinian state within a two-year period is yet another strong indication of Palestine's readiness for an independent statehood.
In conclusion, we believe that the permanent peace between Israel and Palestine is a sine qua non for both peoples to focus their energies and resources on developing their societies in peace, harmony and coexistence.  The OIC group expresses strong solidarity with the Palestinian people and commends all the UN member states which supported overwhelmingly, thus enabling Palestine to become a nonmember observer state by voting this afternoon in favor of the draft resolution regarding the status of Palestine in the United Nations.  
The OIC hopes that granting Palestine an improved diplomatic status, however a symbolic milestone in Palestinian ambitions for statehood, will bring Israelis and Palestinians a step closer to achieving a sustainable solution on the basis of two states living side by side in peace and security.  I thank you, Madam Chair.