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


KUWAIT:  In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful.  Madam Vice President, the action taken by the United Nations' General Assembly today in adopting by a large majority the resolution granting Palestine the status of a nonmember observer state at the United Nations is a historic achievement indeed and a landmark at the crossroads of the struggle of the Palestinian people.  
It is an extremely important stage in the life of the Palestinian people and its restoration of its legitimate rights, including the right to self-determination and the recognition of a Palestinian independent state within the borders of 1967.  
The adoption of this resolution is a clear message to the Palestinian people of the firm support by the international community of its rights.  The resolution adopted by this large number of members of the General Assembly called for the implementation of the principles of the Madrid conference, the Arab peace initiative, the roadmap as called for by the quartet, in order to reach a final solution to the crisis in the Middle East, as well as to address the main six points, which are the return of the refugees, Jerusalem, the settlements, the borders, security and water.  
As the state of Kuwait congratulates the Palestinian people on the support of the General Assembly, which coincides with our celebration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we reaffirm our solidarity with and support of the legitimate aspirations and ambitions of the Palestinian people, as well as our strong commitment, government and people, to continue their moral, political and material support until the Israeli occupation of the occupied territories ends and the state of Palestine is established with East Jerusalem as its capital.
In this context, we reaffirm the resolution adopted by the Arab foreign ministers on 12 November, 2102 urging states that have not yet recognized the state of Palestine to do so in order to consolidate the international consensus calling for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, as well as the call to the Security Council to respond to the Palestinian request to obtain full membership in the organization.  
Madam Vice President, the actions by Israel on the 14th of this month in terms of its military aggression against Gaza for eight consecutive days has resulted in huge losses in both life and property.  160 people were killed.  1,200 people have been injured, including women, children and elderly people in clear evidence of the brutality of the Israeli aggression and its lack of good faith in peaceful negotiations.  
The inability of the United Nations to bring Israel to bear its international obligations, as well as the lack of a sincere international will to confront its occupation of Palestinian territories have encouraged that to continue its intransigence and ignore international legitimacy and apply hostile expansionist policies.  There is no better proof to this than the establishment of 900 new units of settlements and the establishment of Al-Zaytoun Mountain, a policy that flouts international norms and laws and completely disregards the basic tenets of international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949
These actions and other violations, such as the continued blockade against the Gaza Strip, the confiscation of lands, the demolition of homes, continued arrests of the Palestinian people that do not differentiate between a child, a young man or a woman, in addition to limiting the movement of goods and persons are the main reasons for the continued instability in the region and undermine the chances to reach a final settlement to this conflict.
The state of Kuwait renews its call to the international community to bring pressure to bear on Israel, the occupying power, to put an end to its hostile practices and end immediately the unlawful blockade against Gaza, to open all crossings pursuant to its international obligations and stop all illegal settlement activities in the occupied territories, as well as to comply with Security Council resolutions 242, 338, 1397, 1515 and 1860.  
Madam Vice President, the state of Kuwait renews its demand for Israel's implementation of Security Council resolution 497, calling for its withdraw from the occupied Syrian Golan and its return to the borders of 4 June 1967 and reaffirms that the continued occupation by Israel of Syrian territories constitutes a real obstacle in the face of establishing peace and security in the Middle East region.
The state of Kuwait renews its commitment to stand by and support the ... [04:03:05] Lebanon, including the preservation of its security and the integrity of its territories and demands from Israel to stop its continued violations of the Lebanese air space and territory, as well as to commit to implement Security Council resolution 1701 and totally withdraw from the remaining occupied Lebanese territories.  Thank you.