H.E. MR. ABDULLAH M. ALSAIDI:  Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  Mr. Chairman, I'm going to make a statement on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.  
Mr. Chairman, today we commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people.  The Palestinian people yearn to attain their freedom and to exercise their right to self-determination like all other peoples on earth.  On this occasion, allow me, Mr. Chairman, to convey the solidarity of the members of the OIC with the Palestinian people in the legitimate struggle for the establishment of their independent state with its capital in Al-Quds al-Sharif and the return of the displaced Palestinians to their homes and properties.  
Our meeting today, Mr. Chairman, is an expression of support for justice and international law.  The commemoration of the day of solidarity with the Palestinian people this year takes place against an encouraging backdrop.  The withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip is one of the fruits of the struggle of the Palestinian people and of the support of the international community for their people in their legitimate struggle for the attainment of their independence.  
However, despite the fact that Israel has evacuated its settlements in the Gaza Strip, it continues to tighten its grip on the Gaza Strip.  It continues to control the seaports and the air space of the Strip.  Israel continues in its expansion of its settlements in the West Bank with a view to absorbing the settlers who have left the settlements in the Gaza Strip and also with the aim of the imposition of a political fait accompli that would complicate the final status of negotiations.
In this regard we would like to express our grave concern at the actions taken by Israel in East Jerusalem that would lead to the isolation of the holy city from the rest of the Palestinian territories.  Surrounding the holy city by settlements will lead to a dismemberment of the West Bank, the surrendering the dream of the viable Palestinian state, nothing but a mirage.  
Unless the international community compels Israel to comply with the provisions of the international law, the relevant resolutions of the UN and the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice concerning the expansionist wall.  We are equally gravely concerned, Mr. Chairman, at the schemes hatched by the Israeli extremists concerning Al-Quds al-Sharif, in general, and Al Aqsa mosque in particular.  Encroachment upon the Islamic holy sites will not serve the peace or stability of all the parties concerned.  
We look forward to the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations as well as the international community as a whole to fulfill their role in supporting the Palestinian National Authority and enabling it to rebuild the infrastructure destroyed by Israel to end the blockade the Palestinian territories and to put an end to the construction of the expansionist wall in accordance with the advisory opinion of the ICJ.  
In this regard, we would like to reiterate the vital importance of the implementation of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 in full -- those resolutions that provide for Israel's withdrawal from the Arab territories occupied in 1967.  We'd like to reiterate the vital importance of respect for the subsequent agreements and initiatives including the Arab initiative and the Road Map, both of which provide for the establishment of the Palestinian state with its capital at Al- Quds al-Sharif.  
Finally, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to express our thanks and gratitude to you personally for your important role and the important role played by the Special Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.  It is our hope that the Committee will continue to discharge its noble task of sensitizing the international community of the grave injustice that has been befallen the Palestinian people who have lost their land and have been displaced from their homes.  I Thank you, sir.