H.E. MR. YAHYA A. MAHMASSANI:  Mr. Chairman, the distinguished Special Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, ladies and gentlemen, allow me at the outset to convey to you the sincere regards of His Excellency Mr. Amre Moussa, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, and his appreciation to the Chairman of the Special Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and all its members and as well to all you, ladies and gentlemen, participating in this Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people.  
I would also like to seize the opportunity to reiterate the importance that the League of Arab States places on the important role played by your Committee in support of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people in international and regional fora.  
I would also like to reiterate our commitment to continue supporting that role until the Palestinian people can realize its hopes to establish its independent state on its homeland with East Jerusalem as its capital and until it regains its full undiminished rights in face of the pressure brought upon by the Israeli government to terminate the work of this Committee and all other committees on Palestinian issues at the United Nations.  
Mr. Chairman, the commemoration of this International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people takes place in the wake of the unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and certain settlements in the northern West Bank.  And in spite of the fact that we have recognized this withdrawal as a positive step on the right path, we had hoped that it would represent the beginning of a new era that opens the horizons before an active political engagement for the realization of peace and a full withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territories.  However, what we see on the ground in terms of practices and actions, particularly with regard to the expansion of Israeli settlements and the construction of the Wall of Separation and the Judea-ization of Jerusalem is not very encouraging.  
Israel's continued control over the air space and the territorial waters of the Gaza Strip and the successive acts of assassination of Palestinian Gazans and the terrorization of the peaceful civilians by the Israeli Air Force, in addition to a complete disregard to the [inaudible] of Palestinian detainees and prisoners, in addition to the receding hopes that we have witnessed, particularly this important declaration by Mr. James Wolfensohn, the Envoy of the Quartet, supervising the Israeli withdrawal and the promotion of Palestinian economy last October, in which he recalled that Israel still acts as if it has not withdrawn from Gaza and defers all required steps in this regard.  This has become very clear in dealing with the problems of the crossing points since, as we have seen, a solution was only reached after tireless efforts and negotiations by Egypt and other Arab states and after a direct involvement by the United States and the European Union.  
The League of Arab states has reiterated that this unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip should be followed by additional steps in order to achieve the required progress and create the favorable environment for the implementation of the obligations stipulated in the Sharm El-Sheikh understanding.  That would lead to the full implementation of all requirements of the Road Map.  However, a full year has almost past and Israel has not fulfilled all the steps according to the timetable that was adopted when these understandings were reached.  Therefore, we believe there is a definite need for serious international supervision and through very definite mechanisms in order to achieve the desired settlements based on a clear and solid foundation.  
Ladies and gentlemen, the Palestinian people have suffered from all Israeli practices in violation of the most basic human rights in clear violation of the international humanitarian law and international obligations of an occupying power.  Aggression and sweepings of the villages and towns of the Palestinian people in addition to extra-judicial killings and collective punishment imposed by the Palestinian occupation and in particularly the seizures and closures for extended periods of time aggravate the situation even further, in spite of the fact that the Palestinian National Authority has made every effort for reform in all different areas.
Ladies and gentlemen, the League of Arab States which had its summit in Cairo in 1996 considered the just peace as a strategic option has also adopted the Arab Peace Initiative at the Beirut Summit in 2002 as a historic initiative in which Arab States have declared their readiness to put end to the Arab-Israeli conflict and the realization of just and comprehensive and lasting peace in the region, if Israel completely withdraws from Palestinian and Arab territories occupied in 1967.  
And if the independent Palestinian state is established with East Jerusalem as its capital and a just solution to the issue of the Palestinian refugees is reached based on Resolution 194, only then would Arab States be ready to establish normal relations with Israel based on justice and a mutual respect and fairness.
Today, the League of Arab States is ready to do its utmost in order to support the Palestinian National Authority in preparing the grounds for the return of the peace process to its right path within the framework of international legitimacy regarding the question of Palestine and in light of this Arab-Israeli conflict.  We'd also like to express our commitment to the advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice and the General Assembly of the United Nations resolution with regard to the illegitimacy of the Wall of separation and the necessity to cease construction work and to remove what has been built already.  
Finally, we find it necessary to remind the international community that a just solution to the question of Palestine can only be achieved when an independent Palestinian state -- a viable independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital is established.  This is a most basic condition for peace and security in the region and the whole world.  And therefore, we would like to call upon the international community represented in the United Nations and other international bodies concerned, foremost of which the Quartet to deploy more efforts in order to shoulder their responsibilities to prepare the grounds to give momentum to the peace process in the region and to support the Palestinian Authority in its efforts to restore the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, that being a basic guarantee to establish stability in the region that has suffered for long from wars and injustice.  Thank you.