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Statement of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation On the occasion of United Nations International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People Organized by United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People United Nations Headquarters, New York 29 November 2016

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H.E. Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ambassador Fodé Seck, Chairman of the United National Committee on Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, We are here to celebrate the day of solidarity with the Palestinian people according to UNGA Resolution 32/40 B of 1977 that expressed the will of the world countries and peoples regarding the need for justice for and solidarity with the Palestinian people in their just struggle for regaining their inalienable national rights. Let me, on this occasion, express the profound appreciation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for the role undertaken by the United National Committee on Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP). We commend the tireless efforts of its Chairman, Ambassador Fodé Seck, its Bureau, and Member and observer states thereon, Division for Palestinian Rights at the UN Secretariat, and all UN bodies to promote international solidarity with the Palestinian people and support their legitimate national rights. Ladies and Gentlemen, The OIC has been following the serious developments in the Palestinian issue with profound interest and concern. Israel, the occupying Power, continues its aggression and mounting violations against the unarmed Palestinian people and their land and holy places. We have followed this year a surge in the Israeli occupation crimes. This included burning families and places of worship, extrajudicial killing of Palestinians, arrest of thousands, demolition of houses, blockade, in addition to other incessant violations and racial practices that arrogantly elbow off the principles of international law and respect for human rights. This requires the international community to assume its responsibilities to provide international protection for the Palestinian people. We cannot pass these current developments without reference to the gravity of what is happening in occupied East Jerusalem and its environs in terms of the Israeli illegal measures and systematic policies to alter the city's indigenous Palestinian character and isolate it from its Palestinian surroundings. We have warned once and again of the danger of continuing Israeli attacks on Islamic and Christian holy sites, especially the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which constitute an unprecedented provocation of the feelings of Muslims all over the world. This would turn the conflict into a religious one whose consequences Israel alone will bear. Moreover, the Israeli settlement policy is still dismembering the occupied Palestinian territory and undermining the vision of two-state solution. It also constitutes an assault on the rights of the Palestinian people to their land and destiny and a reason for the failure of the political path of negotiations. It also embodies a challenge to the international will and a flagrant violation of international law and relevant UN

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resolutions, a matter that makes it incumbent on the international community to join efforts to put an end it. Ladies and Gentlemen, The plight of the Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli detention centers continue to be a case of denial of justice and a crime embodied in the worst inhuman and unjust practices committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian prisoners. Therefore, we affirm our commitment to the message of prisoners and our support for their steadfastness. We call for the international community to act effectively to defend their basic rights and internationalize their case to compel Israel, the occupying Power, to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention, respect the provisions and principles of international humanitarian law, and the Human Rights Charter. At the same time, we affirm our position that the continuation of Israel's illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip is not only a further indulgence in injustice and aggression, but also constitutes collective punishment and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. It would result in serious humanitarian consequences for the Palestinian people and must end. Ladies and Gentlemen, The OIC asserts that these growing challenges posed by the Israeli occupation require the international community to move effectively and seriously to uphold the principles of freedom and justice, ensure respect of human rights and to consolidate peace, security and stability in the region. It should galvanize all its efforts to lift the ongoing historical injustice inflicted on the Palestinian people based on respect for the UN resolutions, principles of international law, and the relevant international conventions. We support the efforts to adopt a UNSC resolution on the Israeli settlement activities and the provision of international guarantees and control mechanisms to ensure its implementation. This would be a real contribution to the vision of the two-state solution. We also renew our welcome of and support to the French initiative, which calls for the establishment of an international support group, and convening an international peace conference for the launch of a political process under multilateral international auspices, according to a specific timetable to end the Israeli occupation. In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm the OIC support to and solidarity with the Palestinian people in their quest to regain their inalienable national rights. These include the right to return, self-determination, and establishment of their independent state on the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a just solution to the Palestinian refugee issue according to the relevant UN resolutions. Thank you.