General Assembly Sixty-first session Agenda items 13 and 14 The situation in the Middle East Question of Palestine Security Council Sixty-second year Letter dated 16 July 2007 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General In my capacity as Acting Chair of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement, I have the honour to enclose herewith the statement by the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, adopted on Saturday, 14 July 2007 (see annex). Furthermore, I request you kindly to circulate the above-mentioned document as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda items 13 and 14, and of the Security Council. (Signed) Rodolfo Benítez Versón Counsellor Chargé d’affaires a.i. Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations Acting Chair of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement Annex to the letter dated 16 July 2007 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General Statement by the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem The Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in New York has been monitoring the recent developments and the continuing deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. NAM expresses its grave concern about the dire security, humanitarian, socio-economic and political situation prevailing in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the consequent rise in suffering and hardships for the Palestinian people. NAM condemns the prolonged Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian Territory since 1967 and expresses grave concern over the distressing developments in the recent period. For four decades, Israel, the occupying Power, has been unrelentingly violating international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, in its actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. During this time, the occupying Power has been committing grave human rights violations against the Palestinian people, including reported war crimes. Moreover, for four decades, the occupying Power has carried out deliberate and unlawful policies and practices aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and nature of the Palestinian land and at de facto annexing that land, particularly via the implementation of its illegal colonial settlement policy and, since 2003, its illegal construction of a wall in the West Bank, including in and around East Jerusalem. In addition, the occupying Power continues to impose a humiliating and discriminatory network of checkpoints throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, to impose closures, to seal off the Gaza Strip, and to carry out intense military raids and incursions in Palestinian population centres, causing extensive loss of life and injury to Palestinian civilians and widespread destruction of property. NAM condemns all such illegal actions by Israel, the occupying Power, and calls for their immediate cessation. Furthermore, NAM believes that these illegal Israeli actions, including ongoing military attacks, have seriously undermined the functioning of the Palestinian Authority and have undoubtedly contributed to the growing polarization in the Palestinian society. NAM also condemns the recent criminal actions that were carried out in the Gaza Strip. NAM calls for urgent efforts to be undertaken in order to avoid the complete disintegration of the foundations of a future sovereign, viable, independent Palestinian State and to rehabilitate and develop Palestinian institutions. Further, NAM calls for the restoration of the situation in the Gaza Strip to that which existed prior to the recent events and for measures to be taken to preserve the territorial unity and integrity of the Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. In this regard, NAM stresses the necessity for the mobilization of Palestinian capabilities to end the occupation and to achieve the Palestinian national goal. NAM calls upon the Palestinian leadership, the leaders of all factions and all Palestinians to unite in support of the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, and his Government and all democratically elected Palestinian institutions and to resolve their political differences by peaceful means. In this regard, NAM supports national dialogue among Palestinians to achieve national reconciliation. Further in this regard, NAM reaffirms its position that the Palestine Liberation Organization remains the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and remains an essential party to any negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict. NAM calls upon the parties to urgently resume peace process negotiations on all tracks on the basis of international law, relevant United Nations resolutions, the principle of land for peace and the Arab Peace Initiative in order to comprehensively resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Arab-Israeli conflict as a whole. In this regard, NAM reaffirms its support for all peaceful efforts aimed at ending Israel’s 40-year occupation of the Palestinian land and the achievement of a final and peaceful settlement to the question of Palestine with the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in their independent State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a just solution to the plight of the Palestine refugees. The member States of the NAM express their continuing and firm support for a peaceful settlement and call upon the international community to exert concrete and positive steps towards this goal.   sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT A/61/1003 sss2 \* MERGEFORMAT S/2007/433 sss1 \* MERGEFORMAT A/61/1003 sss2 \* MERGEFORMAT S/2007/433 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 07-42665 \* MERGEFORMAT 2 \* MERGEFORMAT 3 FooterJN \* MERGEFORMAT 07-42665 United Nations A/61/1003–S/2007/433 General Assembly Security Council Distr.: General 16 July 2007 Original: English jobn \* MERGEFORMAT 07-42665 (E) 190707 Barcode \* MERGEFORMAT *0742665*