BANGLADESH
Please checkagainst deliverv Statementby Muhammad Ali Sorcar Acting PermanentRepresentative,PermanentMission of Bangladeshto the UN at the Specialmeeting of the Committee on the Exerciseof the InalienableRights of the Palestinian People to mark forfy years of occupation by Israel of the Palestinian Territoryo including East Jerusalem
New York. 07 lune2007

Mr. Chairman, Today we commemoratewith a pal of gloom the 40 years of Israeli occupationof East Jerusalem,a most unfortunate event. It is a painful and glaring reminder of the failure of the international community to resolve the issue even after 40 years of its inception. The occupation of East Jerusalemby Israel lies, as much as the issue of Palestine,at the heart of the Middle-East crisis. This is the root cause of the spiraling of violence and hostilities in the Middle East whose shockwavesare being felt around the globe. Mr. Chairman, Jerusalem is the holy place and confluence of all three monotheistic faiths--Islam, Christianity and Judaism.The holy city of Al-Quds Al-Shareef and the Al-Aqsa Mosque hold special religious sensitivity for the Muslims. It is unfortunate that Israel, in brazen violation of the standing IIN resolutions aimed at preserving the sanctity of the holy city of Jerusalem-Al-QudsAl-Shareef, are unabatedlycanying out its illegal activities with impunity, in the utter disrespectfor the religious sentiment of the Muslims all around the world. The recentdemolition, by Israeli occupationforces,of a historic road connectingBab AlMaghariba with the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound and carrying out of excavation works below the Holy Al-Aqsa Compound, undermining its foundations and threatening it with collapse, is a dismal commentary of the situation on the ground. We roundly condemn these sacrilegiousactivities and urge for determinedUN intervention on this issue. We also want to remind that such outrageous undertakings will cast a serious doubt on Israel's sincerity to resumethe peaceprocessmaking peacein the region an increasingly elusivereality.

Mr. Chairman, My delegation is dismayed at the worsening humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinianterritories. We are also deeply concernedabout the recent breaking of the ceasefire and the renewed escalation of violence. We call upon Israel to exercise maximum restraint and bring all its grisly policies and practices to a total halt and We withdraw the humanitarianand economic blockadeimposedon the Palestinians. also call upon Israel to immediately stop the construction of the separationwall and dismantle its already erectedparts, halt and reversethe continued expansion of Israeli settlementsin the West Bank, releasethe Palestinian prisoners and resume the transfer of tax revenues that has beenwithheld since 2006. We reiterate our full support to the cause and legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to a sovereign and independentState, with East Jerusalemas its capital, existing alongside Israel in peace and security. We maintain that for just and sustainablepeaceto take root, Israel, the occupying power, must withdraw its forces from and meet all its obligationsunder the all the occupiedterritories including East Jerusalem Geneva Convention, relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions and other peaceinitiatives including the Road Map drawn up by the Quartet. We urge upon the warring parties to retum to talks to negotiate a breakthrough in the current impassein the peace process. It is also high time for fu us, the Member Statesof the United Nations, to fulfill our part of the collective obligation. We have to re-engage vigorously and with all sincerity in the peace process to reach a just and sustainable conflict so that the confidenceof the peace-lovingpeoples, solution to the Israel-Palestine placed on the UN systemis vindicated. both Palestinians and Israelis, Mr. Chairman, On this sad occasion,we remember and mourn the many lives lost in the conflict. We to extend our heartfeltcondolences the families affected.Despite all odds,we hope to see an end to the sufferings of the Palestinians who had been languishing under the Israeli occupationfor generations. I thank you Mr. Chairman.