PERMANENT OBSERVER MISSION OF PALESTINE TO THE UNITED NATIONS
115 EAST 65TH SI NEW YOBK 1OO2-1 NY TEL 2 2888500 21 FAY,212 2377 517

in observanceof the 4 Territorv, including Esst Jerusalem, 7 June 2007: Excellencies,Ladies and Gentlemen,

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On this solemn occasionmarking the passageof the 40thyear since the occupationby Israel of the Palestinian Territory and other Arab territories in 1967, the palestinian people reflect on their past and their present with deep sorrow as they continue to suffer and to struggte for the realization of their inalienablehuman rights, including their right to self-determination. They rememberthe decades oppression, of loss and misery, *hich theyiontinue to endureto this day, and look toward the future with dismay and uncertainty, n"rr", imagining that the occupationof their land and the subjugationof their people would continue for iorty-years now and fearful about their plight in the yearsto come if their rights and a just and p.u..ful solution are not urgently attained. Today, after the passage so many decades, Palestinianpeople tragically remain of the a stateless, dispossessed oppressed and people. They continue to live either in exile as refugees, dispersed throughoutthe Diaspora,most still in the refugeecampsthat were established them for in 1948, denied their inalienable right to return to their homes to live at peace with their neighbors; or they continue to live under the belligerent, foreign occupation of Israel in the OccupiedPalestinianTerritory, including East Jerusalem, forced to enaurethe constantviolation of all of their fundamental human rights and mounting hardshipsand loss, both human and material. Each year that has passedhas witnessedthe deepeningof the injustice imposed upon the Palestinian people, the further trampling of their human dignity, the further shred-ding of the fabric of Palestiniansocietyand the compoundingof this tragic conflict. Numerous efforts over the years and countless United Nations resolutions have not brought an end to this suffering and the fulfillment of the rights of the palestinianpeople mainly because the intransigence Israel,the occupyingPower, and its total disrespeciand of of contemp for intemational law. Instead of complying with-the law and pursuirrgp.u.., from the very beginning Israel has acted with flagrant impunity, denying the rights of tir. palestinian peopl! and committing grave breaches, including systematic human rights, war crimes, and acts of State terror against them. Israel, the occupying Power, has carried out such illegal and repressive policies against the Palestinianpeople with the deliberateintent of perpetu-ating its unlawful

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military occupation the Palestinian of land - now the longestoccupation contemporary in history - in orderto achievethede of facto annexation asmuchJf tftut funau"forriUt.. Indeed'the basisof all unlawfulIsraelipoliciesagainst palestinian the peoplehasbeen Israel'sinsatiable desire expansionism. only did Israelseize for Not morelandin l94g thanwas allotted it by General to Assembly partitionresolutionl8l (1947), but, in blatant violationof the rule of intemational regarding law the-inadmissibility the acquisition of oitenitory by force,it has relentlessly carriedout illegal policiesdirectly aimed at consolidating its control of the Palestinian land it occupiedin Igai in order to racilitateits forcefut u.quirition of evenmore land' The inability of the intemational communityto takeactionto compelIsraelto complywith the law and relevanttrN resolutions bring an end to such to violationsand grave breaches of internationallaw occupying h-as regrettablyonly .rrro*ug.a Israel to continue !r 1tt. l9*."1 actingwith impunity in pursuitof its illegitimatego-als Excellencies, LadiesandGentlemen, Since 196.7, beforethe eyesof the intemationalcommunity,the occupyingpower has feverishly carried out a colonizationcampaignthroughout the occupied palestinianTerritory, includingEastJerusalem, well as in-ttre oJcupiea s."yrian as Golan,aimedat the illegal, defacto annexation the land' This unlawful land grabcontinues of todayundermanyguises pretexts, and includingthe oft-repeated unsubstantiaLd and pretextof security. For four aecades no% Israel has been confiscatingPalestinian land ana aestroyi"g properfy for the purposeof lfl.rlinian constructing, expanding and entrenching netwo.t oiitt"gul settlete'nir,inro which its hundreds of thousands Israeli settlers,many armedand fanatical, of have been illegally transferred, in gravebreachof the Fourth Geneva conventionandAdditional protocol t. itre major organs of the uN, including the Securitycouncil, GeneralAssembly and Intemati,onar court of Justice, have explicitly affirmed th; iregality of these settlernents and h; called for their dismantlement. The construction expansion settlements and around and of in occupiedEastJerusalem 'adoition the heart of the Palestinian Territory.- has been especiallyintense. tn to its illegal extension the BasicLaw in lgSointendedto u*.* of EastJerusatem, wrrict was completely rejectedby the internationalcommunity,Israel has carried out policies directly aimed at the Judaizationof the.city- and has publicly declaredits intention to createa contiguousJewish presence linking East Jerusalem major settlement to areasin the west Bank. The occupying Powerhasobstructed access theialestinian peopieto the of EastJerusalrm, violut ing,inter alia, their right to worshipat Jerusalem's sites,andit h'as holy physicallyisolated EastJerusalem from the rest of the occupied Palestinian Tenitory. ruro."ou.i using variousunlawful measures and schemes, Israel has imposedstringentand arbitrary,.rid.nry requirements on the palestinian inhabitants EastJerusalem, of seriouslyaffectingttreiramity rre ana,urrorutirrgtheir economic and sociallife, making conditionsfor them to Jontinueliving in the city nearly impossible and thuscausing exodus or ethniccleansing of many the oitt " city,s inhabitants. Further,in recentyears,Israel's unlawful colonization campaign escalated has with the occupying Power's unlawful constructionof a wall in occupiea patestinianTerritory, _the includingin EastJerusalem, which is intricatelylinked to the settlements intended and to fortifu

them and advance land grab. The International the Court of Justice- in its Advisory Opinion of 9 July 2004,aswell asthe overwhelming majority of the General Assembly, deemed Wall to this be unlawful and has demanded dismantlement. its Entire communities being destroyed are and -Wall, thousands more Palestinians being displacedby this monstrousapartheid are *t i.t i, separating Palestinian cities, towns and refugeecamps- many of wiich have now become walled-in enclaves, and is causingextensive socio-economic humanitarian and devastation.In addition,Israelhas established racist and discriminatory a road network and permit systemand an intricateweb of morethan 500 checkpoints throughout Occupied the Palestinian Territo all ry, intended totally control and restrictthe movemeniof the Palestinian to peopleand containthem in isolated Bantustans. All such illegal Israeli practices and measures, along with the colonial settlement campaign, dramaticallyaltering the demographic are compositi,on, character and natureof the occupiedPalestinian Territory,includingEastJerusalem, destroying territorialcontiguity and its andintegrity,gravelyundermining prospects achieving fivb-Siate the for tfre solutionon the6asis of SecurityCouncil resolutions 242 (1967),338 (1973), *a ngl (2002),the Arab peace Initiative andthe QuartetRoadMap. At the sametime, throughoutthe entireperiod of this forty-yearoccupation, Israel,the occupyingPower,has neverceased brutal military campaignagainstthe palestinian its -violations civ'ilian population, committing systematichuman rights und *a, crimes against this defenseless people,which is entitled to protectionunder international humanitarian law. The Israeli occupyingforces have killed thousands Palestinian of civilians, including children, women and men, and have injured and disabledhundredsof thousands others of il -ifit"q, attacksand raids launchedin the OccupiedPalestinian Territory and during the executionof extrajudicialkillings. The occupyingforces have also committedthe wanton destruction of Palestinianproperty, including thousandsof homes, agricultural lands and orchards,vital infrastructure, cultural, religious and historicalproperties] and nationalir,rtitutionr. Israel has also never ceased practiceof imprisoningand arbitrarily detainingthousands palestinian its of civilians,many of them subjecttortureandmost held in deplorable .oiditionr. Moreover,Israel has never ceased collectivepunishment the Palesiinian its of peopleby countless methods, including movementrestrictionsand closures,seriouslyharmin! tn. ,o.io-.conomic life and humanitarian conditions the entirepopulation of The cumulativeimpact of Israel's brutal policies in the OccupiedpalestinianTerritory, includingEastJerusalem, over the pastforty yearshasbeenextensive disastrous, and with both short and long-termconsequences. GazaStrip in particularhasbeenseverely The impoverished and devastated. These inhumaneand illegal practicis have gravely impacted all aspects of Palestinian life, deepening poverty,hunger,frustration, insecurit! anaa"spai,andmakingdayto day survival in the OccupiedPalestinian Tenitory ever more.difficult and unbearable. Such oppressive and humiliating Israeli practiceshave kept the Palestinian peopleunder siegeand for.ced displacement flight of many civilians, facilitatingtfr" orcrpying power,s the and pursuit of its expansionist aims. Excellencies, Ladies andGentlemen.

In the relentless pursuit of its untawful goals, Israelhas violatedall resolutions and undermined including deliberately by perpetuatinglhe cycleof violence or outright rejected all peace initiatives aimed_ achieving just andprurcfulsolution the question palestine at a to of andthe Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While the Palestinian sidehasrepeatedly affirmedits commitment to the peaceprocessand agreements signed,Israel, on the ottrer trana, has historically evaded efforts for making peace, including the recent opportunityprovidei fy tr,r renewal of the significantArab PeaceInitiative and other efforts by .orrrr*ed partieswithin the international communityto revive the peace process. So, where does that leave us.today after forty years of occupation, upheaval,crises, intifadas,turmoil and loss?The continuationof this ritrution is clearly untenable. Therewill neverbe peace, se,curi_{ prosperityin the Middle Eastas long asthe question palestirre, or of the core of the Arab-Israeliconflict, remainsfesteringand unresolved.Peacemaking is not merely desirable, it is an-urgent but requisitefor turningtti" tiar of injusticeandendingthe sufferingand losson both sides,which will inevitablyhavea-positive impactthroughout restof theregion. the one thing is very clearafter all of theseyears- thereis no military solution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict or to the Arab-Israeliconflict as a whole. Israel's fo.ry-yru,. occupation of the Palestinian peoplehasstarkly proventhis. Military might "*", gppiess a just causeand cannotforeverdeny an entirenationof peopletheir inaiienull. rights und h..dor*. oo1yu;u.i and peacefulsettlement basedon intematibnallaw, the resolutionsof intemationallegitimacy *1j!" principle of land for peacecan bring * "rrd to this conflict and establish peace the and stabilifywe are all searching for. A comprehensive peace at the cor" of *iil;ilffi:ffi: solutionof Israeland-Palestine, living.sidi by sidein peaceandsecurityon the basisof the 1967 borders remainsandmust be our ultimategoal. But the two-Statesolutionwill be impossibleto achieveas long as the and colonizationcontinue' The completecessation Israel'sillegal cotoniz-ation occupation of campaign, well as as the cessationof all other Israeli violations and grave Lreaches of intemationallaw, is imperative for salvagingthe potential for peace,which diminishes with each passingyear. without sucha cessation, catastrophic the cycle-oidirporrrrsion, oppression deprivation and of the-Palestinian peoplewill continue, cycie of violencewill be furth., fueled the andthe situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territoryandbeyondwill continue deteriorate. to What must be done? Thereare many UN resolutions addressing crisis that remain this valid andthat,if implemented, would have.long broughtan endto thJ occupation an ago -z+i and end to the conflict' Forty years later, resolution Ogai still remainsthe basisfor achieving peace' But Israel hasrefusedto comply with resolution'242 and otherrelevantresolutions and regrettably international the communityhasnot shownthe necessary resolveor political will to ens.ure Israeli compliance. Appeasement not worked and calls and has demands madewithout action to follow them up have not worked. So, what is need now is that the international communitymust urgentlytake actionto hold Israelaccountable for its actionsand bring an end to its impunity. Practicalmeasures needed ensure are to respect the law. for First, the intemational community must uphold its olur responsibilities vis-d-vis international andthe resolutions law adopted the tlll, *rtirrt arethe rounautioos peace.In at for this regard,we reaffirm that the UnitedNationsitself hasa permanent responsibility towardsthe

question Palestine of until it is resolved all its aspects accordance in in with international law. The resolutionsadoptedby the LIN reflect the deep understanding within the intemational communitythat the continueddenial of the inalienablerights of ti'e palestinian p."pi. *iif continue have-far-reaching to implicationsfor the prospects p.u.", stabilityand deveiop-.nt io, in the region and beyondand that, therefore,tIN Member States must collectivelycontinueto exert all efforts to resolve the questionof Palestinethrough the various organs, bodies and instruments internationallaw availableto them. The Sicurity Council of in specific has an importantrole to play in this regardandmust exercise responsibiliiy help bring an endto this to prolonged tragedy bringpeace security thePaleitinian Israelipeoples. and and to and practicalmeasures Second, must be seriouslyconsidered, includingthe possibilityof sanctions, actually compel Israel,the occupyingPower,to comply with to UN resolutions 242 (1973)and all otherrelevant resolutions, abideby iis iegal obligations to L1967),338 underthe Fourth Geneva Convention and the human rights covenants,and to respect fully the ICJ Advisory opinion. It is a tragic irony that the Palestinian people,an occupied people,havehad. financialandpolitical sanctions oneconditionafteranotheiimposed and on th.. following their exerciseof democracy,and, yet Israel, despite all of these y#s of systematicand grave violations the law, hasneverbeenplacedundersanctions. of This illogicalandunjustsituation mustbe redressed_ Moreover, efforts to resolvethe conflict must include acknowledgement by Israel of responsibilityfor the plight of the Palestine refugees, who now numberm"ore than 4.5 million people, respect their right to return,as enshrined resolution and for in lgalif of te+S,the basis for a just and agreed-upon solutionfor their plight. For, as we seetodaythroughout Middle the East today, the problem of the Palestitr. i"irg.rs is truly a regional problem that if left unresolved undermine effort to establish will any p.ur. andstability. All of these elements are essential for the achievementof a just, lasting and comprehensive peace and all concerned parties must begin exerting efforts to uphold their responsibilitiesand promote the conditionsnecessary achieving" foi ru.h- u peace. on the Palestinian side, we have beenundertaking seriousefiorts to calm G situationon the ground amongour factions and to maintaina ceasefire established the GazaStrip. uo*.uJr, tt i, in ceaseflre mustbe reciprocal it is to last. Israelshouldbe urgedto fully respect if this ceasefire ceasing military raids,attacks assassination all and attempts inlarticular - andshouldbe urgedto also extendthe ceasefire immediately the WestBank. Thisls an importantpracticalmeasure, to amongotherssuch.as release prisoners the lifting of restrictions the of and on movement, which will greatly contribute- calming the situation on the ground and to halting its deterioration, defusingtensions the cycleof violence,andpromotinga betteratmosphere and for the pursuitof genuine dialogue peace and negotiations. In this regard, the Palestinianside is ready to immediately undertake final status negotiations. peace The process mustbe urgentlyresumed without.ooditio.rr.Repeated delays and deadlocks have only allowedfor the furth"r-.o-plication and exacerbation the problem. of All concerned parties,including the Quartet,should seizethe momentand, in particular, the opporfunitycreatedby the renewalof the Arab PeaceInitiative to support *d .rrro*age the parties- includingon the Syrianand Lebanese tracks- to resume peace the process support and

themthroughthis process towardsthe ultimateachievement a just, lasting of and comprehensive peace. Excellencies, LadiesandGentlemen, Before concluding,on this solemnoccasion, wish I to reaffirm the immensegratitudeof the Palestinian peoplefoi all of the supportand solidarity extended ;h;o, by the international b community,including at the united Naiions,over the manyyears. The palestinian cause ajust is and noble causethat resonates deeplywittr all thosearoundthe world seeking and supporting justice' peaceand-freedom all peoples. for This international solidarity-and support,iniluding political, moral, financial and humanii*i* ,upp;;l* been vital fo, tfrc palestinianpeople throughout decades they havestruggled the that to end this proronged andLgic occupation and to tealizetheir inalienable humanrights and-continues be essential to foi maintaining their hopes andresilience the faceof so much-adversity. in In this regard,we must alsogive special recognition the uN for the crucialsupport to and assistance has extended the paLstinianp."pl. it to ;; the years,including,inter alia,via the united NationsRelief and. {o*s Agencyfoipaiestine other [rN Agencies,which have ieen essentiai Refuglesin the NearEastandnumerous rot-rr* survival anJ-development the of Palestinianpeople' Today, we must also expressour appreciation the work of the for trN committee on the Exercise-of Inalienable the nigrrtr oi,rt. palestinian peopleand the Division for Palestinian Rights along with the other uN c-ommittee, programs,specialRapporteurs and Representatives have worked to draw Td that utt";i;; to the pligft ortir" palestinian people

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The Palestinian people,firmly believing,in_the purposes principlesof the uN and and the primacv of internationallaw, beiieve.trrq in iirg ru*,luriir. *d d;;; ;ilr ultimatelyprevail and will continueto.seekthe supportof the family "frioi*s at th; uN urrJbeyondto achieve the peacewe have all. been. striving for. we thus d."ply hope that serious efforts and actions will be undertaken this critical tirie to promote at the peace process towardstheachievement a just and peacefulsolution,based of on international and the relevantuN resotutions, law resulting in the termination the occupation all of of of the Arab lanJsoccupied Israelin lg6T,including by EastJerusalem' establishment anindependent, the of territorially contiguous, viable, secure and sovereign Stateof Palestine, living sideby sidewith Irr*t on the basis-oi inewel borders, the exercise the Palestinian by people-of theirinaliena;i; ;;;, in their state,andthe realization a just solutionto the.Palestint of itn it. questionon the-basisof resoluiion 194(rr). such an achievementwill allow us to onJ duy gather here among the nations of the international communityto celebrate flourishingof the i.u.", r."*iry,:"r-ti.. unJ fr*Jr, for our peoples andfor our region.

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