Statement by H.E. Ambassador Sirodjidin Aslov, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Tajikistan to the UN on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference at an open debate of the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East

Date: 20/01/2011 
http://www.oic-oci.org/topic_detail.asp?t_id=4861

New York, 19 January 2011 

Mr. President, 

I have the honour to make this statement on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Group. 

Israel, the occupying power, has methodically intensified its violations in the occupied Palestinian territories, through confiscating lands, destructing the houses, building illegal settlements, constructing apartheid wall, erecting hundreds of checkpoints, detaining thousands of Palestinians and imposing unjust blockade on the Gaza. All those illegal acts are being done despite unprecedented international unanimity in calling for Israel to stop such illegal and unilateral acts, in a flagrant violation of the Hague and the Geneva Conventions, and the resolutions of the UN Security Council and the UNESCO regarding East Jerusalem, and has been in defiance of unanimity of international stance. 

Al-Quds Al-Sharif remains an integral part of the Palestinian Territory occupied by Israel since 1967, whose illegal annexation by Israel, has been rejected and remains unrecognized by the international community. However, Israel, the occupying power, continues to pursue a systematic process of altering the historical Arab-Islamic identity of the Holy City, judaizing and tampering with its history, and changing its demographic composition. Still, it keeps on building apartheid wall, confiscating lands, demolishing houses, constructing new Israeli settlement neighbourhoods, and carrying excavations underneath the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which aims to completely change the facts on the ground, and eventually isolate the occupied East Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings. 

Settlement construction, if allowed to continue, will make Jerusalem the capital of hatred, fanaticism and violence instead of it becoming the capital of tolerance and coexistence. The choice before Israel, the occupying power is clear-cut, if peace and international justice are to prevail, demolition and colonial settlement policies must stop. In the meanwhile, we reaffirm through this international platform that such illegal Israeli practices, will definitely undermine the diplomatic efforts to restore constructive negotiations, and ultimately break up the historic opportunity to make peace and coexistence a reality. 

At this crucial moment, the International community is required to uphold responsibilities in this regard and to bring decisive and final end to the Israeli settlement policy on the Palestinian land including East Jerusalem. Israel must comply with the will of the international community, abide by the international legitimacy resolutions, respect the provisions of international law, therefore, stop building and expanding illegal settlements as to enhance the prospects for a viable two-state solution. 
Mr. President, 

The OIC remains deeply concerned by Israel's ongoing air and land violations of Lebanon's sovereignty, in breach of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006), and calls on Israel to withdraw fully from the remaining Lebanese occupied land in the Sheba'a farms, the Kfar Shouba Hills and the northern part of al-Ghajar village. 

The OIC also joins the international community's stance in reaffirming that all measures and actions taken, or to be taken, by Israel, the occupying power, to alter the legal, physical and demographic status of the Occupied Syrian Golan and its institutional structure, as well as the Israeli measures to impose jurisdiction and administration there, are null and void and have no legal effect. The OIC demands that Israel abide fully and immediately by Security Council resolution 497 (1981) and withdraw fully from the occupied Syrian Golan to the lines of 4 June 1967, in implementation also of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). 

I thank you, Mr. President.