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at The Resumed "Illegal Tenth Fmergency Special Session the General of Assembly Israeliactionsin occupied EastJeruialemand the rest of the occupiedpalestinian Territory" on The Establishmentof The United Nations Registerof Damage Caused by. The Constructionof The Wall in The OccupiedPalestinian Territon, New york, 15December zoo6 Madam Presidenr, Let me first of all thank you Madam President for convening this very important meeting' We last met more than two years ago where among others we had ."qr"rt"a the Secretary-General establish a iegister"of du-uge cauied to all natural to or legal personsconcernedin connectionwith parag-raphs und r53 of the t5z advisoryopinion"J the International Court of Justice or 9 .ruly'rooi on the"iegul Co*.quences of the Construction of a wall in the occupied PalestinianTerritory,lncluding in and around East Jerusalem. Though we are slifhtly dismayedthat it haa'tak;; q"it. sometimefor this register to be established,we nonetheless wish ro expressour appreciationto the Secretary-Generalfor his effort to provide the instiiutional framework for the establishment registeras containedlnhis reportA/ES-ro/36r. this 2' Befor-e proceed I ourselveswith the {urt-her,my delegationwishes to associate statementsdelivered distinguishediepresentatives Cuba,on t"trAf of the Nonof !v tftg Nigned Movement. My delegationwould also like to endorsethe statement deliveredby the distinguished Permanenf Observer palestine. of MadamPresident, The International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of 3' the United Nations, .through its _advisory opinion on q July zoao4,concluldedthat bt ih; construction of the Wall in the occupied Palestinian Teriitory, Israel had violated various international law obligations incumbent upon it and since the construction of the Wall entailed the requisition and destructionoi ho-"s, businesses and agricultural holdings, "Israel has the obligation to make reparationfor ihe au-us; causedto all the natur.af and legal personsconierned,,(paragrapt ,5" of the uA"iro.y-Spiiion). It further statedin paragraphrS3, and I quote:

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"Isrctelis accordingly under an obligation to reftn"n the land, orchards, oliue grouesand other immouableproperty seized from onA natural or legctl personfor purposesof construction of the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In the euent that such restitution shoulclproue to be materially impossible,Israel has an obligation to corttpensatethe per.sonsin questionfor the damcrgesuffered. The Court considerstlnt Israel also has an obligation to compensote,in accordance with the applicable rules of intenntional latu, all natural or legal personshauiry suffered any form of material damage cs o result of the tuctll's constructton." MadamPresident, ttt The advisory opinion of the IC.I is very clear. There should not be an.vflor-r6, 4. anyone'smind on the obligation and responsibiliq' of Israel to either return those land Territory, for of or propertiesseized purposes constructionin the OccupiedPalestinian thoseaffectedfor the damagedsuffered. or othenvisecompensate But despitethis, more than two yearssincethe ICJ's advisoryopinion rvasissued, 5. we continueto witnessthe total disregardby Israel on their obligation and responsibiliry" on this matter. What is even of more concern is that Israel continues with its intransigent behaviour by totally ignoring the advisory and maintains its selfless attitude by continuing to construct the Wall and its policy of strangulating the Palestinianof their economicwell being. It has been well acknowledgedthat the Wall has brought anything but more 6. hardship and despair to the Palestinians,as if the constant harassment,violence and military attacks are not enough. The Wall impacted on the lives of more than half a million Palestinians living within one kilometre of the Wall. The impact of the Wall and settlement activities on Palestinian agriculture continues to be substantial. Its constructionhas led to the confiscationof more than zTg,ooo hectares(z7o sq. km) of the West Bank's most fertile land, representing about 15 per cent of all West Bank agricultural land, and loss of control over 49 Palestinianwater wells. In addition to this, the destruction of physical infrastructures left. zz per cent of the West Bank areas surrounding the Wall without road and water networks, and nearly So per cent of the residentswithout access health services. to Where the Wall has been constructed,Palestiniansface economichardship from 7. being restricted from or not being able to reach their land to harvest crops, graze have also been cut off from schools,universitiesand animals or earn a living. Residents specialized medical care.The damagecausedby the destructionof land and property for the Wall's construction will take many years to recover. It will hinder Palestinian development, and when a political solution is found. if B. Sadly, the Wall is the most visible sign of the transformation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory into a vast open-air prison. Its construction remains as a

the dimensionthat has acutell'undermined humanitarianand human rights dangerous Israeli occupation. The Wall has impacted and will situition of those lir.ing under communities continue to impact in an adversemanner the socialfabric of Palestinian life. and their daily Madam President, g. My delegationhad highlightedthe effectof the Wall on the lives of the Palestinian to shorv that the impact goes beyond that of just economy. The hardship that the be Palestiniansface daily for so many years is immeasurableand could not in any r,r'ay the quantified in terms of monetary r'alue. This notr,r'ithstanding, establishmentof the It rvould provide a technical, Registerof Damageis indeed ver1'timely and important. faci-finding processof listing or recordingthe fact and type of the damagecausedas a result of the constructionof the Wall. Thereneedsto be an immediatemonitoring of the been causedby Israel on the Palestinians. The Registerl'trouldb_e damagesthat har.'e record of the damagecausedto all play this role and provide a comprehensive able to natural ind legal personsconcernedas a result of the constructionof the Wall by Israel. For far too long the hardship and predicamentsof the Palestinianshave never 10. been recorded and journalised in a proper register under the administration of the United Nations. It is only right and proper that we begin to do so now, so that it will forever be in the annals of history of the injustice that had been inflicted on the will by Palestinians Israel. We must make earnestefforts to ensurethat the Palestinians realizethe Register of Damage including the not be denied this right, and u'e must setting up of its office at the earliestpossible. to 11. We call on Member States,parties involved and relevant UN agencies extend their support and cooperation to the office of the Registerof Damages.Such support The Register implementationof the Register. and cooperationwill ensurethe successful "shoppinglist". It must be a well-preparedand substantiated must be more than just a for documentthat will enablethe affectedpeopleto be compensated their lossesand for the restitution of their land and properties. MadamPresident, for 12. Israel is accountableand responsible the entire predicamentand hardship of consequentto the construction of the Wall. There could be no valid the Palestinians in excusefor Israel to justify its actions. The UN Secretary-General one of his report to "...I (Secretary-General) acknowledgeand recognize the General Assembly stated, protect its peopleagainstterrorist attacks. However,that duty Israel's right and duty to should not be carried out in a way that is in contradictionto internationallaw". The international community should not allow Israel to continue to ignore with 13. impunity the advisory opinion of the ICJ and the various SecurityCouncil and General Assembiyresolutions.It has full obligationsand responsibilityin making reparationsfor all the damagescausedby the Wall. It must immediately stop the construction of the

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Wall, dismantle and remove the completed sections of the Wall. We urge the international community' and in particular, this august Assembly,to ensurethat Israei act immediatelyin this regard.This Assembly'is alsoduty bound to ensurethat the lives and livelihood of the Palestinians secured. The draft resolutionA/ES-ro/L.2o on are the "Establishment of the United Nations Register of Damage caused by the construction of the Wall in the Occupied PalestinianTerritory" before us is intended tou'ardsthat end. We call on this Assemblyto adopt the resolution. I thank vou. Madam President.

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