Archives for November 2017

Statement of H.E. Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, 29 November 2017

H.E. Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations,
H.E Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, President of the United Nations General Assembly,
H.E. Mr. Sebastiano Cardi, President of the Security Council,
H.E. Mr. Fodé Seck, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Palestinian People of their Inalienable Rights

Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Seventy years ago, on this same day, on the 29th of November 1947, the General Assembly adopted resolution 181(II), unjustly deciding to partition Palestine, without the consent of its people, against their will and in blatant disregard of their right to self-determination. A few months later, Israel forcibly uprooted twothirds of the Palestinian people from their land and destroyed over 400 towns and villages, violently clearing the way for its forced acquisition of more than three-quarters of Palestine’s territory, far beyond what was allotted to it the partition plan. Then, in 1967, fifty years ago, Israel occupied what remained of Palestine’s territory, constituting 22% of historical Palestine, comprising the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. [Read more…]

Statement by H.E. Dr. Riyad Mansour, Ambassador, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, before the United Nations General Assembly, Agenda Item 38: Question of Palestine, Agenda Item 37: Situation in the Middle East, 29 November 2017, New York

Mr. President,

It is with somber spirit that we gather in the General Assembly today in this debate on the question of Palestine, seventy years since the Assembly’s adoption of resolution 181 (II) and decision to partition Palestine, against the will and rights of the Palestinian people and leading to their Nakba in 1948. The infinite consequences of this decision continue to be borne out in the injustices being endured and witnessed to this day, as the Palestinian people are still being denied their rights, including to self-determination and to return, and a just, lasting and peaceful solution remains elusive. [Read more…]

14 November 2017 – Israeli Confiscation of Palestinian Land and Eviction of Civilians

Excellency,

I regret to inform you that, in the absence of any serious measures of accountability pursuant to Security Council resolution 2334 (2016) and the countless other relevant United Nations resolutions demanding the cessation of Israel’s illegal policies and measures in Occupied Palestine, including East Jerusalem, and an end to its more than half-century occupation, the occupying Power continues with its flagrant violations and methodical destruction of the two-State solution.

Following its recent provocative announcements regarding plans for the illegal construction of thousands more settlement units across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Israeli Government is forging ahead with its colonization and annexation schemes, escalating its confiscation of Palestinian land, demolition of Palestinian homes and properties, and its forced displacement of the Palestinian civilian population.  This has included ongoing measures aimed at the forced transfer of thousands of Bedouin Palestinians from their lands. All of this is being done in grave breach of international law and direct and repeated violation of Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. [Read more…]