Those who believe that peace can prevail in the Middle East without the Palestinian people enjoying their full legitimate national rights are delusional.
Once again. I come to the Assembly carrying the cause of my people, who are struggling for freedom and independence, to remind members of the tragedy caused by the Nakba 75 years ago. the effects of which continue to be exacerbated by the Israeli occupation of our territory. The occupation challenges the resolutions adopted by the United Nations, which now number more than 1.000. and violates the principles of international law and international legitimacy, while racing against time to change the historical, geographical and demographic reality on the ground, aimed at perpetuating the occupation and entrenching apartheid.
Despite that painful reality, and 30 years after the Oslo Accords, which Israel has totally discarded, we still maintain hope that the Organization will be able to implement its resolutions demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of our territory and the realization of the independence of the fully sovereign State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, within the borders of 4 June 1967. We still maintain hope to resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees, in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy, especially resolution 194 (III), the relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions — in particular Security Council resolution 2334 (2016) — and the Arab Peace Initiative, all of which affirm the illegality of the Israeli occupation and its settlements.
As I stand here, the Israeli racist right-wing Government continues its attacks on our people and. through its army and its racist terrorist settlers, continues to intimidate and kill our people, destroy homes and property, steal our money and resources and detain the bodies of the martyrs. More than 600 bodies are still detained, and I do not know for what reason. This is being done in full view of the world and without any deterrence, punishment or accountability, and the leaders and ministers of that Government have even been bragging about their apartheid policy against our people under occupation. The Israeli occupation Government also continues to violate the city of Jerusalem and its people, assault our Islamic and Christian sacred sites, and violate the historical and legal status of the holy sites, especially the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which international legitimacy — pursuant to a 1930 resolution of the League of Nations — has recognized as a place of worship for Muslims alone, as well as the Bab Al-Rahma prayer hall and the Al-Buraq wall.
The occupying Power is also feverishly digging tunnels under and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, threatening its collapse or partial collapse, which would lead to an explosion with untold consequences. We have repeatedly warned against transforming the political conflict into a religious one. for which Israel will bear full responsibility. I hereby call on the international community to assume its responsibilities in preserving the historical and legal status of Jerusalem and its sacred places, especially the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil/Hebron.
Here I wonder: Why remain silent about all the flagrant violations of international law that are being committed by Israel, the occupying Power? Why is Israel not subjected to serious accountability? Why are sanctions not imposed on it for ignoring and violating international resolutions, as is the case with other countries? Why practice double standards when it comes to Israel? Why accept that Israel is a State above the law? Is it not time to answer those questions?
For our part, we will persist with our pursuit of accountability and justice before the relevant international bodies against Israel because of the continued Israeli occupation of our land and the crimes that have been committed and are still being committed against us. as well as against both Britain and the
United States for their roles in the fateful Balfour Declaration — yes. the United States and Britain — and everyone who has had a role in the catastrophe and tragedy of our people. We will not forget history and we will not forget miseries. We call for acknowledgment, apology, reparations and compensation in accordance with international law.
In the light of the deadlock in the peace process due to Israel’s policies, we come to the General Assembly to appeal for the holding of an international peace conference — is that so difficult? — in which all countries concerned with achieving peace in the Middle East would participate. I therefore ask the Organization and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to take the necessary measures and call for the convening of that conference, which may be the last opportunity to salvage the two-State solution and to prevent the situation from deteriorating more seriously, threatening the security and stability of our region and the entire world.
I also call on the Organization and the Secretary- General to implement the resolutions pertaining to providing protection for the Palestinian people. We demand protection from the constant aggressions of the occupation army and the terrorist Israeli settlers. We call for support for our approach to the international courts and bodies with jurisdiction because the current situation is intolerable. In the face of all that Israel is doing to systematically destroy the two-State solution, it has become necessary for me. in order to save that solution, to call on the States Members of the Organization, each State in its national capacity, to take practical steps on the basis of the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy and international law. I also call on the States that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to declare their recognition and for the State of Palestine to be admitted to full membership of the United Nations. There are two States. The entire world is talking about them. The State of Israel is recognized by the entire world. Why not the State of Palestine?
I can neither understand nor accept that some States, including the United States and European States, are reluctant to recognize the State of Palestine, which the United Nations has accepted as an observer State. Those States confirm their support for the two- State solution every day. but they recognize only one of them, namely. Israel. Why? What is the danger posed by the State of Palestine’s obtaining full membership in the United Nations? Israel enjoys international recognition, although it has not adhered to the conditions for its accession to the United Nations, namely, the implementation of resolutions 181 (II) and 194 (III). We therefore call on the Organization to take deterrent measures against Israel until it at least fulfils its obligations under a written declaration by its Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1949. Moshe Sharett. He issued a written commitment to implementing those resolutions at that time, but nothing has happened since then. Our request is for the sake of peace and justice and out of respect for international law. international legitimacy and the Organization.
Our people are defending their homeland and their legitimate rights through peaceful popular resistance as a strategic option for self-defence, and to liberate the land from a settlement occupation that does not believe in peace and has no regard for the principles of truth, justice and human values. We will continue our peaceful popular resistance to that brutal occupation until it withdraws from our land. We are managing our affairs under extremely difficult and complex circumstances as a result of the restrictions that are being imposed on us by the occupying Power, which prevents us from accessing our natural resources, withholds our money for no just cause and continues its siege on our people in the Gaza Strip, with the consequent exacerbation of the suffering of our people.
Moreover. Israel bears full responsibility, through its control over all the crossing points and dividing lines between the occupied West Bank and its surroundings, for the deliberate spread of weapons, drugs and criminal killings taking place in Arab cities inside Israel. Every day sees a new murder, for which Israel is responsible. Some of that violence is spilling over into our areas, posing a great threat to the societal security of Palestinians everywhere in our territory.
I must inform the Assembly that so long as we continue to suffer under the abhorrent Israeli occupation, we will continue to need financial assistance from the international community, in addition to the crucial provision of financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which is in dire need of assistance in supporting the refugees. We are thankful to the international community for the support it has given us to build our State and our economy, and we look forward to the continuation of that support until the occupation ends. If the international cooperation helps us get rid of the occupation, we will be able to rely on ourselves.
Our State institutions are engaged in a comprehensive development and reform process, and in that context they are cooperating with international institutions and with our partners in the region and the world. We have recently held local elections and elections for institutions, federations, unions and others. There is a specialized committee to develop the justice sector in Palestine. Civil society is also playing its role in adding vitality to our political system. All that remains for us is to hold democratic general elections, as we did in 1996. 2005 and 2006. We have been unable to hold elections since then because the Israeli Government is obstructing them through its decision to prevent elections from being held in East Jerusalem. The first three elections took place in East Jerusalem, but since then they have been prevented, despite the significant intervention of many countries, as well as regional and international organizations, to enable our Palestinian people in Jerusalem to vote and run in those elections. Today we reiterate our rejection of any position holding us responsible for not convening those elections, which are a Palestinian necessity that we want today and not tomorrow. We want elections, but we want them to be held in East Jerusalem. Why does Israel prevent us from doing so? Someone should ask it. In the face of the intransigent position of the Israeli Government, we will continue to approach the relevant international bodies to hold the Israeli Government accountable and force it to allow us to hold the long overdue elections.
Last May. I participated in the commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the 1948 Palestinian Nakba. a tragedy recognized by the Organization. That painful anniversary continues to be ignored and denied by Israel, which is the first to be responsible for the Nakba. I call on the Assembly today to criminalize the denial of the Nakba and to designate 15 May of each year as an international day to commemorate its anniversary in order to remember the lives of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were killed in massacres committed by Zionist gangs, whose villages were demolished and who were forcibly displaced from their homes. The number of those refugees was 950.000 in 1948. constituting more than half of the Palestinian population at the time. That is the least that the United Nations should do in honour of those victims and in condemnation of the human tragedy of the 1948 Nakba.
For several years, we have presented our Palestinian narrative and the story of our people, which has been deliberately distorted by the Zionist and Israeli propaganda. We are relieved that the peoples of the world and many of its countries have begun to believe our narrative and sympathize with it after having been misled for decades. We thank all those who contribute to sharing and supporting that narrative and all those who sympathize with it. We also thank people of conscience everywhere in the world who today are standing up for Palestinian rights and supporting our people’s struggle for freedom and independence.
My message today to the Israelis is that the hideous occupation against us will not last regardless of their ambitions and delusions, because the Palestinian people are remaining on their land, which they have inhabited for thousands of years, generation after generation, as again confirmed by a recent UNESCO resolution regarding the city of Jericho, which has existed for 10.000 years. The Palestinians cannot leave their land, and if anyone must leave it must be the occupiers. We will stay in our land.
My message to the international community is that it should assume its responsibilities with full courage and implement its resolutions related to realizing Palestinian rights. We ask for no more than our rights and the implementation of the relevant resolutions. A thousand resolutions have been adopted. We are asking the international community to implement just one.
Finally. I address all of our people in Palestine, in the refugee camps, in the diaspora and in every place in this vast world, with the highest expressions of appreciation and gratitude for their steadfastness and insistence on upholding their rights. I pay tribute to our righteous martyrs, our brave prisoners and our heroic injured people, and I say to everyone: A right is never lost when there is a demand behind it. Victory is ours, and we will celebrate the independence of our State in Jerusalem, our eternal capital, the crown jewel and flower of all cities. They see it as far-fetched, and we see it as quite near.