NEW YORK, December 8, 2009 (WAFA)- Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations Ambassador Dr. Riyad Mansour, called on Monday all Member States to join Palestine in its effort to build Palestinian independent State, to establish justice and peace in their homeland.
In his statement at the 64th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, to discuss the Assistance to the Palestinian People Mansour said: We reiterate our call on all Member States to join us in our effort to build our independent State, to establish justice and peace in their homeland. This is undoubtedly a test of our resilience as an oppressed people, and equally a test of international credibility.
He stated, the Palestinian people and their leadership are deeply grateful for this invaluable assistance. But, today, as we convene to discuss this matter, we believe it is imperative to ask important questions: How much have we helped this assistance reach its full potential and how much sabotage has the international community endured to its sustained assistance efforts? How much more internationally-funded projects and efforts are we willing to allow the occupying Power to undermine and decimate as it continues pursuing its illegal policies and practices, which deepen the humanitarian crisis, forcing this assistance to go off track from development and state-building to relief and crisis management? How much longer is the international community willing to pay for the illegal actions of the occupying Power by relieving the consequences of these actions rather than bringing them to an end?
He said, the international community should focus on helping the Palestinian Authority to implement its State program. Funding is crucial, but not enough; serious efforts and action must be undertaken to remove the tremendous obstacles Israel is placing on the ground to undermine the program. Without doing that, international assistance and its crucial role will end up only covering the cost of the Israeli occupation rather than achieving development and building the institutions of the independent Palestinian State, which is the only guarantee to peace in the Middle East.
He stated, the international community must shoulder its moral and legal responsibilities by compelling the occupying Power to cease its violations and put an end to its crippling siege of all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The cause of the utter destitution Palestinians now suffer is known to all of us - the 42-year Israeli military occupation. Thus, as numerous international organizations agree, full economic recovery and rehabilitation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which are the goals driving international assistance, will only be possible when this occupation ends.
He confirmed that the Palestinian people shall not allow Israel’s insistence on pursuit of hegemony, colonization, walls, wanton violence and destruction, and discrimination to stand in their way. They shall continue to build what the occupation destroys, to preserve the life and society that the occupation attempts to shatter, and to re-planting what the occupation razes and uproots.
He added, our commitment to exercise our inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination, and full sovereignty over our natural resources is unwavering. Our empowerment to establish a sovereign, contiguous and viable Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, is the only option - the only way to achieve peace in the region.
He expressed, “our goal is to stand before you, soon, to announce that through sovereignty, we have overcome dependence, that any international assistance we might seek would be to complete our recovery from the occupation, rather than to continue coping with its devastation. But to do that, we need your assistance to protect your investment in peace – make sure it is not in vain”.
He noted, the latest report by ESCWA, sums up the bleak situation as follows: “The occupation of Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, the use of arbitrary detention, the disproportionate use of force, house demolitions, severe mobility restrictions, lack of building permits and closure policies continue to intensify the economic and social hardship of the Palestinian residents of the occupied Palestinian territory.” Moreover, ESCWA concludes that “the multi-layered Israeli closure and siege system, which is devised to protect and ensure the expansion of the illegal colonial enterprise, remains the single-most culprit for the persistent economic and humanitarian crisis Palestinians face. It also stands in violation of the Geneva Convention and other norms of international law.”
He said, the report of UNCTAD concludes that “of the twenty-five years that UNCTAD monitored and investigated the performance of the economy of the occupied Palestinian territory and the policy environment affecting it, 2009 represents without a doubt an all-time low.” And that “the Palestinian economy today faces a real challenge to its integrity, solvency and indeed the very viability that it must enjoy for the two-state solution to become a reality.”
He concluded, over the past few years, international aid to the Palestinian people has increased significantly. Yet, this increase has had little effect on the grim reality on the ground because of the incessant military aggression, siege, and colonial expansion that continues to be inflicted on the population by Israel.
