JERUSALEM, May 16, 2011 (WAFA) – UNRWA Commissioner General Filippo Grandi Monday deplored the death of Palestinian refugees on Sunday on the Israeli borders with Lebanon and Syria, and in the Palestinian Territory.
“I deplore the deaths of Palestine refugees in Lebanon, the occupied Golan Heights and the occupied Palestinian territory,” he said in a statement. “As Commissioner General of UNRWA, I continue to follow the situation confronting the population we serve with concern and I echo the call on all parties to show restraint and ensure that civilians are not killed or injured.”
Grandi said that “these sad events demonstrate once more the vulnerability of the Palestine refugees we serve. They underline the need for a just and durable solution, based on UN resolutions, to resolve the plight of those who have endured statelessness, exile and dispossession for 63 years.”
He called on the parties to the Middle East conflict “to address what the Secretary General has called the ‘unsustainable status quo in the Arab-Israeli conflict’ including the fate of the refugees. I fear that failure to do so will only lead to more instability and further loss of life.”
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had on Sunday also expressed deep concern regarding Sunday’s confrontations that led to the death of 15 Palestinian refugees from Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip, as well as injuries of hundreds others.
“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned that a significant number of people have been killed or injured,” said a statement by his office on Sunday.” He calls on all concerned to show restraint and refrain from provocations so as to prevent escalation of tensions and ensure civilians are not killed or injured.”
The statement said that “the Secretary-General calls for calm throughout the region and utmost responsibility from all concerned.”
It said that “the Secretary-General is acutely conscious of the unsustainable status quo in the Arab-Israeli conflict, which is only thrown into sharper relief by the profound political changes now under way in the region. He reiterates the urgent need for a just, lasting and comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, which ensures dignity and security for all, including an end to occupation, an end to conflict, and a just and agreed solution to the plight of Palestinian refugees.”
Ban ended his statement by calling for “a renewed and sustained effort to resume Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and advance the broader goal of a comprehensive regional peace in the Middle East.”
M.A.
