Israeli withdrawal from Gaza Strip/Peace prospects – GA general debate – Verbatim record (excerpts)

Official Records

General Assembly
Sixtieth session
12th plenary meeting
Sunday, 18 September 2005, 3 p.m. 
New York

    The meeting was called to order at 3.05 p.m.

…

 The President : On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Elías Antonio Saca González, President of the Republic of El Salvador, and to invite him to address the Assembly.

 President Saca González (spoke in Spanish ): …

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  As to the situation in the Middle East, we wish to express our gratitude to the Government of Israel for carrying out its disengagement plan, a unilateral measure that will conclude with the total withdrawal of the Israeli presence from the Gaza Strip. This is a show of political will and the desire to put a lasting end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We believe that continuing to adopt measures to generate mutual trust will enable both parties to resume the peace process, as set out in the road map. Similarly, we reiterate our support for the right of the Palestinian people to establish an independent State, as well as the right of the Israeli people to live in peace and security, free from any terrorist threat from radical groups outside the law.

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Item 9 of the provisional agenda (continued)

General debate

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 The President : I have great pleasure in welcoming His Excellency The Honourable Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Independent State of Samoa, and inviting him to address the General Assembly.

 Mr. Malielegaoi (Samoa): …

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  The courageous efforts of the Israeli and Palestinian authorities to find a sustainable peace solution deserve our applause and prayers for continuing success. While there have been positive developments in the Middle East, the violence and acts of terrorism in Iraq and in other parts of the region remain causes for grave concern.

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 The President (spoke in French): I now call on Mr. Philippe Douste-Blazy, Minister for Foreign Affairs of France. 

  Mr. Douste-Blazy (France) (spoke in French ): …

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  Also with respect to the Middle East, a dynamic of hope, which could touch all States of the region, is emerging following Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. France, together with its European partners, stands with the Palestinians to rebuild and develop that territory so that its inhabitants can move around freely and have access to jobs and, quite simply, to decent living conditions.

  But we must not stop there. It is important to restore political prospects for relaunching implementation of the road map by, on the one hand, encouraging the Palestinians to redouble their efforts on security and, on the other, encouraging the Israelis to take the measures necessary to stop settlement activity and to comply with international law in their struggle for security. Peace can come only with the existence of two peaceful and democratic States living side by side in peace and security.

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  The Acting President : I now give the floor to His Excellency The Right Honourable Sir Rabbie L. Namaliu, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration of Papua New Guinea.

  Sir Rabbie L. Namaliu (Papua New Guinea): …

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  Over the years, Papua New Guinea has called for bold decisions and leadership on the part of both Israel and Palestine to exercise restraint and resolve their disputes through peaceful means. We commend Prime Minister Sharon and President Abbas for their bold and strong leadership towards the resolution of this long-standing issue.

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     The meeting rose at 6.50 p.m.

This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the interpretation of speeches delivered in the other languages. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room C-154A. Corrections will be issued after the end of the session in a consolidated corrigendum.