Economic and Social Repercussions of the Israeli Occupation – ECOSOC Debate (E/2013/SR.40) (Excerpts)

Economic and Social Repercussions of the Israeli Occupation – ECOSOC Debate (E/2013/SR.40) (Excerpts)

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Economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan (continued)

General discussion (continued)

Mr. Azzam (Observer for Lebanon) said that his country welcomed the conclusions presented in the report of the Secretary-General on the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan (E/2013/13). His delegation also endorsed the statement made by the representative of Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. The report showed that the occupying Power continued its policies and practices in violation of the rules of international law applicable in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Lebanon denounced the systematic Israeli discriminatory policies in the economic and social fields, the disproportionate use of force by the Israeli army, the mistreatment of prisoners and children, the demolition of houses and infrastructure, the settlements, the forced displacement of the Palestinian people and the continuation by Israel of its policy to encourage the settlement of Israelis in the Syrian Golan. As the report stated, the inhabitants of the settlements in that region were almost as numerous as the Syrian Arab population. The international community must put an end to all forms of violations of the economic and social rights of Palestinians in their territory.

Mr. Khabbaz Hamoui (Observer for the Syrian Arab Republic) said that the occupation of the Syrian Golan since 1967 has caused the displacement of half of its inhabitants. He denounced the confiscation of land, which had been given to Jewish settlers, the imprisonment for many years of Syrian Arabs and the inhuman and degrading treatment inflicted on them, the prohibition imposed on Arabs preventing them from exporting their agricultural products, the confiscation of water sources, the prohibition of trade, the establishment of military posts impeding free movement, the prohibition imposed on Syrian Arabs preventing them from returning to Syria and the refusal to grant them work permits, the theft of ancient art objects, the barriers imposed on Arabs seeking to learn their mother tongue and the prohibition of access to natural resources. He asked members of the Council to adopt draft resolution E/2013/L.16 by consensus and to reaffirm the obligation to respect the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.

Mr. Bougacha (Tunisia) said that his country supported the statement made by the representative of Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. He stressed the Israeli tendency to codify racial discrimination. In that connection, there were many laws that discriminated against Palestinians, including laws preventing them from inheriting land. He denounced the arbitrary detentions and stated that the presence and behaviour of the occupying Power rendered impossible the development of the Palestinian people.

Mr. Minty (South Africa) said that his country fully associated itself with the statement made by the representative of Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. The report of the Secretary-General clearly showed that the discrimination imposed by Israel continued to undermine any initiatives for peace and justice, particularly the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people remained a subject of dispute. South Africa continued to vigorously oppose the blockade of Gaza, the inability of humanitarian assistance to gain access in order to alleviate the disastrous resulting situation in general on humanitarian grounds and to ensure the enjoyment of fundamental rights. The support provided by the South African Government for the Palestinian cause consisted in particular in capacity-building, inter-cultural exchange programs and international aid and development projects in the West Bank and Gaza.

Mr. Al-Zamily (Observer for Iraq) said that Iraq supported the statement made by the representative of Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and welcomed the report of the Secretary-General. He denounced the lack of food security and the violence suffered by Palestinians, and stressed how important it was to facilitate access to the people in need of humanitarian assistance.

Mr. Al-Hammadi (Qatar) condemned the racist practices of the occupying Power, which aggravated the economic and social conditions of the Palestinian people, the continued Israeli military aggression, the separation wall, the use of torture, especially on children, and the blockade of Gaza. Qatar would continue to provide assistance to the Palestinian people until it regained all its rights and had an independent State with Jerusalem as its capital.

Ms. Ahmed (Observer for Bahrain) said that her country welcomed the report of the Secretary-General. She noted that the Israeli restrictions prevented any growth of the Palestinian economy. She noted further that the settlement movement was accelerating at an alarming rate and that 190,000 people were currently installed in 33 settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan. Her delegation hoped that draft resolution E/2013/L.16 would be adopted.

Mr. Almarzooqi (Observer for the United Arab Emirates) welcomed the report of the Secretary-General, but expressed his concern at the deteriorating economic and social situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The occupation of that territory was an obstacle in the planning of the health system, resulting in shortages, and undermined the development of health infrastructure. His delegation also wondered what measures were being taken within the United Nations system to protect educational institutions threatened with destruction.

Ms. González (Observer for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela) noted with concern that there were still some colonial situations preventing people from exercising their right to self-determination. Referring to the report entitled “Latin America and the Caribbean: economic situation and outlook, 2012-2013” (E/2013/19), she noted that it was accurate and gave a good account of the important reforms in Venezuela in the field of labour and the dynamism of its domestic economy. Finally, associating itself with the statement made by the representative of Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, Venezuela denounced the Israeli policy aimed at fragmenting Palestinian territory and deemed it necessary to revive the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and to recognize the State of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations.

Mr. Talab Tousi (Observer for the Islamic Republic of Iran) said that his country supported the statement made by the representative of Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and welcomed the report of the Secretary-General. He noted that the report rightly stressed the segregation and racism practiced by Israel and noted that the Council should avoid sending any signal that would encourage the Israeli regime to continue its illegal and aggressive policies.

Mr. Boukili (Observer for Morocco) said that the Israeli authorities continued to change the demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem and continued the excavations under the Al-Aqsa mosque. In that connection they had destroyed the Mughrabi Gate, a sacred place for all religions. He added that Morocco supported draft resolution E/2013/L.16.

Mr. Chebihi (Observer for Algeria) said that Algeria associated itself with the statement made by the representative of Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. His delegation also welcomed the Secretary General’s report, which emphasized correctly that the main obstacles facing the Palestinian economy were related to the occupation, not to the economic policies of the Palestinian Authority, the scope and resources of which were necessarily limited.

Mr. Nasr (Observer for Egypt) said that his country welcomed the comprehensive report submitted by the Secretary-General and endorsed the statement made by the representative of Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Egypt denounced the destruction of infrastructure, which had, in some cases, been funded by international donors. Israel controlled over 80 per cent of the water and prevented Palestinians from gaining access to water from the Jordan. Israel had destroyed water desalination facilities and operated landfills for Israeli waste in Palestinian territory. Israeli policies were causing anaemia and malnutrition among Palestinians and imposed barriers preventing access to schools. Egypt reaffirmed its support for the Palestinian people and their desire to create a State within the 1967 borders and to exercise their right to self-determination.

Mr. Alzaroug (Libya) said his country supported the statement made by the representative of Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and condemned the destruction of arable land belonging to the Arab population.

Ms. Xie Zhangwei (China) said that the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) required regional cooperation and development aid in order to bring marginalized countries out of poverty, and that that must be at the heart of the post-2015 development programme. The most recent conference of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) had helped to strengthen the resilience of the Asian countries and to review the measures needed for capacity-building. It had also showed the need to develop national strategies for sustainable development and to establish global partnerships for development, within the framework of the follow-up to the Rio +20 Conference. China intended to play a leading role in that process by actively participating in the work of ESCAP, guided by targeted studies that were tailored to the needs of countries and identified the main problems, foremost among which were disaster reduction and prevention.

Ms. Emilia (Indonesia), noting that her country associated itself with the statement made by the representative of Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said that since 2008, under the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership, Indonesia had been providing training to nearly 1,250 Palestinians in various areas, including entrepreneurship, microfinance, agriculture, the health professions and good governance. Scholarships had also been issued to Palestinian students who wanted to come and train in Indonesia. In 2014, the country would host a regional conference for the development of Palestine. Indonesia supported draft resolution E/2013/L.16.

Ms. Escorel de Moraes (Brazil), noting that her country associated itself with the statement made by the representative of Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said that Brazil was very concerned at the continuing illegal construction in the occupied territories and the settler violence against Palestinians. Arbitrary arrests, the displacement of people and the multiple barriers to the freedom of movement of Palestinians, including the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, were all violations of human rights that must cease immediately. Brazil had provided assistance to Palestinians in several areas: education, food security, agriculture, health and sport. Between 2011 and 2013, it had funded projects for international cooperation in the field of health and infrastructure, totalling $8.5 million. The Brazilian Government, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) had recently signed an agreement, under which Brazil had donated 11,500 tonnes of Brazilian rice to UNRWA.

Mr. Caspi (Observer for Israel) said that, once again, the debate on the issue was motivated by political considerations, which undermined the credibility of the Council. In view of the tragic events in Syria, it was somewhat surprising that the Council included in its agenda the examination of the situation of the inhabitants of the Syrian Golan, which suggested that it saw no need to dwell on the fate of the Syrian people torn by conflict in Homs and Damascus. However, the fate of the latter was much more worrying than that of the inhabitants of the Syrian Golan. The same applied to the people of the Gaza Strip, where the reality on the ground completely contradicted the facts put forward in draft resolution E/2013/L.16. According to Mr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar, a leader of Hamas, the Gaza Strip where “the economic situation had improved significantly,” was “autonomous in many ways”. Far from denying the reality of the crisis in the Gaza Strip, Israel wished to recall that that crisis was the result of terrorist actions on the part of Hamas. In that connection, he noted, the Palestinian Authority rewarded terrorists convicted by Israel according to the severity of the attacks that they had carried out and was spending for that purpose 6 per cent of its total budget. Although serious, the situation in the Palestinian territories could not be described as a humanitarian crisis, because that only had the effect of diverting the attention of the international community from regions actually in need. Israel would continue to support the Palestinian economy and wanted the peace talks with Palestine to continue.

Mr. Ismail (Sudan), associating himself with the statement made by the representative of Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said that the Israeli occupation was a clear violation of international law and that the inhumane practices that resulted from the occupation must cease immediately. His country supported draft resolution E/2013/L.16.

Mr. Zambrana (Plurinational State of Bolivia) said that his country supported the statement made by the representative of Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China and deeply regretted that, after forty-six years of Israeli occupation, Palestine still could not enjoy the right to self-determination and that the peace process was deadlocked. The Israeli occupation was unacceptable, was detrimental to human rights and violated in particular the General Assembly resolution on the human right to water and sanitation (General Assembly resolution 64/292). The Plurinational State of Bolivia supported draft resolution E/2013/L.16.

Mr. Alsharrah (Kuwait) said that his country supported the statement made by the representative of Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Kuwait condemned the expansion of settlements and feared that Palestine would not be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. It urged the international community to force Israel to end its illegal occupation and supported draft resolution E/2013/L.16.

Mr. Zuhairi (Observer for the State of Palestine), speaking in exercise of his right of reply, said that Israel should be ashamed to deny the realities and to characterize some Palestinians as terrorists, when the facts clearly showed that it was the Israeli army that committed acts of terrorism, with the approval of the Government, as evidenced by the recent arrest of a Palestinian child of 5 years.

The President said that the Council had completed its general discussion of agenda items 9, 10 and 11.

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2020-04-01T14:30:03-04:00

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