General Assembly – 3rd Plenary Meeting – Summary Record (A/74/PV.3) (Excerpts)

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The Secretary-General:…A succession of unilateral actions threatens to thwart a two-State solution between Israel and Palestine.

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Address by Mr. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt,…Resolving protracted and inherited crises is a necessary precondition for any serious efforts to formulate a more effective international system. The most prominent example of that is the longest-standing crisis in the Middle East — the Palestinian question. The persistence of that question, without a just solution based on international resolutions that call for the establishment of the independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital, means not only the continued plight of the Palestinian people but also the continued depletion of the capabilities and resources of the peoples of the Middle East.

I reiterate with a clear conscience what I have stated from this rostrum over the past few years — Arabs are open to the realization of a just and comprehensive peace, the Arab Peace Initiative is still valid and there remains an opportunity to launch a new phase in the Middle East.

However, we need bold decisions that restore the rights of the Palestinians and pave the way for a major change in the reality of the region and — I say this without exaggeration — the entire international system. Such decisions would lead to the establishment of a security and economic system in the Middle East that is based on peace, security, cooperation and common interests.

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Address by Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey,…The Palestinian territories today under Israeli occupation have become one of the most striking places of injustice. If the images of an innocent Palestinian woman who was heinously murdered by Israeli security forces on the street just a few days ago will not awaken the global conscience, then we have reached a point where words no longer suffice.

I am quite curious about this map of Israel. Where does the land of Israel begin and end? Look at this map. Where was Israel in 1947 and where is Israel now? Where was Israel between the years of 1949 and 1967 in particular, and where is it now? Look. This is 1947, the land of Palestine. There is almost no Israeli presence in those lands; the entire territory belongs to the Palestinians, as the map suggests. However, in 1947, the distribution plan took place and was ratified, Palestinian lands began to shrink and Israel started expanding. From 1947 to 1967 Israel continued to expand and Palestine continued to shrink. In the current situation there is seemingly no Palestinian presence and the entire land belongs to Israel. But is that enough for Israel? No, Israel remains intent on taking over the remaining territories.

What about the Security Council, the United Nations and their resolutions? Are those resolutions being activated, implemented and enforced? No, they are not. We must therefore ask ourselves, what purpose does the United Nations serve? Under this roof we adopt resolutions that effect no change. When and where, then, can justice prevail? That is the origin of our suffering and pain. The current Israeli Government, together with their murders and atrocities, is busy intervening in and attacking the historical legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sacred sites and artefacts.

We as Turkey have a clear stance on that issue — the immediate establishment of an independent Palestinian State, with homogeneous territories on the basis of the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, is the only solution. Any other peace plan, apart from that, will never stand a chance at being fair, just and implemented.

Now, from the rostrum of the General Assembly, I ask those present, where are the borders of the State of Israel? Are they the 1947 borders, the 1967 borders or is there another border of which we must be informed? How can the Golan Heights and the West Bank settlements be seized, just like other occupied Palestinian territories, before the eyes of the world if they do not fall within the official borders of that State? Is the aim of the initiative promoted as the deal of the century to entirely eliminate the presence of the State and the people of Palestine? Is there a thirst for more bloodshed?

All the actors of the international community, in particular the United Nations, should provide concrete support to the Palestinian people beyond mere promises. It is very important in that regard for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to continue its activities effectively. Turkey will continue to stand by the oppressed people of Palestine, as it has always done.

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Address by Mr. Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,…On the international scene, the United Nations has new opportunities to take the lead on issues that continue to cloud the prospects for international peace and prosperity, in particular with regard to the right of the Palestinian people to have their own country free of occupation. From resolution 242 (1967) to the present day, the international community has spoken on the right of the Palestinian people to have their own land and live in peace in it.

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Address by Mr. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, President of the Republic of Maldives,…Despite the best attempts of the United Nations and its Member States spanning a number of decades, the question of Palestine remains unresolved on the Assembly’s agenda. Never before have the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people been so acutely and blatantly dismissed by Israel, and never have the Palestinian people been so marginalized and discriminated against, in complete disregard of international law and the resolutions of both the General Assembly and the Security Council.

We are strongly of the view that lasting peace in the Middle East can come to fruition only through a two-State solution driven by genuine and meaningful dialogue between the Arab countries and Israel. We call on the United Nations and its Member States to make every effort to work towards a settlement that would achieve that result. The Maldives will never waver in its support for the Palestinians and their endeavour to achieve an independent and sovereign State of Palestine, based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

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Address by His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar,…The ongoing Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and of Arab territories in general, as well as associated unlawful practices, in particular the expansion of settlements, the Judaification of the city of Jerusalem, the unjust and repressive blockade of the Gaza Strip and the intensification of settlement activity in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights leading to a change in its nature, are taking place in overt defiance of the United Nations and its resolutions, to the extent that Israel has come to regard the airspace of the countries of the region as open to it. How long will the international community remain unable to enforce respect for itself when it comes to Palestine?

It has been proven that settling differences by force can only lead to occupation based on force. However, permanent peace is based on justice, which entails guaranteeing the rights of the Palestinian people whose homeland has been usurped and who have the absolute right to the establishment of a Palestinian State within the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, as well as the ending of the Israeli occupation of all occupied Arab lands, including the Syrian Golan Heights and the Lebanese territories. Qatar will continue to support any effort to realize a just peace and to provide political and humanitarian support to the brotherly Palestinian people.

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We reiterate our condemnation of all forms of terrorism and our support for combating them. In that regard, many countries have begun to realize the mistake of linking terrorism to a particular religion after experiencing racially or ideologically motivated terrorist acts. There is a political and moral imperative to stop confining terrorism to certain individuals and groups and to consider all crimes against unarmed civilians committed by States as State terrorism. We all know what is happening in Syria, Palestine and Libya. It is also necessary to distinguish between terrorism and resistance against occupation.

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Address by His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,…Collective action is also vital for ending bitter crises and conflict, and no crisis has done more global damage than the core conflict in my region, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Neither side has achieved the durable peace that a secure future depends on, while regional and world stability have continued to pay the price.

It is a terrible irony that a land holy to three faiths that share the great commandment to love one’s neighbour should ever be a place of conflict. That is the land where prophets have walked and where generations of Muslims, Christians and Jews have sought to live in obedience to God, teaching their children compassion, mercy and respect for others. Segregation, forced displacement, violence and mistrust do not belong in that Holy Land.

Forty years ago my father, His Majesty the late King Hussein, who loved peace, stood in this very Hall and decried the occupation and attempts

“to eradicate from the world’s memory centuries of history and tradition and of spiritual, moral and cultural ideals” (A/34/PV.7 para. 22).

It is a global moral tragedy that the occupation continues, yet no occupation, no displacements, no acts of force can erase people’s history, hopes or rights or change the true heritage of our shared values among the three monotheistic faiths — and nothing can take away the international rights of the Palestinian people to equality, justice and self- determination.

Young people ask me, Why does the world not stand up for Palestinian rights? Is it not time to answer them by showing that global justice and human rights belong to them too? It begins with respect for the holy sites and rejecting all attempts to alter the legal status of East Jerusalem and the authentic historical character of the Holy City, Jerusalem. What lessons do we teach young people when armed personnel enter Al-Aqsa Mosque/Haram Al-Sharif, even as Muslim worshippers gather to pray? As a Hashemite Custodian, I am bound by a special duty to protect Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites, but all of us have a reason and a moral obligation to uphold religious freedom and human rights. Let us therefore safeguard the Holy City for all humankind as a unifying city of peace.

We must also press forward towards an end to the conflict and a just, lasting and durable peace through the realization of the two-State solution — a solution that is in accord with international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions, provides an end to conflict and creates a viable, independent and sovereign Palestinian State, on the 4 June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital and living side by side with Israel in mutual peace and security.

The two-State solution is the only genuine solution, because what is the alternative — one State, segregated, with unequal laws, dependent on force, betraying the deepest values of the good people on both sides? That is a formula for enduring conflict, not a path to stability, security and peace.

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Address by Mr. Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, President of Faso and President of the Council of Ministers of Burkina Faso,…In the Middle East, the question of Palestinian remains a major concern in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Burkina Faso reiterates its support for the two-State solution, with Israel and Palestine living in peace and good-neighbourliness.

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