MAHMOUD ABBAS, President of the State of Palestine, said that his people are still “struggling for freedom and independence”.  The Israeli occupation challenges over a thousand UN resolutions. Despite this reality, and 30 years after the Oslo Accords, which Israel has totally discarded, the State of Palestine still maintains hope that the UN will be able to implement some of those resolutions, demanding an end to the occupation of its territory and the realization of a sovereign State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital.  “The Israeli racist right-wing Government continues its attacks on our people and, through its army and its racist terrorist settlers, continues to intimidate and kill our people, destroy homes and property, [and] steal our money and resources,” he said.  Meanwhile, the leaders and ministers of the Israeli Government go as far as to brag about their apartheid policies on the Palestinian people.

The occupying Government also continuously violates the City of Jerusalem and its people, assaulting Islamic and Christian sacred sites and violating the historical and legal status of the holy sites, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque, he continued.  The occupying Power is “feverishly digging tunnels” under and around Al-Aqsa Mosque, threatening its collapse, or the collapse of parts of it, “which will lead to an explosion with untold consequences”.  “We have repeatedly warned against transforming the political conflict into a religious conflict, for which Israel will bear full responsibility,” he stressed.  The international community must assume its responsibilities to preserve the historical and legal status of Jerusalem and its sacred places, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil in Hebron.

Israel must be held to account, but so must the United Kingdom and United States for their roles in the Balfour Declaration, he said, stressing that the Palestinian people deserve an apology, reparations and compensation.  He urged the UN and Member States to do everything they can to salvage the two-State solution and prevent the situation from deteriorating more seriously.  This could very well threaten the security and stability of the region and the entire world.  “I also call on the States that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to declare their recognition and for the State of Palestine to be admitted to full membership in the United Nations,” he continued.  The UN must take deterrent measures against Israel until it fulfils its many obligations.  “We will continue our resistance to this brutal occupation until it is defeated from our land,” he pledged.

As long as the State of Palestine continues to suffer under the abhorrent Israeli occupation, it will continue to need financial assistance from the international community, he went on to say.  That includes providing necessary funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).  The State of Palestine has recently held local elections, elections for institutions, federations, unions and others.  “All that remains for us to hold are democratic general elections, as conducted in 1996, 2005 and 2006,” he said.  But the Israeli Government is obstructing this by its decision to prevent elections from being held in East Jerusalem.  Moreover, he urged the UN to designate 15 May as an international day to commemorate the Palestinian Nakba.  This would honour the lives of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were killed in massacres committed by “Zionist gangs” and those who were forcibly displaced from their homes.  Furthermore, he said he had a message to the Israelis:  “This hideous occupation against us will not last.”