State of Palestine, 1998

For the first time, Palestine is participating in the work of

the General Assembly under the agenda item entitled

“General debate”. That participation is a result of the

resolution adopted by the Assembly on upgrading

Palestine’s representation at the United Nations, which we

consider to be an essential step towards full membership.

I would like, at this time, to express the deep

gratitude of the Palestinian people to all Member States

that supported this important resolution by an

overwhelming majority. They have thus reflected the will

of the States and peoples of the world for the need to

realize justice for the Palestinian people in order to regain

their international status and their seat at the United

Nations.

I would like to extend to you, Mr. President, our

sincere congratulations on your assumption of the

presidency of the General Assembly at the fifty-third

session. I wish you complete success in your important

and noble task during these crucial times in our

contemporary world and in our international Organization.

I also extend our gratitude and appreciation to

Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko for guiding and presiding

effectively over the fifty-second session. I would like in

particular to praise his leadership during the resumed

tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly

on illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and

the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories.

It gives me great pleasure to commend the

Secretary-General of the United Nations, our friend

Mr. Kofi Annan, for his distinguished and wise

leadership, and I congratulate him for the many successes

he has achieved in several fields. We had the honour,

Mr. Secretary-General, of welcoming you a few months

ago in our country, Palestine, where you observed and

witnessed first-hand the tragedy of the Palestinian people

and the suffering they endure as a result of the continuing

Israeli occupation of our homeland, Palestine. It is my

hope that we will have the opportunity to welcome you in

the future under better circumstances: on the day when

the occupation has been terminated and Palestine has been

restored its freedom.

As we approach the end of the twentieth century, our

world is witnessing — and all of mankind is

experiencing — great changes and important events, from

globalization and the problems of the international

financial market to the technological revolution, satellite

communications and the information age. All of the rapid

changes that have rocked our contemporary world require

the necessary enhancement of our collective work within

the framework of the United Nations. This should be

done on the basis of the purposes and principles of the

Charter and for the bolstering of international cooperation

in various arenas and for the acceleration of the North13

South dialogue in order to establish a better world where

peace, justice and prosperity for all mankind prevail.

Many of the difficult and complicated tasks in this

regard have been forced upon us and we must deal with

them effectively. We have before us the task of economic

and social development — particularly that of the countries

of the third world — solving the debt crisis and the

problems of poverty, famine, disease and migration in Asia,

Africa and Latin America. These challenges require the

attainment of international comprehensive measures and

equitable relations that are more rational and more just.

Many global problems — such as terrorism, drugs,

epidemics and organized crime — require strengthening the

rule of international law, as well as the establishment of the

necessary institutions and mechanisms within the

framework of the United Nations.

In this connection, we also welcome the adoption of

the Statute of the International Criminal Court, which is an

important step in the promotion of law and in putting an

end to atrocities and crimes against humanity.

All of these challenges and responsibilities should not

prevent us from recalling that many of the basic tasks of

the international community in our contemporary world

have not yet been accomplished. There are peoples who

still remain under foreign occupation — including our

Palestinian people, who have been and continue to be

exposed to one of the gravest injustices. This great people

did not commit a crime; they did not commit aggression

against anyone nor did they occupy the land of any other

people. However, they were the victims of aggression.

Their land was occupied and they were dispersed and

compelled by military force to a life in diaspora and exile.

There are still 4 million Palestinian refugees living in

camps awaiting the realization of international justice and

the implementation of resolutions of international legitimacy

to accord them justice and put an end to more than half a

century of the tragedy of living in exile as refugees.

It is also necessary to exert more effort to resolve

many of the regional conflicts and problems — including,

of course, those in the Middle East; in the Balkan region,

particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina; in Afghanistan and

elsewhere. Special efforts and additional resources are

necessary to solve the problems of the African continent in

order to allow that great continent to move forward on the

path of development and progress. These should include

seeking to restore normal conditions in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo and achieving peace and stability in

the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa.

It is also important to consider the issue of sanctions

because of its terrible and destructive effects on peoples

and on neighbouring States. Here I refer specifically to

Iraq, Libya and Sudan. While we call for solutions to

these problems and the lifting of sanctions on the basis of

the implementation of Security Council resolutions, we

cannot but express the feeling of many of us concerning

the use of double standards in implementing this

principle. In this regard, I would like to express our

satisfaction with the progress that has been achieved, in

particular with regard to the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

Finally, I turn to an extremely important question:

the question of nuclear disarmament, weapons of mass

destruction and non-proliferation. While strongly

supporting the goals of the international community in

this regard, we refer in particular to the immense problem

existing in our region of the possession by Israel of such

weapons, and its refusal to accede to the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and place its

nuclear installations under the supervision of the

International Atomic Energy Agency. The small size of

our region and its nature exacerbate the dangers stemming

from the continuation of this situation. What occurred

recently in South Asia must encourage us all towards

sincere cooperation and a commitment to the application

of one standard with regard to this issue.

In order to accomplish all of these things, we need

a United Nations that is more effective. We support the

efforts exerted by many States and the efforts of the

Secretary-General in this regard. At the same time, we

feel and believe that our goal must go beyond reducing

expenditures, downsizing the Secretariat, streamlining the

General Assembly and expanding the Security Council,

though all of these are important issues. Our goal must go

beyond that to achieve the complete democratization of

this global Organization. In this context, it is necessary to

enhance the role of the General Assembly and also to find

solutions to the veto question in the Security Council,

particularly its frequent and excessive use. Transparency

and clear rules of procedure must prevail in the Council.

At this juncture, I should like to remind the Assembly

that since 1973 our question has been subjected to 21

vetoes in the Security Council by one of the permanent

members of the Council, the most recent of which

occurred in a period of less than two weeks. In short, it

is necessary to secure for all Members of the United

Nations the ability to contribute effectively on the basis

of mutual respect.

14

Last May, the Palestinian people commemorated the

fiftieth anniversary of Al-Nakba, the dispossession and the

suffering of the Palestinian people. Despite all of these

bitter years, the oldest and largest refugee question in our

contemporary world remains unresolved, and our land still

suffers under occupation and colonial settlement. Its natural

resources are subjected to exploitation, and the city of

Al-Quds al-Sharif is still being subjected to Judaization,

land confiscation, the demolition of homes, the confiscation

of identity cards from its inhabitants, the imposition of a

certain demographic composition and artificial

administrative measures. There is also the isolation of the

city of Bethlehem and the conflict occurring in Al-Khalil —

Hebron — and the rest of the Palestinian cities. Eight

million Palestinians are still being deprived of their right to

exercise sovereignty over their land, a right that the rest of

the peoples of the world enjoy.

Despite all of this, despite the long and grave suffering

and pain, and with long and legendary steadfastness, our

Palestinian people have been able to survive and preserve

their national identity. Our people chose the peace option

and accepted the will of the international community in this

regard. Accordingly, we decided with our Arab brothers to

participate in the peace process, which began in Madrid in

1991. Then we took the well-known historical step leading

to the Oslo agreement with Israel, which was signed at the

White House in Washington, D.C., under the auspices of

President Clinton, on 13 September 1993. That development

carried the promise of an historic reconciliation and

coexistence between the two peoples, the prospect of a new

Middle East and the beginning of the establishment of a

comprehensive and permanent peace in the region.

Indeed, all parties realized tangible achievements, and

the Palestinian people were able to start building their

institutions and dealing with the destructive consequences

of the long years of occupation. In particular, they held

general and democratic elections and established the

Palestinian National Authority. Despite all of the difficulties

that confronted the process, the general trend to forward

progress continued, until the peace process was dealt a

severe blow by the assassination of the late Yitzhak Rabin,

my partner in the peace process — the peace of the

brave — by an Israeli extremist. This was followed by

other blows resulting from the bombings and the grave

deterioration of the living conditions of our people and

deliberate acts to destroy the peace.

When the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu took

office in Israel, a new chapter began with its adoption of

general political guidelines that were not consistent with the

existing agreements. The Government publicly tried to

discard the principles of the peace process — Security

Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425

(1978) and the principle of land for peace. It ceased

implementation of the existing agreements with the

exception of the redeployment in Al-Khalil, which was

achieved only after intensive American efforts. The Israeli

Government continued to prevaricate and refrained from

honouring the obligations of the transitional period, which

are of great importance to our people, including the safe

passage between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the

airport, the seaport; the release of Palestinian prisoners

and detainees in Israeli prisons, and the industrial zones.

Neither the first stage of redeployment, which was

supposed to begin on 7 March 1997, nor the second stage,

which was supposed to begin on 7 September 1997, were

effected. Both of these, along with the third

redeployment — the deadline for which has also been

missed since the middle of this year — should have led

to the withdrawal of the Israeli army from 90 per cent of

our land.

Moreover, this Government’s policies of economic

suffocation, closure and direct oppression of our

people — which costs us about $10 million a day —

constitute an economic catastrophe. The Government has

continued with the intensification of settlements and the

Judaization of Jerusalem, the isolation of Bethlehem and

the old city of Al-Khalil, and the disapproval of the

operation of the Palestinian airport, safe passage,

industrial zones and the seaport, in order to escalate the

suffocation and siege of our people and to destroy the

peace process.

All of these policies and positions adopted by the

Government of Mr. Netanyahu have caused the current

dangerous situation and the complete stalemate in the

peace process on the Palestinian track, as well as on the

Syrian and Lebanese tracks, which have been completely

stalemated. These policies and positions have also

engendered the general tension prevailing in the region

and the danger of descending into complete chaos. The

whole world has expressed grave concern at this and has

called upon the Israeli side to change its policies and

positions and to comply with the bases of the peace

process and implement the existing agreements.

It is high time for the international community, in

adherence with international law and in service to peace,

to effectively and tangibly pressure the Israeli side to

realize the goals of peace, security and stability — not

only in the Middle East but internationally. This means

implementing the agreements that were signed at the White

House under the auspices of President Clinton by the

Russian Federation, the United States of America, the

European Union, Norway, Egypt and Jordan and in the

presence of Japan. It means implementing Security Council

resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978) and the

principle of land for peace, which were the bases of the

Madrid Peace Conference.

With the hope of halting the deterioration of the

existing situation, the Palestinian side, in cooperation with

many of the concerned parties, has recently sought to

intensify efforts, particularly with the help of the United

States co-sponsor — and especially with the help of

President Clinton, to whom we express our gratitude. These

efforts resulted in the United States initiative, containing all

of the important pending issues, that was submitted to the

parties concerned. As delegates are aware, the Palestinian

side accepted this American initiative despite the fact that

it did not meet our minimum just and legitimate demands.

But the Israeli side still rejects this initiative and continues

in its attempts to undermine it and pre-empt its contents.

President Clinton, thankfully, sent Secretary of State

Albright and Mr. Dennis Ross, who have made great efforts

to move the peace process forward and protect it.

Despite all these efforts, the Israeli Government has

not responded. Hence, we call upon the United States cosponsor to announce its initiative and to publicly and

clearly put the onus on the party that is impeding peace.

We also call upon the United States to continue to work

effectively in a manner consistent with its responsibilities

to the peace process and with its interests and credibility in

the Middle East region, and so as to protect the region from

the dangers emanating from the destruction of the peace

process.

This morning, President Clinton graciously took an

important step to save the peace process and to move it

forward by convening a meeting at the White House

between the Palestinian and Israeli delegations. This was an

important meeting to promote and preserve the peace

process, and we thank President Clinton for that,

particularly as the efforts of the United States will continue

to move the process forward and promote the

implementation of the signed agreements.

In this context we call upon the other parties

concerned, particularly the Russian Federation in its

capacity as one of the two co-sponsors of the peace

process, as well as China and Japan, to activate and

intensify their efforts. We also call upon the European

Union, with its economic and political interests and

capabilities, to move quickly and effectively to salvage

and safeguard the peace process. In this same vein, we

call upon all Member States to support the FrenchEgyptian initiative to convene an international conference

of all States determined to save the peace process from

the dangerous crisis it has reached.

We have not lost hope for the peace process, and we

will continue to honour our obligations in accordance

with the existing agreements. At the same time, we will

not give up on the necessity of Israeli compliance with

those agreements and the need for the Israelis to fulfil

their pending obligations. We will not give up our

inalienable national rights — the inalienable national

rights of the Palestinian people.

At this stage, I wish to extend, on behalf of the

Palestinian people, our deep gratitude to all the donor

countries and to the World Bank for their valuable

contributions aimed at alleviating the suffering of our

people and at assisting them in building and developing

their homeland and at achieving meaningful economic and

social development. I reiterate our gratitude to these

countries and the World Bank, particularly because they

are contributing despite the obstacles and impediments

imposed by Israel in this regard.

It is so difficult to separate the United Nations from

the question of Palestine, for this international

Organization has been dealing with our cause since its

inception. It was the United Nations which partitioned

Palestine, and to this time it has not ceased to deal with

the results of the events that followed, with the repeated

and increasing injustices perpetrated against our people,

for which no remedy has yet been found. While

reaffirming the permanent responsibility of the United

Nations for the question of Palestine, we appeal to all of

you to enhance your solidarity and support for our people

in the coming period, through these critical circumstances,

on the basis of respect for the principles of the United

Nations Charter, international law and international

humanitarian law.

We expect that the Conference of the High

Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of

1949 will be convened before the end of this year on

measures to apply the Convention to the occupied

Palestinian territory, including Al-Quds al-Sharif, in

accordance with the recommendations made repeatedly by

the tenth emergency special session of the General

Assembly of the United Nations.

16

In this context, we also expect Israeli participation in

the work of the fifty-third session of the Assembly to be in

conformity with international law, thus ensuring that Israeli

credentials do not cover those territories determined by the

Security Council and the General Assembly, since 1967, as

occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, including

occupied East Jerusalem. This is a matter on which there is

a consensus by the international community.

From this venue, I would like to call upon all of you,

the source of international legitimacy and peacemaking, the

guardian of freedom, security and stability and the source

for the achievement of justice and prosperity for

humankind, to stand by our people, especially as the fiveyear transitional period provided for in the PalestinianIsraeli agreements will end on 4 May 1999. Our people

demand that we shoulder our responsibilities, and they

await the establishment of their independent State. This

independent Palestinian State must be established as an

embodiment of the right of our people to self-determination.

I assure you that our people will continue to pursue and

protect the peace of the brave in the Middle East. We

appeal to you to continue your support for us, as always in

the decisive moments of the history, the present and the

future of our people. Help us to achieve the national goal

of our people in the establishment of their State.

It is not admissible for Israel to continue dominating

the Palestinian people. Everyone is aware that 100 per cent

peace means 100 per cent security and 100 per cent

freedom. One hundred per cent freedom. I repeat — 100

per cent peace, 100 per cent security and 100 per cent

freedom. One hundred per cent freedom. If the Israeli

Government wants reciprocity, I declare from this podium

my demand of them for mutual compliance with the signed

agreements, especially in the fields of security and the

protection of Palestinians and Israelis against all forms of

violence and terrorism and its sources. I invite the Israeli

Government to engage in common, serious work between

us to address that. There is no alternative to peace. Help us

to achieve it.

In the year 2000, the past and the future will meet in

Palestine, joined by a global vision of hope and peace for

all peoples of the world. On that occasion, the world will

celebrate the second millennium of the birth of Jesus

Christ — peace be upon him — and the beginning of a

new millennium. It is a religious and spiritual occasion of

great importance not only for the Palestinian people and the

region, but also for all the believers in the world, as well as

for the entire international community. The Palestinian

people have actually begun serious preparations to celebrate

this important religious, historic and international

occasion, with the cooperation of many religious, political

and social institutions concerned. We call upon you to

join us in bearing the responsibility of these preparations,

and we invite you to participate directly in the

forthcoming celebrations to start together, God willing, a

new march.

In this regard, we appreciate the addition by the

General Assembly of a new item on its agenda entitled

“Bethlehem 2000”. We also extend our thanks to the

Chairman and members of the Committee on the Exercise

of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for

their initiative in this regard. I also take this opportunity

to thank its sister Committee, the Special Committee to

Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights

of the Palestinian People.

I look forward to speaking to you once more when

Palestine will have taken its natural place in the

community of nations, as an independent State, and when

peace will have prevailed in the land of peace and in the

entire Middle East.