State of Palestine, 2005

Unlike the Israeli Prime Minister, who a few days ago

told the Assembly that he had come to the United

Nations from Jerusalem, I - a native son of the

land - was not able to come here from Jerusalem,

because East Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine, still

remains under Israeli occupation, despite the numerous

United Nations resolutions in that regard. The

abnormal situation of the city, which is sacred to the

three monotheistic religions, is a clear indicator that we

in the Middle East are, regrettably, still far from peace.

Only when East Jerusalem is returned to its people,

when United Nations resolutions are completely

complied with and implemented and when the leaders

of both countries are able to come freely from

Jerusalem, will we have truly achieved the peace that

we have so long awaited.

We are now at an important juncture that could

constitute the beginning of the road to peace. Israel, the

occupying Power, has completed its disengagement

from the Gaza Strip with its withdrawal of the settlers,

its dismantlement of the settlements there and the

departure of the Israeli forces from that territory. In the

northern West Bank, some settlers were also

withdrawn, and four settlements were dismantled.

The end of the colonial settlement of one part of

our land - regardless of how small it may be - is an

important development, as is the withdrawal of the

occupying forces from within that part. It is an

important development that resulted from the

steadfastness of our people and the growing

realization, locally and internationally, of the

impossibility of the continuation of the status quo. We

recognize that the disengagement required political

boldness. But, more important than the disengagement

itself, are the way in which it occurred and the context,

as well as the steps that will follow. That will

determine whether the disengagement will take us

further towards a comprehensive settlement and peace,

or whether it is actually a step imposed by the realities

on the ground and intended to facilitate the

continuation of the occupation, the colonization of the

West Bank and the obstruction of a final settlement.

For our part, we dealt positively with those

matters and exerted strenuous efforts to prepare

ourselves for assuming our responsibilities, to

coordinate the steps to be taken with the Israeli side

and to ensure a peaceful and safe atmosphere during

the implementation phase. Indeed, we achieved

reasonable results in that respect. Despite that fact,

however, the basic nature of the plan remains: it was

unilateral and did not take into consideration

Palestinian interests and positions.

Israel, the occupying Power, has left the Gaza

Strip completely devastated. Over the years, Israel

destroyed Gaza's infrastructure, economic capabilities

and social fabric, as well as the Palestinian Authority's

security apparatus. Even the areas that had been under

the control of its settlements were almost totally

destroyed by Israel when it withdrew and left behind

piles of rubble, which in itself constitutes a

serious problem economically, environmentally and

psychologically. Another problem was that Israel left

behind, and did not dismantle, what it called houses of

worship - which were not supposed to be there to

begin with - in total disregard of its legal obligation

to return the land to its original condition prior to the

occupation.

Furthermore, since the disengagement, the Gaza

Strip has remained under the control of Israel, which

effectively continues to control the airspace, the

territorial waters and the borders, thus continuing its

control of the movement of persons and goods into and

out of Gaza. For that reason, and in the light of the

principle of the unity and territorial integrity of the

occupied Palestinian territory, the Israeli occupation of

the Gaza Strip has not ended and the legal status of

Gaza has not changed: it remains part of the Palestinian

territory occupied since 1967, including East

Jerusalem.

Overall, Israel's occupation and colonization of

the Gaza Strip constitutes one of the worst injustices in

recent history. In addition, it must be clear that the

Gaza Strip - which comprises only 6 per cent of the

area of the occupied Palestinian territory and which is

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the most densely populated area in the world - cannot

attain economic or political sustainability in isolation

from the West Bank: without a permanent link to the

West Bank, without freedom of movement and without

tangible political progress and similar steps taken

there.

What Israel is doing in the West Bank,

particularly in East Jerusalem, is cause for us to be

even more pessimistic. Israel has continued its

construction of the wall in disregard of the

unprecedented 9 July 2004 advisory opinion of the

International Court of Justice and resolution ES-10/15

of the tenth emergency special session of the General

Assembly in that regard. As everyone can see, Israel

has persisted in committing this grave crime,

continuing to seize Palestinian land and attempting to

annex it de facto, thereby destroying the livelihoods of

tens of thousands of Palestinians, isolating them and

imposing on them a totally different way of life and an

unacceptable political situation.

Israel, the occupying Power, has also continued

to establish and expand settlements. It has even devised

the so-called E-1 plan to seize the whole of East

Jerusalem and connect it to the Maale Adumim

settlement, thereby severing the West Bank into two

separate parts. All of the foregoing not only is unlawful

and inhuman, but will also destroy any hope for a

settlement and peace based on the two-State solution.

The central mission for the international

community now, if we wish to safeguard the future of

the Middle East and maintain the prospects for peace,

is to bring about a real and complete cessation of all

settlement activities and of the construction of the wall

and to enforce the rule of law, the advisory opinion of

the International Court of Justice and relevant United

Nations resolutions. That must be our central mission,

and whether there is political progress or not, we must

accomplish it.

But then, how are we to deal with the situation

and move forward? First, we need to find rapid

solutions for the outstanding issues regarding the Gaza

Strip, including the Rafah crossing, the airport, the

seaport, the removal of rubble from the Gaza Strip, and

linking Gaza to the West Bank. If we resolve those

issues we may be able to change the living conditions

of the Palestinians there.

Secondly, the Sharm el-Sheikh understandings

should be implemented, particularly the Israeli

withdrawal from cities to pre-September 2000

positions and the release of prisoners and detainees.

This could bring about a new reality and begin the

process of rebuilding confidence between the two

sides.

Thirdly, and in parallel with the aforementioned,

it is necessary to return to negotiations and begin

urgently the implementation of the road map, which

lies at the heart of making political progress and is the

path to a resolution of the conflict. For our part, we are

ready to do this, and to begin final status negotiations

immediately, as called for by President Abbas in his

speech a few days ago. We hope that the Quartet will

use its influence to make that happen, and we also hope

that the international community as a whole,

represented by the United Nations, will provide the

needed support in that regard.

Here we must stress the importance of the

international assistance being extended to the

Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority. We

would like to express our gratitude to all donor

countries for their important and considerable

contributions. In that regard, I would like to express

our appreciation as well for the role being played by

Mr. Wolfensohn and his team, in particular for rapidly

putting together an assistance programme for the Gaza

Strip and for promoting economic development in the

entire occupied Palestinian territory. In that regard, the

importance of the Group of Eight (G-8) initiative must

be emphasized, and we express our hope that all donor

countries will support it.

We look forward to enjoying a dignified life like

all other peoples of the world; we look forward to

exercising our right to self-determination and national

independence; we look forward to building our

institutions and to enjoying a democratic way of life

and democratic governance; we look forward to a

peace based on two States, Palestine and Israel, in

conformity with the 1949 Armistice Line; and we look

forward to a just, agreed solution for the Palestine

refugees in accordance with resolution 194 (III).

We have worked seriously to put an end to the

cycle of military attacks and counter-attacks. We

undertook a national dialogue that led to a unilateral

declaration of ceasefire, and that ceasefire has been

respected despite Israel's obstructions and

provocations. That effort has led to an improvement in

the general atmosphere; it is incumbent upon both

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parties to strengthen it. For our part, we will continue

our national dialogue with a view to establishing a

permanent and mutual ceasefire in the occupied

Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, while

reaffirming the right in principle of the Palestinian

people to resist occupation and to self-defence. We

must also reach a commitment by all Palestinian

groups for a complete cessation of the targeting of

civilians in Israel, which we have repeatedly

condemned and which we view as harmful to our

national interest.

Moreover, we will continue to exert efforts to

impose law and order and to enhance our political

system on the basis of real democracy, encompassing

political pluralism and elections at all levels, including

municipal and legislative elections. Israel must stop its

attempts to interfere in and sabotage those elections.

We will also continue to advance the development of

our national institutions in various fields and will

continue to try to rebuild the Palestinian economy and

to improve living conditions. We must do that

comprehensively throughout the occupied Palestinian

territory, including, of course, in the Gaza Strip, which

has suffered the most extensive destruction. We shall

exert our utmost efforts to achieve those goals, even

though we realize that they are really the tasks of post-

conflict reconstruction and that no other people has

realized such goals while still under occupation.

Our achievements will inevitably be limited,

since Israel, the occupying Power, still controls most

aspects of everyday life in the territories. Any progress

in that regard will remain directly and organically

linked to the achievement of real progress in the

resolution of the conflict and the achievement of a

comprehensive settlement between the two parties.

It seems that Israel and some of its friends now

feel that they have succeeded in imposing many illegal

conditions on the ground and in creating a degree of

vagueness regarding some aspects of the conflict. In

that way, they feel that they have an opportunity to

undermine the legal foundations of the question of

Palestine, to undermine international legitimacy and to

erode the neutrality of the United Nations. We, in

contrast, believe that situations created illegally will

not stand. We affirm that the facts are clear and

indisputable, that justice and the rule of law will

eventually prevail over force and that the United

Nations - the embodiment of the international

community - will not forsake its responsibilities and

will not relent in the face of continuous violations of

its resolutions.

We hope that the Israeli authorities will begin to

seriously rethink their policies and positions instead of

trying to market them in the United Nations and in

other international forums. We hope that they will

declare their respect for United Nations resolutions and

their readiness to implement them, rather than blaming

the United Nations for adopting those resolutions. That

will be the start of the solution and the start of a final

peaceful and permanent settlement, which must be

based on law, international legitimacy and United

Nations resolutions.