Installation of Unity Government Ends Years-Long Rift between Rival Political Factions, Palestinian Rights Committee Told
This morning’s swearing in of a new Palestinian unity Government officially ended seven years of division between the State of Palestine’s two main political factions and strengthened its ability to address the challenges posed by Israel’s occupation, the top Palestinian diplomat at the United Nations said today.
“Today we tried to put behind us a tragic chapter in our history,” said Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine to the United Nations, during a meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. “This is a significant development and in line with the national interests of the Palestinian people.”
The new Government, joining rivals Fatah, which controlled the West Bank, and Hamas, which ruled Gaza, was enjoying support from countries around the world, except Israel, he said, appealing to the international community to rally behind Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and judge the Palestinians based on their conduct and policies to end the occupation. Not a single nation had heeded Israel’s futile call to boycott the new unity Government, he added.
The State of Palestine had joined 20 international treaties, including the four Geneva Conventions and the first Protocol added to the Conventions, he continued. Several had already entered into force. Later this month, the State of Palestine would participate in the session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to elect members to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Mr. Mansour went on to note that during a visit to Bethlehem and Jerusalem last month, Pope Francis had prayed for peace at the separation wall — a sign that the wall should be removed. Also, the Pope had invited the Palestinian and Israeli Presidents to the Vatican to pray for peace.
Abdou Salam Diallo (Senegal), Committee Chair, congratulated the Palestinians on their unity Government and pledged the Committee’s support, as did Cuba’s representative. Turkey’s representative expressed confidence in the new Government’s ability to advance the Palestinian cause and pledged his support to steps towards guaranteeing a fair, just settlement to the question of Palestine.
Summarizing developments since the Committee’s last meeting on 8 April, Mr. Diallo recalled that, on 23 April, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Hamas had announced that a unity agreement had been reached and a national consensus Government would be formed within five weeks, following which the Israeli Cabinet had decided that Israel would not negotiate with a Palestinian Government backed by Hamas.
On other fronts, he said hundreds of Palestinian prisoners had joined a hunger strike since 24 April, demanding that Israel stop imprisoning Palestinians without charge or trial. On 29 April — the target date for a comprehensive agreement between Israel and Palestine — the Security Council had held an open debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, during which a Peace Now report had revealed that Israel had promoted plans and tenders for at least 13,851 settlements during the nine months since the start of the talks.
On 2 May, one month after the State of Palestine had deposited its accession instruments to several treaties, five human rights instruments had entered into force, he said. On 15 May, during clashes with Israeli security forces, two unarmed Palestinian minors had been killed in Beituniya, in the West Bank, while taking part in Nakba Day protests. As for Jerusalem, the situation remained tense, he said, due to repeated visits by Israeli extremists to the Al-Aqsa Mosque under army and police escort, which had led to clashes with Palestinian worshippers.
He also noted that, on 9 July, as part of the International Year of Solidarity, the Committee would hold a special meeting at Headquarters to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the landmark International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on the separation wall. An International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East would be held in Tokyo next week, he added.
Christopher Grima (Malta), Committee Rapporteur, reported on the United Nations Round Table on the Legal Aspects of the Question of Palestine, held 24 to 25 April in Geneva. The meeting, attended by 35 members and observers of the Committee, two intergovernmental organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, various United Nations bodies, and nine civil society organizations, addressed the legal status of Palestinian political prisoners and detainees, applicable provisions under international law and its enforcement mechanisms, and the legal implications of the status of non-Member Observer States, accorded to Palestine by the General Assembly in November 2012.
Mr. Mansour noted that on the margins of the round table, Ministers attending the meeting of the Committee on Palestine of the Non-Aligned Movement acknowledged the importance of advancing the International Year.
Reporting on the International Meeting on the Question of Jerusalem, held in Ankara, Turkey, from 12 to 13 May, Desra Percaya ( Indonesia), Vice-Chair, said that participants had discussed strengthened international support for a just and lasting solution. Participants had included 72 Member States, two Observer States, four intergovernmental organizations, three United Nations entities and 23 local and international civil society groups. It was followed by a Public Forum on Palestine, held jointly with TOBB University and the Centre for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies in Ankara.
Also today, the Committee also approved the provisional programme for the United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People, to be held at the United Nations Office at Nairobi from 1 to 2 July. Mr. Diallo said the seminar would discuss the socioeconomic and humanitarian impact of the Israeli occupation and practices, the 2014-2015 Palestinian National Development Plan, long-term economic development and growth strategies, and the mobilization and use of international support for sustainable growth under a new “aid paradigm”.