The Palestinian Rights Committee adopted its annual report today, for submission to the forthcoming session of the General Assembly, heard a review of the latest developments on the ground and discussed myriad ways to improve and streamline its work.
Activities to mark 50 years of Israeli occupation and support the two-State solution had taken centre stage in recent efforts to quell tensions, especially in Jerusalem, and create conditions for mutual respect, the Palestinian Rights Committee heard today.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, 21 July — Participants in the International Conference on the Question of Jerusalem continued to explore the specific impacts of the Israeli occupation on the city’s economy, development and social life — as well as opportunities for support from both donors and investors — as the meeting entered its second and final day.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, 21 July — The International Conference on the Question of Jerusalem concluded this afternoon with the introduction of a communiqué on behalf of its organizers condemning the recent closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and restrictions on worshippers therein, as well as a discussion of legal issues related to the 50-year-old Israeli occupation.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, 20 July — Against the backdrop of escalating tensions in the holy city of Jerusalem — sparked by the closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the imposition of restrictions on worshippers following a recent violent incident — the fourth International Conference on the Question of Jerusalem opened in Baku this morning, with speakers voicing concern that such actions could drive the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a religious confrontation with dangerous repercussions.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, 20 July — Warning that tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem had reached a breaking point, speakers outlined a range of challenges — from increasing discrimination against Palestinian women to a recent “weaponization of religion” at the Al-Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount — as the International Conference on the Question of Jerusalem held its first plenary session this afternoon.
Breaking decades of diplomatic paralysis would require greater involvement by civil society in pushing Governments to take action to end Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory, the 1997 Nobel Peace Laureate said today, the second and final day of the June Forum.
Today, in a message to a forum being held by the Palestinian Rights Committee to mark 50 years of occupation, the Secretary-General said it was time to return to direct negotiations and resolve all final status issues on the basis of relevant United Nations resolutions, agreements and international law.
Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the opening of the June forum to mark 50 years of occupation of the Palestinian territory, in New York today:
Ending 50 years of occupation by Israel was not only a matter of international security, but also of defeating Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), a senior Palestinian official said today as Headquarters hosted a forum to commemorate that milestone.
