VIENNA, 5 October — The 2017 International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East opened in Vienna today, with journalists, diplomats, academics and civil society representatives sharing views on the status of peace efforts, ways to end the occupation — now in its fiftieth year — and media narratives about the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the high-level meeting “Giving Hope to Palestine Refugees: New Horizons for Sustainable Funding for UNRWA”, in New York today:
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 — 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, 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, 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.
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.
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.
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.
