Palestinian issues

LISBON, 23 July — The eighteenth International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East concluded this morning with two panel discussions, the first on “Harnessing new media for positive change in the Middle East”, and the second on “The Civil Society Initiative: The role of Israeli and Palestinian mayors in contributing to peace and security in the Middle East”.

The Eighteenth International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East opened in Lisbon, Portugal, this morning under the theme “The role of the Media, including New Media, in Advancing the Middle East Peace Process”.

The eighteenth International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East continued this afternoon, holding two panel discussions on the topics “New media vs. traditional media: allies or adversaries in furthering the peace process” and “The role of Israeli and Palestinian women in achieving peace and security in the Middle East”.

A United Nations-organized media seminar will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 22 to 23 July, focusing on the role of media, particularly new media, in advancing the Middle East peace process.

The United Nations African Meeting on the Question of Palestine closed today in Rabat, Morocco, with a call to the Security Council to act to prevent the further deterioration of conditions in East Jerusalem due to Israeli efforts to unilaterally change the character of the City.

As the United Nations African Meeting on the Question of Palestine opened today in Rabat, Morocco, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other participants stressed that resolving the status of Jerusalem was priority for peace in the Middle East, and that unilateral Israeli activity to change the facts on the ground there must cease.

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will convene the United Nations African Meeting on the Question of Palestine in Rabat, Morocco, at the conference centre of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, from 1 to 2 July.

Israel needed to change its aggressive stance towards the Palestinians or face the possibility of a catastrophic outcome in the future, Edward Peck, a former United States ambassador to Mauritania and Iraq, told the Palestinian Rights Committee today.

ISTANBUL, Turkey, 27 May — With tensions high in Jerusalem, and public criticism growing worldwide over the lack of action to alleviate the desperate situation of Palestinians clinging to survival there, experts, students and representatives of non-governmental organizations attending a United Nations Forum called today for an end to Israel’s repressive policies in that city, urging fellow members of civil society to mobilize a coordinated, rights-based response.

A United Nations meeting in support of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process stressed the importance of the two-year State-building plan put forward by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, aimed at developing institutions and strengthening the foundation for the future State of Palestine, and considered that the entire international community should be ready to recognize the new State once statehood had been declared by the Palestinian Authority at the appropriate time.