Opening the Fourth Committee’s general debate, she said that despite the
Special Committee’s inability to conduct a field mission — due to lack
of cooperation by Israel — it had nevertheless carried out an objective
examination of the critical human rights situation in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory and the Syrian Golan. 

For its report, the Special Committee, which was established by the
General Assembly in 1968 to investigate Israeli practices affecting
Palestinian human rights in the occupied territories, had visited Egypt,
Jordan and Syria and heard from 33 witnesses, as well as different
Government officials and non-governmental organization representatives on
the situation of human rights in the occupied territories. 

“Even under the aegis of a peace process, Israel continued to breach all
human rights standards,” the observer for Palestine said, referring to
the numerous examples provided in the Special Committee’s report of
Palestinian civilians being killed, injured, imprisoned, displaced and
collectively punished. 

She stressed that Israel had, for decades, relentlessly pursued a
two-dimensional policy, namely the brutalization and oppression of the
Palestinian people, and the confiscation and colonization of the
land.  Every sector of life had been disrupted, and poverty, hunger,
disease and unemployment continued to rise.  Further, these illegal
actions undermined the peace process. 

Underlining the interlocking and reinforcing relationship between the
protection of human rights and the potential for the peace process to
succeed, Special Committee Chairperson H.M.G.S Palihakkara of Sri Lanka,
who introduced the report, said it was noteworthy that the human rights
situation on the ground had continued to deteriorate, despite ongoing
political negotiations –- especially those emanating from the Annapolis
Conference of 2007, which had declared the intention to reach a two-State
solution by the end of 2008. 

The Special Committee was particularly concerned, he said, about the
long-term impact of Israeli policies and practices infringing on
Palestinians’ human rights.   Israel’s closure of Gaza had had
a serious impact on economic and social rights, disabling the economy and
posing a wider threat to the environment.  Meanwhile, within the
West Bank, three separate entities — described by witnesses as
“enclaves”, “cantons” and “ Bantustans” — had been created.  Family
ties had been severed, as had the Palestinians’ links to their
land.  It was feared that the situation would have a significant
impact on the whole society and, particularly, on Palestinian children,
who made up half of Gaza’s population. 

Against that backdrop, he reiterated the Special Committee’s belief that
protection of human rights was an essential element for ongoing peace
efforts, and emphasized its request for the General Assembly to encourage
the Quartet ( United Nations, Russian Federation, United States, European
Union) to fully implement the Road Map and move towards a comprehensive,
just and lasting settlement. 

During the general debate, a number of speakers expressed cautious
optimism that the fragile ceasefire in Gaza would bring real humanitarian
relief and provide firmer ground for the ongoing peace process.  The
representative of France, speaking on behalf of the European Union,
welcomed the Palestinian and Israeli parties’ efforts, and encouraged
them “to take bold steps within the framework of the dialogue initiated
in Annapolis” in November 2007. 

In that, he underscored the parties’ need to renounce all initiatives
that would threaten the viability of a fair and comprehensive solution,
and expressed hope that the continuing calm between Gaza and southern
Israel would persist and result in further relief for Gaza’s civilian
population. 

Lebanon’s representative, stressing that several international
resolutions, together with peace initiatives, had been unable to end the
many years of tragedy, blood and tears experienced by the Palestinians,
said that Israel’s commitment to peace should be translated into
confidence-building measures on the ground, including the withdrawal of
Israeli troops. If, however, Israeli actions could not create a
favourable climate for a solution to be found, it was incumbent on the
international community to ensure that Israel met its obligations under
the framework of international and military occupation law. 

Also speaking were the representatives of Cuba (on behalf of the
Non-Aligned Movement), Syria, Morocco, Algeria, Yemen, Pakistan, South
Africa and Senegal. 

The Fourth Committee will continue its general debate on Israeli
practices affecting the human rights of Arabs in the occupied territories
at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 5 November.  It is also expected to take
action on several draft texts related to information. 

Background 

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) met this
afternoon to begin its consideration of Israeli practices affecting the
human rights of Arab peoples in occupied lands. 

The Committee had before it a note of the Secretary-General transmitting
the thirty-ninth report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli
Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other
Arabs of the Occupied Territories (document A/63/273). The Special
Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of
the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories is
composed of three Member States:  Sri Lanka (Chairman), Malaysia and
Senegal. 

The report to the General Assembly reflects the substance of the
information gathered during the mission of the Special Committee to
Egypt, Jordan and Syria from 23 June to 5 July.  In those three
countries, the Special Committee met with 33 witnesses representing
Palestinian non-governmental organizations from the occupied territories,
Israeli non-governmental organizations and individuals from Syria. 

Section V of the report provides information on the human rights
situation in the occupied territories, while section VI gives a review of
Israeli practices affecting the human rights of Syrian Arab citizens in
the occupied Syrian Golan.  Section VII presents the conclusions and
recommendations of the Special Committee to the General Assembly. 

Also before the Committee was the Secretary-General’s report on the work
of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the
Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied
Territories (document A/63/483), which gives an overview of that body’s
activities and mission, as well as the activities of the Department of
Public Information on the issue and the Special Committee’s work during
the period from August 2007 to July 2008. 

Another report of the Secretary-General, on Applicability of the Geneva
Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War,
of 12 August 1949, to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East
Jerusalem, and the other occupied Arab territories (document A/63/484),
states that, on 4 September, the Secretary-General addressed a note
verbale to the Government of Israel, requesting information on steps
taken or envisaged concerning the implementation of the relevant
resolution (62/107).  No reply has been received, to that
request.  Replies to similar notes verbale, sent to all permanent
missions, were received from the Permanent Mission of Lebanon on 17
September and the Permanent Mission of Colombia on 22 September. 

The Secretary-General’s report on the occupied Syrian Golan (document
A/63/482) notes that Israel had not replied to a similar note verbale,
also dated 4 September, regarding implementation of Assembly resolution
62/110 of 17 December 2007.  No reply has been received to that
request.  Replies to similar notes verbale, sent to all permanent
missions, were received from the Permanent Mission of Lebanon on 17
September and the Permanent Mission of Colombia on 22 September. 

Presentation of Report 

Presenting the fortieth report of the Special Committee to Investigate
Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People
and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories (document A/63/273), Special
Committee Chairman H.M.G.S. PALIHAKKARA of Sri Lanka noted Israel’s
continued refusal to provide access to the occupied territories to the
Special Committee, which had, instead, travelled to Egypt, Jordan and
Syria to examine the human rights situation.  There, the Special
Committee members had met with several witnesses and representatives from
Palestinian and Israeli organizations and civil society entities, and
with individuals from Syria and the occupied Syrian Golan.  It had
also made use of a variety of information sources — written material,
United Nations actors and academics, among them. 

He said that the report dealt with such important issues as the right to
self-determination; the right to life; the right to freedom of movement;
the right to liberty and security of person, the separation wall,
settlements; the right to an adequate standard of living, including
subsistence, clothing and housing; the right to food and water, as well
as the rights to work, education and health; settler violence; and the
situation of human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan. 

The Special Committee had found it particularly noteworthy that, despite
the continuation of the political negotiations –- namely those emanating
from the Annapolis Conference of 2007, which had declared the intention
to reach a two-State solution by the end of 2008 -– the human rights
situation on the ground had deteriorated, and the right to
self-determination of the Palestinian people had remained elusive. 
As a result, the Special Committee reiterated that the protection of
human rights was an essential element for peace efforts to succeed. 

The report further highlighted the deterioration of human rights and of
the humanitarian situation in the occupied territories and, specifically,
in Gaza, he said.  Civilians lacked protection in the face of
escalating violence, significantly affecting the overall human rights
situation there.   Israel had continued rocket and artillery
attacks, air strikes and military incursions into Gaza.  Meanwhile,
Qassam rockets continued to be fired by Palestinian militants, from Gaza
into Israel.  All crossings into Gaza had essentially been closed
since June 2007, despite the current ceasefire.  The severe
restrictions on the movement of goods and people entering and leaving
Gaza had resulted in shortages of food, medical and relief items, spare
parts for critical health and sanitation installations, material for
humanitarian projects, and raw materials for commerce and industry. 
Fuel shortages translated into electricity cuts of 8 to 10 hours a
day.  Water distribution, sewage treatment and health-care services
were also disrupted. 

The movement of Palestinians remained restricted between and within the
West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, severely damaging the social and
economic structures, and increasing unemployment and poverty and the
reliance on humanitarian assistance, he said.  The separation wall,
the steady expansion of settlements, curfews, and the closure regime had
fragmented communities and seriously infringed, not only on the freedom
of movement, but on virtually every other human right. 

According to the report, the Special Committee was particularly concerned
about the long- term impact of Israeli policies and practices infringing
on Palestinians’ human rights.  The closure of Gaza had had a
serious impact on economic and social rights.  It had disabled the
economy and would have a detrimental impact on the environment. 
Within the West Bank, three separate entities — described by witnesses
as “enclaves”, “cantons” and “ Bantustans” – – had been created. 
Access to East Jerusalem had also become much more difficult, and family
ties had been severed, as had the Palestinians’ links to their
land.  It was feared this situation would have a significant impact
on the whole society and, particularly, Palestinian children, who made up
half of Gaza’s population. 

In the occupied Syrian Golan, the human rights situation had also
deteriorated, he went on. The number of settlers had increased, and
existing settlements had expanded.  Syrian citizens were reportedly
denied access to water resources, and prisoners, who were held in
unacceptable conditions, were subjected to harsh forms of torture. 

Summarizing the Special Committee’s recommendations, he said the General
Assembly should urgently consider all means at its disposal to fulfill
its responsibilities, regarding all aspects of the question of Palestine,
until it was resolved in conformity with relevant United Nations
resolutions and international law, and until the inalienable rights of
the Palestinian people were brought to fruition.  Towards that goal,
the Special Committee’s mandate should be renewed.  The Security
Council was also urged to ensure implementation of the International
Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on the construction of the separation
wall. The Assembly was requested to encourage the Quartet to fully
implement the Road Map, leading to a comprehensive, just and lasting
settlement. 

The Special Committee further recommended that the Government of Israel
focus on the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the
occupied territories, and distinguish between military objectives and
civilians.  The Special Committee called for international law to be
respected, the appropriate use of means and methods of warfare, and for a
cessation of the excessive use of force and extrajudicial executions and
destruction of property.  It also called for the cessation of the
confiscation of Palestinian land and the expansion of Israeli
settlements, which violated international law and damaged the territorial
integrity of a future Palestinian State.  Additionally, it called
for the protection of Palestinian civilians and property from
violence. 

The freedom of movement for Palestinians should be restored, said the
Special Committee, also urging steps to end the current man-made crisis
and suffering of the people of Gaza, he said.  The construction of
the separation wall should be stopped, in compliance with the
International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion.  Mass and
arbitrary detentions should cease, and proper treatment of detainees
should be ensured.  The Road Map should be implemented. 

The Special Committee also recommended that the Palestinian Authority
abide by the provisions of human rights law and international
humanitarian law.  The Authority should also aim to resolve the
urgent human rights and humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory and fully restore the rule of law in areas under its control,
and comply with the Road Map’s requirements. 

The Special Committee hoped that its report would be taken account of in
the same spirit in which it was addressed:  namely, to ascertain the
facts without rancor, and take action to ease the suffering of the people
in the territories, and facilitate the process of ensuring security and
making peace sustainable. 

Statements 

FEDA ABDELHADY-NASSER, observer for Palestine, said that despite the
Special Committee’s inability to conduct a field mission — due to lack
of cooperation by Israel — it had, nevertheless, carried out an
objective examination of Palestinian, Syrian and Israeli witness
testimonies.  The report accurately reflected the critical human
rights situation in the Palestinian Territory and the Syrian Golan, which
had existed under Israeli occupation for more than 41 years. 

She said that despite numerous United Nations resolutions and serious
international efforts, peace remained elusive, and the Palestinian people
continued to be denied their human rights because of Israel’s disrespect
for international law and continued brutal occupation. Israel’s illegal
actions undermined the peace process; the occupation was itself a
violation of human rights and the root of all the human rights violations
being committed against the Palestinian people. 

Even under the aegis of a peace process, Israel continued to breach all
human rights standards; killing, injuring, imprisoning, displacing and
collectively punishing Palestinian civilians with impunity, she
said.  The humanitarian suffering inflicted on the Palestinian
people also included destruction of their homes, property, infrastructure
and land.  Israel simultaneously continued its unlawful colonization
campaign; building and expanding settlements, the wall, bypass roads, and
checkpoints in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East
Jerusalem –- all aimed at altering the Territory’s character, status and
demographic composition, entrenching its presence on the land and
advancing its expansionist agenda. 

She said that Israel had relentlessly pursued a two-dimensional policy
for decades, namely the brutalization and oppression of the Palestinian
people and the confiscation and colonization of the land.  Those
policies had involved an “enormous web of unlawful practices” that
entailed gross and systematic human rights violations, many of which
amounted to war crimes, causing severe devastation and damage to
Palestinian society. During the reporting period, occupying forces used
excessive and indiscriminate force against civilians through
extrajudicial killings, violent military attacks and destruction of
homes, with hundreds injured and 68 children killed in the first six
months of this year. 

The rights of life, liberty and personal security were also violated by
armed, extremist Israeli settlers illegally transferring to the Occupied
Territory, she said, adding that they perpetrated acts of violence,
harassment, intimidation and terror against Palestinians civilians, with
impunity.  The situation was particularly disturbing in Al-Khalil (
Hebron), where 650 fanatical settlers continued to torment more than
150,000 Palestinian civilians.  The United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) documented at least 76 cases
of settler violence in 2007, resulting in death or injury to
Palestinians.   Israel also continued to arbitrarily detain and
imprison approximately 11,000 Palestinian civilians, including nearly 400
children and more than 100 women.  Despite the recent release of
some prisoners, ongoing arrest campaigns kept prisoner numbers at a very
high level. 

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Amnesty
International had reported that Israel committed physical and mental
ill-treatment, abuse, solitary confinement and torture, denying
Palestinians family visits, adequate medical care and food, and due
process, she said. 

She went on to say that Israel had also imposed closures and restrictions
on freedom of movement within, and into and out of, the Occupied
Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.  Those closings
violated the right to health, education, work, food, water, family life,
choice of residence, worship and even the right to life.  The
16-month siege in the Gaza Strip had transformed the areas into an
“open-air prison” and was tantamount to a war crime. Israel also hampered
access of humanitarian personnel to Gaza, including United Nations
agencies, obstructing the population’s access to essential aid. 

Every sector of life had been disrupted, and poverty, hunger, disease and
unemployment continued to rise, she said.  Eighty per cent of the
population depended on food aid for survival, with chronic malnutrition
and anaemia prevalent among children.  More than 90 per cent of
industry, businesses and shops were now closed, and nearly 50 per cent of
the workforce was unemployed.  Those deplorable, collective
punishment methods continued, even in the ceasefire brokered by Egypt in
June.  In the West Bank, the wall and bypass roads further
restricted Palestinians.  Israel imposed a permit regime, and there
were at least 630 military checkpoints and obstacles to the movement of
person and goods.  Those violations were being committed
simultaneously, in breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Additional
Protocol I. 

She said that the massive colonization scheme involved the continuous
confiscation of Palestinian lands, construction and expansion of
settlements, and the transfer of hundreds of thousands of Israeli
settlers.  To date, Israel maintained and continued to expand 150
settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East
Jerusalem, with more than 100 settlement “outposts” established, with a
total of 450,000 illegal Israeli settlers.  In addition,
construction of the wall continued, in deviation of the 1949 Armistice,
sectioning off at least 50,000 Palestinians into isolated enclaves. 
Checkpoints established in areas adjacent to the wall, and near or around
settlements, were also linked to the settlement campaign.  Those
restrictions were clearly aimed at “protecting and enhancing the free
movement of settlers, and the physical and economic expansion of the
settlement at the expense of the Palestinian population,” she said. 

All these actions, over the years, had undermined the contiguity,
integrity and unity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and deepened
the Palestinian human rights crisis, she said. They threatened future
prospects for peace and  stability, and endangered the realization
of the two-State solution for peace in accordance with relevant Security
Council resolutions, including, inter alia, resolution 242 (1967), 338
(1973), 1397 (2002) and 1515 (2003). 

She said that the positive momentum for change generated by the Annapolis
Conference had not yet been realized.  Still, Palestinian leadership
continued to exert all efforts to advance the peace process and uphold
its commitments, including in terms of promoting security and the rule of
law, as well as reforming and strengthening its national institutions.
The Palestinian people were a real partner for peace and reaffirmed their
commitment, in both word and deed.  They were cognizant that the
political process was the means to end Israeli occupation, and achieve a
just and lasting settlement of the question of Palestine. 

However, she added, peace could never be realized as long as Israel
remained defiant of the law and an “absent” partner in the peace
process.  A complete cessation of all settlement activities and
human rights violations was required, both for stemming human suffering
caused by the occupation and for creating a more stable environment
conducive for peacemaking.  It was the responsibility of the
international community, including the Security Council, to hold Israel
accountable for its illegal practices and ensure its compliance with
international law and United Nations resolutions.  That would lead
to fulfilment of the Palestinian people’s human rights and national
aspirations to live as a free, secure, dignified, self-reliant people in
their independent State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its
capital. 

JEAN-PIERRE LACROIX ( France), speaking on behalf of the European Union,
expressed full support for the continuation of Israeli-Palestinian
negotiations aimed at achieving peace. Welcoming the Palestinian and
Israeli parties’ efforts, he encouraged them “to take bold steps within
the framework of the dialogue initiated in Annapolis” in November
2007.  That dialogue should enable concrete, desired outcomes to be
reached, leading to the creation of a viable independent, democratic and
fully sovereign Palestinian State, living in peace side by side with
Israel and its neighbours. 

He underscored the parties’ need to renounce all initiatives that would
threaten the viability of a fair and comprehensive solution.  He
encouraged them to increase cooperation on the ground.  Welcoming
the continuing calm between Gaza and southern Israel, he expressed hope
that that calm would persist and result in further relief for Gaza’s
civilian population, including the regular opening of the crossings for
both humanitarian and commercial flows, and sustained peace on Israel’s
southern border.  Stopping all acts of violence and terrorism was of
utmost importance if the peace process was to succeed. 

The European Union remained concerned about civilian casualties during
Israeli incursions into Palestinian areas, he said.  It also
strongly condemned the firing of rockets by Palestinian militants into
Israeli territory.  While recognizing Israel’s right to
self-defence, it called on Israel to exercise utmost restraint.  It
also condemned, in the strongest terms, the acts of violence and
brutality committed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank against
Palestinians.  Significant improvements in the movement of goods and
persons in the West Bank, via the removal of checkpoints, was another
priority.  Further, the Palestinian Authority should continue its
security sector reforms. 

He said the Union would not recognize any changes to the pre-1967
borders, other than those arrived at by agreement between the
parties.  Acknowledging the International Court of Justice’s ruling
on the separation barrier, the European Union requested that Israel halt
construction and dismantle the wall.  The Union remained concerned
by settlement activities in and around Jerusalem, and in the West
Bank.  Those activities that ran contrary to international law, and
to Israel’s commitments under the Road Map, should end because they
undermined the credibility of the Annapolis process, caused tension and
impeded development of the Palestinian economy.  He also called on
Israel to abandon future settlements. 

Despite the current period of calm, the Union remained concerned by
continued sporadic violence and the critical humanitarian situation in
Gaza, he said.  It underscored the urgency of humanitarian
assistance and called for the continuous provision of basic
services.  It also reiterated the need to fully implement the
“Agreement on Movement and Access” of 15 November 2005.  It once
again called for the immediate release of Corporal Gilad Shalit.  He
emphasized that the Union’s determination to help resolve the conflict
was stronger today than ever.  It stood ready to make tangible
contributions towards implementing a peace agreement, when the time
came. 

Speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, ILEANA B. NÚÑEZ MORDOCHE
( Cuba) said that the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
including East Jerusalem, continued to deteriorate and be marked by
deadly violence, instability and high tensions.  The toll on human
life was rising at an alarming rate.  She expressed grave concern
about the constant deterioration of the situation, resulting from the
excessive and indiscriminate use of force by Israel, the occupying Power,
against the Palestinian civilian population.  She condemned the
prolonged Israeli occupation since 1967 and the unrelenting violations of
international law, during which time the occupying Power had committed
grave human rights violations, including purported war crimes, and
carried out deliberate and unlawful policies and practices aimed at
altering the demographic composition, character and nature of the
Palestinian land. 

She said that Israel also continued to impose closures, including the
sealing off of the Gaza Strip, and the continued arrest and detainment of
thousands of Palestinian civilians and the carrying out of intense
military raids.  Settlers, illegally transferred by Israel to the
Occupied Palestinian Territory, continued to kill, injure and intimidate
Palestinian civilians and to destroy their property, including
agricultural fields and crops.   Israel continued to carry out
its illegal colonial campaign in grave violation of international law,
including the Fourth Geneva Convention, in violation of numerous United
Nations Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, and in
defiance of the 9 July 2004 advisory opinion of the International Court
of Justice. 

In the past several months, Israel had issued tenders for thousands of
new units in Israeli settlements and continued to build bypass roads to
serve those settlements and maintain settlement “outposts”.  Such
actions were not only flagrant violations and grave breaches of
international law, but also heightened tensions and further destabilized
the situation on the ground, she said, reiterating the Movement’s
condemnation of all such illegal actions and calling for their immediate
cessation.  Furthermore, all actions taken by Israel, which
purported to alter the legal, physical and demographic condition and
institution of the occupied Syrian Golan, were null and void, and had no
legal effect.  The Movement would continue to support the
Palestinian people, in order to bring an end to Israeli occupation. 
She confirmed the Movement’s unwavering support for a just and peaceful
solution. 

BASHAR JA’AFARI ( Syria) said the report before the Committee directed
attention to Israeli intentions to deliberately and methodically alter
the Syrian Golan, and demonstrated that Israel, the occupying Power, did
not give any consideration to international legality and to humanitarian
norms.  For a long time, it had denied the rights of the
Palestinians, as well as the provisions of General Assembly
resolutions.   Israel also continued to refuse access to the
Special Committee.  Its occupation was shameful and a crime against
humanity. 

He said that the occupying Power, by refusing to withdraw from the
occupied Syrian Golan, disregarded the General Assembly’s repeated calls,
the last of which was resolution 62/110. It continued to impose Israeli
identification cards on Syrians in the occupied Golan, and it continued
to obfuscate the Syrian features of the occupied Golan.  It put
additional outposts and settlements in the Golan and expanded those that
already existed, in a pattern that had been cited by the Human Rights
Council on 27 March.  The occupying Israeli Power also refused to
demine areas of the Golan, even though those mines jeopardized the lives
of Syrian farmers there.  An Israeli mine had killed and injured
Syrian citizens on 27 September. To date, 531 people had been injured by
those mines, and more than 200 had been killed, including 17
children.  Further, Israel continued to bury nuclear waste in parts
of the occupied Syrian Golan, and he called on the international
community to put necessary pressure on Israel to stop that
practice. 

In addition, the occupying Power’s generally coercive and inhuman
detentions should be stopped, he said.   Israel also persisted
in its policies to end all forms of communication between Syrians living
in the “motherland” and those in the occupied Golan.  Israeli
practices led to starvation, injustice, collective punishment and land
confiscation.  He challenged “all those who sided with Israel” to
volunteer to live for only one week in the refugee camps, or even in
Gaza, and to bear the burdens imposed by Israel.  If only 1 per cent
of the activities attributed to Israel, by the reports, were committed by
another Member State, continuous Security Council sessions would be held
until those actions ceased.   Syria supported the Special
Committee’s recommendations, especially its urging of the Security
Council to impose sanctions on Israel, because it refused to implement
its obligations under international law.  The international
community should take actions to urge Israel to comply with those
obligations. 

SAADIA EL ALAOUI (Morocco) said that, over the past several years, the
pace of widespread human rights violations perpetrated by the Israeli
occupying forces, against civilians in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, had greatly increased, including targeted assassinations,
increasing blockades and settlement activities, and destruction of
possessions and property.  Those violations were being perpetrated
in a greatly disturbed climate and ran counter to international law,
particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention.  The Israeli Government
continued to deny the Palestinian people the right to political and
economic self-determination, food, housing, health and education. 

She said that that situation –- the result of ongoing settlement
activities — negatively impacted the daily lives of Palestinians, who
today lacked access to 40 per cent of the land in the West Bank. 
Many Palestinian farmers could not use their land; there were road blocks
set up to prevent children from going to school and to prevent sick
people from reaching clinics and hospitals.  Beyond the physical
blockades, there were financial and economic restrictions imposed against
the Palestinian Authority.  Poverty and unemployment had worsened,
now affecting the majority of the population.  At the same time, the
economic and social crises were extremely serious in the Occupied
Territory, where many were dependent on humanitarian assistance from
international organizations.  The Syrian Golan, occupied since 1967,
also continued to face an extremely difficult situation, by the
imposition of taxes and land acquisition for Israeli settlements. 

Farmland was being reduced and taken over by military operations, and
local water access was shrinking, she said.   Morocco
reiterated full rejection of the practices in the Golan and called for
the return of the Golan to Syrian sovereignty, as the current situation
had negative humanitarian consequences.  The annual report of the
Special Committee and of the Special Rapporteur, as well as the reports
of other human rights organizations — Palestinian, international and
Israeli — all pointed to a persistent reluctance by Israel to protect
Palestinians from violence and marginalization. 

She said Morocco was working to promote a comprehensive and lasting peace
in the Middle East, leading to a Palestinian independent State.  She
called for an end to all human rights violations, and for the promotion
of a political climate that respected the rights of civilians in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory and other occupied Arab territories. 
As chair of the Al- Quds Committee, King Mohammed VI had expressed
serious concern over the measures by Israel to “Judaize” the city of
Jerusalem, specifically regarding the Al-Aqsa Mosque.  Those
practices would not help establish a climate conducive to the peace
process.  Strengthening the peace process and returning to the
negotiating table was the only way to establish a just and lasting peace,
and a Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital. 

MOHAMED SOFIANE BERRAH ( Algeria) said the reports before the Committee
unequivocally illustrated the tragedy being experienced by the
Palestinian people in the Occupied Territory.  Underlining the
deplorable conditions in which the Special Committee had been forced to
work, he noted that Israel refused to allow it access to the Occupied
Territory, which was part of its mandate.  Pointing to the report’s
“disturbing” conclusion that the peace process launched by the Annapolis
Conference had stagnated, he said Algeria had serious misgivings that
Israel wished to act constructively and in good faith for the
establishment of a Palestinian State.  Indeed, its practices of
fragmenting the Palestinian Territory seemed to indicate otherwise, as
did its refusal to seriously address the key issues of the status of
refugees and of Al-Quds. 

Israel had methodically continued its genocidal policy of physical
consolidation, he said, noting Algeria’s concern that Israel continually
violated human rights in the Occupied Territory, despite repeated
condemnations by the international community.  Given the suffering
and tragedy of the Palestinian people, it was hard to understand how the
“virtuous circle” of democratic countries could remain impassive to the
actions of and suffering caused by the Israeli war machine. 
Nevertheless, Israel dug in behind several Powers in the Security Council
and was allowed to continue its actions. 

Given the unacceptable developments reported by the Special Committee, he
said it was the moral and legal responsibility of the world community to
put an end to the climate of impunity surrounding Israel’s
actions.   Israel should be treated firmly and should be
encouraged to take specific actions, such as the immediate halt and
dismantling of the separation wall.  The expansion of settlement
activities should be ended.  The right of refugees to fair and
equitable compensation should be recognized.  The system of
checkpoints should be dismantled.  The process of annexing
Palestinian land under the guise of security should be curbed. 
Without those steps, the process launched in Annapolis would not be able
to continue.  In parallel, the world community’s political will
should be mobilized towards the establishment of a Palestinian State
living in peace side by side with Israel.  A clear robust message
should be sent to all parties to encourage discussion on the final status
issues. 

Aligning his delegation with the statement made on behalf of the
Non-Aligned Movement, MOHAMMED ABDULLAH AL HADHRAMI ( Yemen) said this
meeting to consider the report of the Special Committee coincided with
the sixtieth anniversary of the Arab-Israeli conflict, which was
considered to be the longest running in the Middle East. 
Resolutions 242 (1967) and 348 (1973) called on Israel to withdraw from
all the Arab territories and end Israeli occupation in return for
peace.  The “occupation authority” had persisted in its policies
aimed at undermining the peace process through policies of forced
migration, displacement, the building of the separation wall, isolation,
siege, sanctions and collective punishment, in defiance of the Fourth
Geneva Convention. 

He noted that Archbishop Desmond Tutu had described the situation in May
as a “grave violation of human rights”, he said.  It was estimated
that 80 per cent of Palestinians were living below the poverty line in
Gaza and dependent on food aid provided by international organizations,
and that the West Bank Palestinians were subjected to the destruction of
their houses.  The building of the separation wall was in stark
violation of the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion of
July of 2004.  He reiterated support of the inalienable rights of
the Palestinian people to establish an independent State with East
Jerusalem as its capital, and condemned the actions of Israel to occupy
the Syrian Golan through expanded settlements, exploitation of the
natural resources and other illegal practices. 

In conclusion, he emphasized the importance of Israel’s withdrawal from
all occupied territories and the return of the Syrian Golan to Syrian
sovereignty.  He called for support for the conclusions and
recommendations of the Special Committee and urged the Security Council
to consider imposing sanctions against Israel if it continued to
disregard its legal and international commitments. 

FARUKH AMIL ( Pakistan) said the plight of the Palestinian people and the
worsening humanitarian and human rights situation corroborated scores of
other reports by the United Nations and other independent international
bodies, which had documented sombre accounts of the circumstance
prevailing in the occupied territories.  The ruthless denial and
suppression of the fundamental human rights of the Palestinian people
revealed the true face of the occupation, to which the entire
international community had too long been a witness. 

He said the international community had called for Israel to halt its
illegal practices and policies for decades, but Israel continued to defy
those calls with impunity, which exacerbated the situation on the ground
and damaged the peace process in which the international community had
invested so much.  The hope for lasting peace, generated by the
Annapolis Conference last year, needed to be nurtured and strengthened,
and required immediate and credible confidence-building measures to
create an environment conducive for good faith and result-oriented
negotiations.  Regrettably, that had not happened.  Confidence
could not be built in the face of repeated military attacks and
incursions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory by Israel, which
resulted in the loss of innocent life and injuries, including among women
and children, as well as extrajudicial killings, abductions,
disappearances, arbitrary and illegal detentions, and torture. 

The construction of the illegal separation wall continued, in defiance of
the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, he
continued.  Settlement activity had increased, and Israeli policies
and practices had triggered a whole range of human rights violations and
hardships for the people of the occupied territories.  Those
included denial of the right to life, liberty, property, freedom of
movement, adequate standards of living, work, education, health and
water.  Resolving the Palestinian issue was key to a comprehensive
and lasting peace in the Middle East and must include parallel processes
in addressing the Syria-Israel and Lebanon-Israel conflicts.  It was
essential to bring an end to the Israeli occupation of all Arab
territories.  A durable solution could not be imposed by force or
unilateral actions; it could only be achieved through dialogue and
negotiations, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions
and the norms of international law. 

He said Pakistan had a natural and strong affiliation with the issue of
Palestine, and a deep commitment to its just and peaceful
settlement.  The promise of Annapolis, a peace treaty to be realized
by the end of 2008, was unfortunately fading.  It was incumbent upon
the international community to reinvigorate efforts to revise the
process, as it could not afford another failure. 

ZAHEER LAHER ( South Africa) noted the intensified illegal practices by
Israel in the socioeconomic and humanitarian situation in the occupied
Arab territories, along with settlement expansion and increase in settler
violence.  The annual report of the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD) had pointed to the construction of the
separation wall and Israeli closure policy as entrenched “de-development”
in the occupied Palestinian territories, with wide recognition of the
policy as “one of the most devastating factors limiting the Palestinian
economy”. 

He said that despite dramatic improvements to Israel’s security
situation, owing to the sustained ceasefire with Palestine and positive
political developments, such as the resumption of dialogue between Israel
with Palestine, and Israel with Syria, the situation on the ground for
millions of Palestinians and other Arab civilians remained grave. 
Israel had specific obligations under international law as an occupying
Power, as indeed all Member States had specific legal obligations in the
Middle East situation.  He, therefore, urged the international
community to address the situation, especially in combating widespread
violations of civil, cultural, economic and social rights, along with
assigning accountability for such violations, and lifting the siege on
Gaza. 

In closing, he said that Israel’s right to self-defence did not entitle
it to violate the rights of innocent civilians.  Illegal Israeli
practices were undermining the basic rights and aspirations of people
throughout the region, including within Israeli itself, because they
fuelled the continuing cycle of violence and the collapse of the
Palestinian economy.  How could the right of Israelis, and residents
of other countries in the region, to live in peace and security ever be
fully realized while Israel’s neighbours continued to face what the
Special Committee had described as a “manmade crisis”? he asked. 

GEORGES HABIB SIAM( Lebanon) said international resolutions, together
with peace initiatives, had not been able to put an end to the many years
of tragedy, blood and tears experienced by the Palestinians.  In
September, 10 months after the Annapolis Conference, the representative
of Israel had affirmed in the Security Council that Israel was committed
to peace and would undertake confidence-building measures. 

He cited the analysis of a former Israeli Minister of Education that the
Israeli State had a policy of racial discrimination against Palestinian
citizens.  He noted that the last report of the Special Rapporteur
for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territories had painted a
“terrifying” scenario:  the Israeli occupation of all occupied
territories showed a system of apartheid and settlement, which was a
violation of the basic right to self-determination of the Palestinian
people.  Stressing that the Special Rapporteur would not have made
that observation if Israel’s action was not continuous and systematic, he
said those violations weighed heavily on the Palestinian people. 

Indeed, he said that Gaza was today at the mercy of the Israeli
occupation –- a situation that placed a juridical responsibility on
Israel, the occupying Power.  But the question remained: Was Israel
fulfilling those obligations?  If Israel had not pursued a policy of
destroying Palestinian territory, closing institutions of a socioeconomic
nature, instituting a regime of checkpoints and closures, it might
be.  But its policy of exodus and of eliminating the Palestinian
identity was clearly evident in its settlement policies and construction
of the separation wall.  Those policies also ran counter to the
United Nations Charter and the Fourth Geneva Convention. 

In the occupied Syrian Golan, Israel showed constant, flagrant flouting
of its obligations, which also ran counter to the Fourth Geneva
Convention, he said.  Syrian citizens were deprived of basic rights
to exploit their water and land resources, and were exposed to all manner
of security measures.  Syrian prisoners were also deprived of their
most basic rights. If those were Israel’s preparations for peace, what
would its preparations for war look like? Israel’s commitment to peace
should be translated into confidence-building measures on the ground,
including the withdrawal of Israeli troops.  Israeli actions could
create a favourable climate that would facilitate a solution to the
problem, but they did not.  It was incumbent on the international
community to ensure that Israel met its obligations under the framework
of military occupation law. 

BABACAR CARLOS MBAYE ( Senegal) said that, at a time when the
international community was commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Palestinians in occupied
territories were still seeking freedom — of movement, of security and
other basic rights.  Their worsening situation had deepened their
frustration, reminding the Committee that the occupation itself was a
violation of human rights.  The occupying Power was in violation of
Security Council resolution 237 of 1967. 

He said there needed to be an immediate end of settlement expansion and
to the building of the separation wall.  He called upon the State of
Israel, whose people had, in the recent past, “suffered injustice and
unspeakable repression”, to look back into its own past and bring an end
to the suffering of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories,
and restore what the Universal Declaration of Human Rights calls the
“highest aspiration of man”.  In this case, that meant ending the
various abuses of basic rights of the Palestinian people and seeking a
solution that would bring about peaceful coexistence. 

Senegal had always stood by the peoples of the region and would continue
to join any efforts undertaken to bring about a just, lasting solution to
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Promoting the inalienable rights
of the Palestinian people in no way meant working against the rights of
the State of Israel, with which Senegal had friendly relations, marked by
mutual respect and trust.  He issued a “heartfelt appeal” to that
country to cooperate with international efforts, and called on the
international community, specifically the Security Council, to
effectively implement the recommendations of the Special Committee to
promote and protect the human rights of the Palestinians people and other
Arabs of the occupied territories. 

Committee Chairman JORGE ARGÜELLO of Argentina announced that, with the
submission of an amendment by Antigua and Barbuda (document A/C.4/63/L.8)
to draft resolution B entitled “United Nations Public Information
Policies and Activities”, contained in the Report of the Committee on
Information (document A/63/21), the Committee was ready to take action
tomorrow on all the draft proposals. 

He noted that the draft resolution on the effects of atomic radiation was
contained in document A/C.4/63/L.9.  The draft provisional
guidelines for the Fourth Committee’s sixty- fourth session in 2009 was
contained in document A/C.34/63/L.10, and the draft decision regarding
the next session’s programme would be annexed to the report on this item
to the plenary.  The Committee would make a formal decision on the
draft programme at tomorrow’s meeting. 

* *** * 

For information media • not an official record 

https://web.archive.org/web/20120119070533/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/gaspd415.doc.htm