President of UN GA: "what is being done against the Palestinian people seems to me like a version of the hideous policy of Apartheid"

UNiFEED Story: GA / PALESTINIAN SOLIDARITY



The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People held a special meeting today to observe the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which takes place on 29 November.

The President of the General Assembly, Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, said that 61 years ago, the Assembly had adopted resolution 181, which called for the creation of a Jewish State and an Arab State. He noted that while the State of Israel, founded a year later, now celebrated 60 years of its existence, "shamefully, there is still no Palestinian State to celebrate."

D'Escoto Brockmann compared the situations in Gaza and the West Bank with "the hideous policy of Apartheid" and said that it "can not, should not, be allowed to continue."

He urged the international community to raise its voice against collective punishment and he called on Israel to allow humanitarian and other supplies to enter the Gaza Strip.

Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon called strongly on Israel to adhere to its commitments under the Road Map peace structure, to cease settlement activity, remove outposts and open Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem. He also called for immediate measures to ease the "near-blanket closure of Gaza which leads to worrying deprivations of basic supplies and human dignity", while unreservedly condemning rocket fire by Palestinians.

He said that "the way forward is for all the parties to respect the calm brokered by Egypt and to reach out to the civilian population of the Gaza Strip instead of only punishing them."

Speaking on behalf of the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Malki expressed his appreciation to all attendees of the observation, saying that their support strengthened his deep conviction of the justness of the Palestinian cause.

He said that Israel "continues with its expansionist policies", continuing construction of the West Bank barrier "which separates brother from brother, father from son, patient from doctor, student from teacher and farmer form land."

The General Assembly, in its afternoon session, held a plenary meeting on the question of Palestine, including consideration of report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, report of the Secretary-General and four draft resolutions.

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior UN building

24 NOVEMBER 2008, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, dais
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, President of the General Assembly:
"61 years ago this month, the General Assembly adopted the historic resolution 181, calling for the creation of a Jewish State and an Arab State. The State of Israel, founded a year later in 1948, now celebrates 60 years of its existence. Shamefully, there is still no Palestinian State to celebrate."
4. Med shot, delegates
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, President of the General Assembly:
"Although different, what is being done against the Palestinian people seems to me like a version of the hideous policy of Apartheid. That can not, should not, be allowed to continue."
6. Wide shot, conference room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon Secretary-General of the United Nations:
"I call for immediate measures to ease the near-blanket closure of Gaza which leads to worrying deprivations of basic supplies and human dignity, and I unreservedly condemn the rocket fire. The way forward is for all the parties to respect the calm brokered by Egypt and to reach out to the civilian population of the Gaza Strip instead of only punishing them."
8. Med shot, delegates
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Riyad Malki, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority:
"The occupying power, that is Israel, continues with its expansionist policies and persists on the settlement and colonization of our land at an accelerated pace. In addition to its continuing construction of the annexation and expansion wall which separates brother from brother, father from son, patient from doctor, student from teacher and farmer form land."

ARCHIVE - UNRWA - 1950, PALESTINE REFUGEE CAMP, GAZA

9. Wide shot, tents at Palestine refugee camp in Gaza
10. Med shot, refugees
11. Med shot, Egyptian Army trucks arriving with supplies
12. Various shots, distribution of supplies
13. Various shots, Palestine refugees by cooking fire in camp in Gaza
14. Wide shot, refugee family



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