Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at 4:58PM Gaza Conflict: In terms of Diplomacy and 7 Key UN Documentations
Palestinian Rights Committee Approves Four Draft Resolutions as It Considers Latest Hostilities in Gaza Strip Chair Reports on Casualties as Permanent Observer Of Palestine Urges Security Council Pressure on Israel to End ‘Aggression’
According to the draft resolution on the special information programme, the Assembly would have the Department of Public Information disseminate information on all United Nations activities relating to the question of Palestine and the peace process, through various media, and continue to assist the Palestinian people with media development, particularly through strengthening the annual training programme for Palestinian journalists.
By the text on the Palestinian Rights Committee — formally known as the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People — the Assembly would express grave concern over the impasse in the peace process and the serious deterioration of the situation on the ground. It would request the Committee to continue promoting those inalienable rights and to extend its cooperation to civil society organizations in order to mobilize international solidarity and support.
Committee Chair Abdou Salam Diallo ( Senegal), referring to Israel’s launch of a "large-scale military operation" in the Gaza Strip last week, cited media reports stating that 94 Palestinians had been killed, including 50 civilians and many children. Additionally, three Israeli civilians had been killed as a result of rocket fire from Gaza, which had intensified following Israel’s assassination of the senior Hamas military commander on 14 November. He recalled that the Committee had issued a statement on Friday condemning the deadly attacks perpetrated by the Israeli military, as well as the killing of Israeli civilians by Palestinian rocket fire. It had demanded that Israel immediately and unconditionally end its military campaign in the Gaza Strip, because "nothing can justify this deadly military operation that Israel is carrying out, gravely endangering the Palestinian civilian population and spreading fear and trauma".
Riyad H. Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine, said the Security Council must shoulder its responsibility for maintaining international peace and security by calling for an immediate end to the aggression. The Council was failing in that regard because it had not taken any action since having adopted the resolution aimed at halting Israel’s December 2008 assault on Gaza. The Council’s inaction was due simply to the position of one major Power, he said, emphasizing that the Palestinian delegation could not accept that the Security Council was unable to do anything to end the tragedy.
The Israeli Government had decided to escalate matters further by mobilizing troops for a ground onslaught, he said, urging the Security Council President to maximize pressure on Israel to stop the aggression without delay. The current aggression was directed in part against efforts to have the General Assembly bestow enhanced observer status on his delegation, which Israel hoped to sabotage, he said. However, nothing would prevent such a draft resolution from coming before the Assembly to legislate recognition of the State of Palestine, and hopefully even more delegations would come forward to co-sponsor the text, which would be presented on 29 November.
‘Deeply Saddened’ by Civilian Deaths in Middle East, Urges All Parties to Cooperate with Egypt towards Immediate Ceasefire
Following is a statement by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the situation in the Middle East, issued on 18 November:
I am deeply saddened by the reported deaths of more than 10 members of the Dalu family, including women and children, and additional Palestinian civilians killed as a result of the ongoing violence in the Gaza strip. I am also alarmed by the continuing firing of rockets against Israeli towns, which has killed several Israeli civilians.
This must stop. I strongly urge the parties to cooperate with all efforts led by Egypt to reach an immediate ceasefire. Any further escalation will inevitably increase the suffering of the affected civilian populations and must be avoided.
I am heading to the region to appeal personally for ending the violence and contribute to ongoing efforts to that end.
According to the BBC, A ceasefire is set to be announced in the Gaza conflict, Egyptian and Palestinian officials say.
Egypt's President Mohammed Mursi, who has led mediation efforts, said he expected Israel to end air strikes late on Tuesday. A Hamas official also told the BBC a truce was imminent.
Israel has not confirmed this, but has put plans for a land invasion on hold.
It has also confirmed that an Israeli soldier has been killed by a rocket fired from Gaza.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) named him as Corporal Yosef Fartuk, aged 18, from the West Bank settlement of Emmanuel.
It is the first reported Israeli military fatality in the conflict that began last week.
Despite talks of a ceasefire, Israel has told residents in villages around Gaza City to move to central areas for their own safety.
Leaflets dropped in a number of villages say: "The Israel Defense Forces are not targeting any of you and they do not want to harm you or your families. For your safety, we demand you to evacuate your houses immediately and move towards the centre of Gaza city."
Israel launched its offensive, which it says is aimed at ending rocket fire from Gaza, with the killing on Wednesday of a Hamas military leader. More than 110 Palestinians and three Israelis have been killed since then.
U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians
Jeremy M. Sharp and Christopher M. Blanchard Analysts in Middle Eastern Affairs Defense and Trade Division
Jeremy M. Sharp Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
March 12, 2012
A Brief Chronology of links and excerpts of 7 Key UN Fact Finding Missions, Inquiries, and Issued Statements
1.) NEW YORK / GENEVA – The UN Fact-Finding Mission led by Justice Richard Goldstone on Tuesday released its long-awaited report on the Gaza conflict, in which it concluded there is evidence indicating serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law were committed by Israel during the Gaza conflict, and that Israel committed actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity.
15 September 2009
2.) Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Inquiry on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla Incident September 2011
3.) Quartet Statement The Quartet — U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union Catherine Ashton— met in New York on 23rd September 2011. They were joined by Quartet Representative Tony Blair. The Quartet takes note of the application submitted by President Abbas on 23rd September 2011 which is now before the Security Council. The Quartet reaffirmed its statement of 20th May 2011, including its strong support for the vision of Israeli-Palestinian peace outlined by United States President Barack Obama. 4.) Ban sends Palestinian application for UN membership to Security Council
23 September 2011 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sent Palestine’s application to become a United Nations Member State to the Security Council for its consideration after receiving the bid from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas earlier today. 5.) Israel, Expressing Disbelief, Rejects Fourth Committee Debate on Israeli Practices
as ‘Theatre of the Absurd’, ‘Blind’ to Palestinian Culpability Report of Special Committee ‘Irrefutable Proof’ Israel At Cross-Purposes with International Community, Says Speaker 12 November 2012, 6.) Voting Machine Locks in Familiar Pattern as Fourth Committee Concludes Session
with Approval of Nine Texts on Palestine Refugee Agency, Israeli Practices
In All, 24 Draft Resolutions, 4 Decisions Sent to General Assembly On Decolonization, Outer Space, Peacekeeping, Information, Atomic Radiation 15 November 2012 Fourth Committee concludes work with the approval of nine draft resolutions on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and Israeli practices, another on peacekeeping, and a draft decision on its work, forwarding a total of 28 texts to the General Assembly. Following its usual voting pattern on this last cluster of texts, the Committee, by a recorded vote of 91 in favour to 8 against (Australia, Canada, Federated States of Micronesia, Israel, Marshall Islands, Palau, Panama, United States), with 71 abstentions, approved the draft resolution on the Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices. By its terms, the General Assembly would stress the urgency of bringing a complete end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and deplore those policies and practices of Israel that violated the human rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories. Also, by a recorded vote of 160 in favour to 8 against (Australia, Canada, Federated States of Micronesia, Israel, Marshall Islands, Palau, Panama, United States), with 6 abstentions (Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, El Salvador, Honduras, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu), the Committee approved a draft resolution on Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. Among its provisions, the General Assembly would demand that Israel, the occupying Power, cease all practices and actions that violate the human rights of the Palestinian people, including the killing and injury of civilians, the arbitrary detention and imprisonment of civilians and the destruction and confiscation of civilian property. Another of three additional drafts on Israeli practices, concerning Israeli settlements, would have the Assembly reiterate its demand for the cessation of all Israeli settlement activities in all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan. It was approved by a recorded vote of 163 in favour to 6 against (Canada, Federated States of Micronesia, Israel, Marshall Islands, Palau, United States), with 6 abstentions (Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Honduras, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu). Also requiring a recorded vote was the draft resolution on the occupied Syrian Golan, approved by a vote of 161 in favour to 2 against (Israel, Panama), with 13 abstentions. That text would call upon Israel to desist from changing the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan and in particular to desist from the establishment of settlements. The draft on the applicability of the Geneva Convention, approved by a recorded vote of 163 in favour to 6 against (Canada, Federated States of Micronesia, Israel, Marshall Islands, Palau, United States), with 4 abstentions (Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu), would stress that Israel should comply strictly with its obligations under international law and reaffirm that the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, was applicable to the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The first of four drafts on UNRWA concerned assistance to Palestine refugees and was approved by a recorded vote of 165 in favour to 1 against (Israel), with 6 abstentions (Cameroon, Canada, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau, United States). That text would have the Assembly note with regret that the situation of the refugees remained a matter of grave concern and that they continued to require assistance to meet basic health, education and living needs. Another draft, approved by a recorded vote of 163 in favour to 6 against (Canada, Federated States of Micronesia, Israel, Marshall Islands, Palau, United States), with 4 abstentions (Cameroon, Honduras, Panama, Papua New Guinea), would have the Assembly reaffirm the right of all persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 and subsequent hostilities to return to their homes or former places of residence in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967 and stress the necessity for their accelerated return. A further draft resolution would have the Assembly express deep concern about the Agency’s extremely critical financial situation and urge all States, the specialized agencies and non-governmental organizations to urgently increase their contributions in order to address its persistent, growing and serious financial constraints. That text was approved by a recorded vote of 166 in favour to 6 against (Canada, Federated States of Micronesia, Israel, Marshall Islands, Palau, United States), with 1 abstention (Cameroon). The final draft resolution on UNRWA would urge the Palestinian and Israeli sides, to deal with the important issue of Palestine refugees’ properties and their revenues within the framework of the final status negotiations of the Middle East peace process. It was approved by a recorded vote of 164 in favour to 6 against (Canada, Federated States of Micronesia, Israel, Marshall Islands, Palau, United States), with 2 abstentions (Cameroon, Papua New Guinea). Explaining her negative votes to those four draft resolutions, the representative of Israel said that while she supported the humanitarian aspects of UNRWA’s work, the resolutions were politically driven and did not reflect the cooperation of Israel with the Agency, whose mandate was clearly to keep the refugee question alive. "One-sided resolutions that ignored the culpability of anyone other than Israel served no purpose other than scoring cheap political points at Israel’s expense," she said. The observer for Palestine declared that the adoption of those resolutions "was diplomacy and international law at work, not cheap political points as the Israeli delegate had characterised this multilateral exercise". The texts remained significant as they affirmed that the rights of the Palestinians had not diminished over time and that the rule of law and not the laws of brutality and power should prevail. Rather than denying the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and denying Palestine its rightful place in the community of nations, Israel must be held accountable. 7.) Statement by Bureau of Committee on Exercise of Inalienable Rights
of Palestinian People on Situation in Gaza Strip 16 November 2012
New York, 23 September 2011
Brightfire Woman
Updated at 2:17 p.m. ET: Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire Wednesday, ending eight days of fighting that killed more than 140 Palestinians and five Israelis.
“The United States welcomes the agreement today for the cease-fire in Gaza," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at a news conference alongside Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr. "This is a critical moment for the region."
The cease-fire started at 9 p.m. Cairo time (2 p.m. ET).
Clinton thanked Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi for his mediation efforts and pledged to work with partners in the region "to consolidate this progress, improve conditions for the people of Gaza, provide security for the people of Israel."...
According to the cease-fire agreement: Israel will stop attacks on Gaza by land, sea and air and stop incursions and targeted assassinations; Palestinian factions will stop hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel; Israel will ease the movement of people and goods at border-crossing areas.
Egypt is the "sponsor" of the cease-fire agreement.
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