UNITED NATIONS, July 26 (KUNA) -- Palestinian UN Ambassador Ryadh Mansour on Tuesday made an emotional plea in the Security Council for support to his country's recognition and admission to the UN, stressing it is the only path that would make the two-state solution "more inevitable" and change the status quo.
"Why should the Palestinian people be forced to languish yet another year - or even one more day - under foreign occupation? They should not and they must not. This is the time to end the Israeli occupation. This is the time for Palestine's independence," Mansour told the Council's monthly meeting choking with emotions.
"This is the time for a new Middle East. We believe the international community is ready for that, and we trust that the appropriate actions will be undertaken soon to make this a reality," he said in reference to the proposed move for recognition in the UN next September.
"The time for change is now; there is no justification for the denial of the rights and freedom of the Palestinian people," he said, adding that the Palestinian Authority will "continue to appeal for recognition of the State of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders." He noted that the Palestinian Authority "believe(s) that actions undertaken at the United Nations - the center of multilateral activity - and whether at the Security Council or the General Assembly, can contribute towards achieving the peace we all seek and will not obstruct realization of this objective." This is not a unilateral action, he argued. "On the contrary, it is multilateral, and the consecration of the two-State solution in bold resolutions - including recognition of the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the basis of the pre-1967 borders and its admission as a full member of the organization - will help to make the two-State solution more inevitable." This would be the "decisive measure" that could finally convince Israel, that its occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people is completely rejected and that it "must abandon its destructive course," including the settlement campaign. "This, we believe, is what will ultimately lead to a change in the status quo and to peace," he stressed.
The Council meeting was chaired by Werner Hoyer, Minister of State at the German Foreign Office. Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor told the Council that the PA unilateral action scheduled for September will not bring peace to the region. "Like a false idol, the Palestinian initiate at the UN may be superficially attractive to some. Yet, they distract from the true path to peace." US Deputy Ambassador Rosemary Dicarlo did not mince her words in the Council and repeated what President Obama said last May.
"Today is our last open debate on the Middle East before the opening of the next UN General Assembly (in late September.) Let there be no doubt: symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations in September will not create an independent Palestinian state. The United States will not support unilateral campaigns at the United Nations in September or any other time." "My government has been clear all along. The only place where permanent status issues can be resolved, including borders and territory, is in negotiations between the parties, not in international fora such as the United Nations. There are no shortcuts," she stressed.
Robert Serry, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Council that the Palestinian Authority has, "in key areas, reached a level of institutional performance sufficient for a functioning state. (It) is ready to assume the responsibilities of statehood at any point in the near future." He warned against taking that progress for granted, given the "profound and persistent deadlock" the political process finds itself in.
"Without a credible political path forward, accompanied by more far-reaching steps on the ground, the viability of the Palestinian Authority and its state-building agenda - and, I fear, of the two State solution itself - cannot be taken for granted," he warned.
Palestinian envoy makes emotional plea in UNSC on State recognition
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