15 July 1997

Press Release
GA/9280

ISRAEL SEEKS TO IMPOSE WILL ON PALESTINIAN PEOPLE THROUGH RESUMED SETTLEMENTS, PALESTINE OBSERVER TELLS SPECIAL ASSEMBLY SESSION

Israel Says Peace Not Threatened By 'Urban Housing Project' But by Use of Violence To Achieve Political Ends

The Government of Israel had resumed colonial settlement in order to seize the city of Jerusalem and impose its will on the Palestinian people, the observer for Palestine said this morning, as the General Assembly resumed its tenth emergency special session on illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory.

The observer for Palestine said the United Nations bore a permanent responsibility on the question of Palestine. It was the General Assembly which had partitioned Palestine, and it was the Security Council which had adopted 25 resolutions affirming the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem.

The representative of Israel said the real threat to peace was not an "urban housing project" but rather disregard of the principle that violence should not be used as an instrument to achieve political ends. The incitement to violence continued and terrorist organizations had not been effectively combatted. Palestinian authorities had not illegally confiscated arms, had not reduced its police forces to agreed levels and had not halted Palestinian governmental activity in Jerusalem.

The representative of Egypt, speaking on behalf of the Group of Arab States, said completion of the Israeli settlement under construction at Jebel Abu Ghneim would represent the last link of the chain of settlements around East Jerusalem, cutting it off from the rest of the occupied territories. Several speakers cited the illegality of such efforts to alter the legal or demographic character of East Jerusalem.

Also this morning, General Assembly President Razali Ismail (Malaysia) announced that Cape Verde, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Nicaragua, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles and Vanuatu had reduced their arrears below the amount which would have resulted in the loss of their voting rights in the Assembly, as specified in the Charter.

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Statements were also made by the representatives of Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Pakistan, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The representative of Senegal spoke in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Right of the Palestinian People.

The Assembly will meet again at 3 p.m. this afternoon to resume its emergency special session.

Assembly Work Programme

The tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly met this morning to consider the illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory. Before the Assembly was a report of the Secretary-General submitted in accordance with its resolution ES-10/2. It was also expected to take action on a related resolution on the illegal Israeli actions in occupied Palestinian territory.

In resolution ES-10/2, adopted on 25 April at its tenth emergency special session, the General Assembly condemned Israel's construction of a new settlement in Jebel Abu Ghneim and all other illegal actions in the occupied territories, and demanded full cessation of all such activities. It further demanded that Israel accept the applicability to those territories of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, and that it comply with relevant Security Council resolutions.

By that text, the Assembly called for the cessation of all support for illegal Israeli activities. It recommended that the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention ensure respect by Israel of the Convention. It also recommended that a solution to the question of Jerusalem, to be reached in permanent status negotiations between the parties, should include provisions to ensure freedom of religion and conscience of all inhabitants, as well as permanent and unhindered access to all holy places by all persons.

In addition, the Assembly asked the Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the resolution within two months of its adoption. It also asked him to report on the cessation of construction of the new settlement at Jebel Abu Ghneim, as well as all other illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory.

The Secretary-General's report to the Assembly (documents A/ES-10/6-S/1997/494 and Corr.1) states that, due to restrictions imposed by the Government of Israel on the scope of the proposed mission of the Secretary-General's Special Envoy, it had not been possible to dispatch an envoy to Israel and the occupied territories. Therefore, the report is based on reliable sources available to the United Nations at Headquarters and in the field.

As of 20 June, Israel had not abandoned its construction of a new settlement at Jebel Abu Ghneim, the report says. The expansion of existing settlements, construction of bypass roads and the confiscation of land adjacent to settlements, in violation of Security Council resolutions on the matter, continued unabated throughout the occupied territories. Politically, the commencement of construction of a new Israeli settlement at Jebel Abu Ghneim on 18 March represents the first move to construct an entirely new settlement on occupied Palestinian lands since a freeze was imposed on such

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activities by the previous Israeli Government in the context of the peace process.

Geographically, Abu Ghneim represents the final link in a chain of settlements constructed by Israel around occupied East Jerusalem, it says. Already existing links in the chain include the settlements of French Hill, Ramot, Pisgah Ze'ev, Neve Ya'cov, and Gilo. Demographically, the settlement would have a significant effect on further advancing the forced alteration of the religious and ethnic composition of occupied East Jerusalem. Projections indicate that the new settlement would result in the transfer of some 50,000 Jewish settlers from Israel into the predominantly Arab area of occupied East Jerusalem.

Economically, the establishment of a settlement on the site is expected to have damaging effects on an already devastated Palestinian economy, according to the report. Without reference to the losses suffered by Palestinians, whose land has been acquired for the settlement, the broader Palestinian economy would feel the effects of the resulting separation of the economic hub of East Jerusalem from the towns and agricultural areas of the rest of the West Bank. So far as the peace process is concerned, through both words and actions the Israeli Prime Minister and other representatives of the Government continue to reject the terms of the resolution of the General Assembly requiring a cessation of those activities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced a promise to build 3,500 housing units for Palestinians in East Jerusalem at the same time as construction at Jebel Abu Ghneim proceeded, the report says. However, those housing units were not to be built at Jebel Abu Ghneim, but in 10 as yet unspecified neighbourhoods in Arab East Jerusalem. Further, it was also not clear whether the housing units would be government funded, or if only building permits would be issued.

The report adds that expansion of Israeli settlement activities continued throughout the period under review in many locations throughout the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Expansion activities were recorded in more than 30 existing settlement areas. Israel was widely reported to have issued plans for the creation of new settler housing units in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In May, it was reported that 30,000 dunums of Palestinian land in the West Bank were expropriated by Israel in 1997 for settlement expansion. In the Gaza Strip, attempts by settlers to seize additional land adjacent to existing settlements at Gush Katif resulted in violent clashes.

External support for settlements and their economic infrastructures continued during the period under review, including through private support from foreign companies and individuals, the report states. A number of administrative and legal measures were also adopted affecting the status of Palestinian Jerusalemites. Hundreds of Palestinian Jerusalemites this year

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received notice that their residency rights had been revoked, and hundreds of Jerusalem identity cards -- without which it is impossible to live in and often even to enter Jerusalem -- were confiscated. The loss of such permits results in a loss of rights to housing, health care, school access and freedom of movement into and around Jerusalem. The administrative practices in question apply only to non-Jews -- that is, mainly Palestinian Arabs in Jerusalem.

The report adds that the Government of Israel had not, as of 20 June, accepted the de jure applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to all territories occupied since 1967. Moreover, the realization of the principle of territorial integrity, as enunciated in the Oslo accords, has been frustrated by Israeli restrictions on the movement of persons and goods between so-called A, B, and C areas of the West Bank, between Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and between the occupied territories and the outside world.

Further, safe passage arrangements have not been established, and arrangements for a Gaza seaport and airport have not been agreed upon, the report states. The Israeli policy of general closure, which has been in effect since 30 March 1993, imposes explicit restrictions on the mobility of goods and persons. The general closure has been aggravated by periodic comprehensive closures.

The report also mentions the continued administrative detention of almost 300 Palestinians in Israeli jails, held without charge or trial. Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody continue to be subjected to torture and other mistreatment under security regulations officially endorsed by the High Court and the Government of Israel. Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem and other parts of the occupied territories continued. There was also a marked increase in Palestinian violence against Israeli civilians, settlers and military personnel, as well as Palestinian military operations against Palestinian civilians during the reporting period. Also, there was an increase in violent incidents involving settlers.

The report also includes remarks by the Observer Mission of Palestine. In those remarks, the Permanent Observer stresses that international law should be upheld, that the will of the international community must be heeded, and that no State should be allowed to behave otherwise.

The Secretary-General says that, on 14 May, he addressed a note verbale to all Member States asking them to submit, by 12 June, any information relevant to the implementation of the Assembly's resolution. A request for information was also addressed to the Permanent Observer for Palestine. The current report contains replies from Australia, Colombia, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Egypt, Japan, Jordan, Netherlands, Norway, Russian

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Federation, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, as well as a reply from the Observer Mission for Palestine.

Also before the Assembly is a 15-Power draft resolution on illegal Israeli actions in the occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory (document A/ES-10/L.2). By its terms, the Assembly would condemn Israel's failure to comply with the demands made in resolution ES-10/2. It would also condemn Israel's lack of cooperation, as well as its attempts to impose restrictions upon the intended mission of the Secretary- General's Special Envoy to the territory.

The Assembly would demand that Israel, as the occupying Power, immediately cease and reverse all actions taken illegally under international law against Palestinian Jerusalemites. It would call for reinjecting momentum into the stalled Middle East peace process, for implementation of the agreements reached between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and for the upholding of such principles as the exchange of land for peace.

Also by the text, the Assembly would recommend that the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War convene a conference on measures to enforce the Convention in the occupied Palestinian territory, and to ensure its respect. It would ask the Secretary-General to provide the necessary United Nations facilities for such a conference and take the necessary measures to speed up implementation of the recommendation. He would also be asked to report on the matter within three months.

The Assembly would also ask that Member States take the necessary steps, within their respective legal systems, to halt any support for Israeli settlements and their economic infrastructures by companies and individuals in their respective countries. Member States would also be asked not to allow any import of goods produced or manufactured in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem.

In addition, the Assembly would reiterated the demands made in its resolution ES-10/2, in particular the immediate and full cessation of construction of a new settlement at Jebel Abu Ghneim, and of all other Israeli settlement activities, as well as of all illegal measures and actions in Jerusalem. It would emphasize the responsibilities, including personal, arising from persistent violations of the 1949 Geneva Convention on the protection of civilian in time of war.

The Assembly would also decide to adjourn its tenth emergency special session temporarily. It would authorize its President to resume the meetings of the special session upon request from Member States.

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M. NASSER AL-KIDWA, Permanent Observer for Palestine, said the United Nations bore permanent responsibility towards the question of Palestine. The United Nations Charter affirmed respect for international law, human rights and the right to self-determination. It was the General Assembly which had partitioned Mandated Palestine, and it was the Security Council which adopted 25 resolutions affirming the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem. Some those texts also reaffirmed that settlements were illegal, declaring Israeli measures in Jerusalem null and void. The United Nations should go further to warn the aggressor and to give hope to the Palestinian people.

There were two legal frameworks covering the question of Palestine, he said. The first comprised relevant international law and Security Council resolutions, which affirmed the illegality of Israeli occupation of Arab territories since 1967, as well as the Israeli settlements and measures to change the legal status of Jerusalem, its character and demographic composition. The second framework comprised the agreements signed between the Israeli Government and the PLO. Those agreements did not substitute for international law, which was the basic framework, and could not negate the validity of international law. Any actions based on illegal foundations would remain illegal, irrespective of the passage of time.

"For all of the above reasons, the illegal Israeli actions must be stopped", he said. "The building of the settlement at Jebel Abu Ghneim must be stopped. Colonial settlement, in all its aspects, must be stopped. The attempts to Judaize and seize Jerusalem must be stopped."

The Israeli Government had resumed colonial settlement in order to acquire more Palestinian land by force, seize Jerusalem and impose different agreements on the Palestinian side, he said. To achieve that, it was trying to exert as much pressure as possible, including economic suffocation and a defamation campaign against the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli Prime Minister had revealed to several Israeli officials what could be referred to as "Netanyahu's Plan" for peace. That plan would include a "Greater Jerusalem", establishment of a wide security zone along the Jordan River, a buffer zone along the truce line, and the annexation of settlement blocs. That would leave less than half of the occupied territory without geographical contiguity and prevent the realization of Palestinian national rights. Such action could destroy the basis for historical reconciliation and mutual recognition of the rights of the two parties. Israel must choose whether there would be peace or not.

The Palestinian people had made many concessions with respect to their historic rights in their homeland in order to achieve peace, he said. They had accepted a solution based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), based on the principle of returning the territories occupied since 1967 for peace. That area constituted only 22 per cent of Mandated Palestine.

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The occupied territory should be returned in its entirety. The Palestinian people and leaders were still committed to their strategic decision to engage in the peace process and to uphold their agreements with Israel. They would continue to work at the United Nations and hoped the Organization would be able to apply one single standard and to exercise its responsibilities.

DORE GOLD (Israel) said the real issue threatening the peace process was not an urban housing project, but rather disregard of the principle that violence would not be used as an instrument to achieve political ends -- a principle on which the peace agreements had been based. In the years since the signing of the 1993 Declaration of Principles, the people of Israel had witnessed an upsurge in terrorism. Yet, they remained to be committed to peace. Israel had, this year, moved ahead with the Hebron Protocol and the Note for the Record. From the beginning of the year, Israel had taken tangible steps for peace. Among other things, it had completed the redeployment in Hebron and transferred funds to the Palestinian Authority.

Commitments undertaken by the Palestinian side on 15 January of this year had not materialized, he said. The Palestinian National Covenant, which called for Israel's destruction through armed struggle, had not been revised. Security cooperation had not been strengthened, but had been cut off. The incitement to violence continued, as could be seen in the streets of Hebron. Terrorist organizations had not been effectively combated. Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists had been released from prison. There had not been a single case in which terrorist suspects had been transferred by the Palestinian side. Illegal arms had not been confiscated. The Palestinian police had not been reduced to the agreed level. Palestinian governmental activity in Jerusalem had not been halted.

The ironic reality was that Israel had met all its commitments and the PLO had met none, he said. Israel's concern was that the present special session undermined the Organization's work, as well as that of all those involved in the peace process. The content and tone of the Secretary- General's report were hostile. That report was an embarrassment to those involved in its preparation. It damaged the Organization's reputation and the valuable work done by its agencies, which were the "sources" referred to in the report. Acting as such "sources" was clearly outside their mandate. The use of assistance and funding for political ends raised serious concerns.

The draft resolution before the Assembly threatened to undermine international humanitarian efforts, he said. By seeking to politicize the Fourth Geneva Convention, the resolution threatened to create "a dangerous cocktail of the political and humanitarian spheres" which could poison genuine humanitarian efforts. Humanitarian efforts had always been based on the principle of neutrality. Israel had explained to the Assembly before that the Geneva Convention could not be considered applicable to the territories. Israel had acted in accordance with the Convention's humanitarian provisions,

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representing the first and only time the Convention's provisions with regard to occupied territory had ever been implemented. To ignore the many examples of actual occupation by signatories to the Convention and censure the only party ever to have implemented those provisions was "a scene from the theater of the absurd".

The draft resolution before the Assembly threatened to undermine the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, he said. The reams of Assembly resolutions passed over the years had not brought the two sides any closer to peace, while one document -- the Declaration of Principles -- had brought them to a new reality. No Member State should think that the current session would, in any way, advance peace in the region. On the contrary, focusing on Israel's alleged breaches of agreements while ignoring those of the Palestinian side, and sidestepping the agreed frameworks for dispute resolution, would only weaken the chances for peace. To the Palestinian side, such action indicated that the United Nations was a willing forum for bypassing the peace process. To Israel, it sent the message that taking security risks for peace and making tangible efforts for peace were efforts quickly forgotten.

The people of Israel wanted the peace process to work, he said. For that to be possible, a code of conduct must be followed. Violence must be removed from the negotiating table. Lines of communication between the parties must be kept open. Both parties must act in the spirit of accommodation and mutual respect. A culture of tolerance was a pre-requisite for an enduring peace. The international community must support the agreed framework for negotiations, and encourage compliance by both sides with the principles he had just outlined.

IBRA DEGUENE KA (Senegal), Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, said the building of settlements at Jebel Abu Ghneim had continued, with Israel publishing blueprints for new settler housing units in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Some 30,000 dunums of Palestinian land in the West Bank had been expropriated by Israel in 1997 for expanding settlements. Israel was implementing illegal measures to alter Jerusalem's character, legal status and demographic composition, including attempts to deal with Palestinian Jerusalemites as "resident immigrants", subjecting them to discriminatory immigration controls. That practice reduced the Arab presence in the city and threatened some 60,000 to 80,000 Palestinian Jerusalemites.

The Palestinian Rights Committee condemned all resort to violence, particularly against civilians, and recalled that the peace process had made progress because both parties had agreed to the basic principle of land for peace. The Committee deplored the Israeli Government's decision not to cooperate with the United Nations on the basis of the resolution adopted in April by the Assembly's tenth emergency special session. Determined action by

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the international community was required to stem and reverse the downward spiral in the peace process. It was hoped that the resumed session would help end the settlement policy and other unilateral measures taken by the Israeli Government, and help restore a climate of confidence in which negotiations between the two parties could be resumed.

NABIL A. ELARABY (Egypt), speaking on behalf of the Arab Group, said the Assembly would not have had to hold a special session if the Security Council had not failed twice in two weeks to adopt a resolution calling for Israel to desist from all its settlement activities. The Israeli settlement policy had continued unabated, in abject disregard of Israel's contractual obligations and of international law. Israel was fully aware of the illegality of its actions.

The Secretary-General's report, though not comprehensive, indicated that an avalanche of illegal measures had been taken by the Israeli Government in the occupied territories, he said. Such activities, which contradicted Israel's own commitments, dealt a fatal blow to peace. Israel had imposed obstacles on the Secretary-General's intended mission to the territories; the international community must reject such lack of cooperation.

The Secretary-General had also drawn attention to economic activities by individuals and companies relating to the Israeli settlements, he said. The international community must not ignore the fact that some quarters were supporting the economic growth of the settlements.

The report also referred to the grave political, geographic and economic results of the Jebel Abu Ghneim settlement, he said. That settlement would be the last link of the chain of settlements around East Jerusalem, effectively isolating the community.

Paragraph 22 of the report was of utmost importance, he said. It dealt with Israeli actions -- in particular the closure of the territories -- which impeded the ability of the Palestinian people to function. The report also referred to Israel's legal obligations as an occupying Power under the Geneva Convention, the applicability of which Israel continued to reject. The international community must address that rejection.

The international community was faced by one party's clear refusal to uphold its obligations, he said. The Assembly could not be ignored by a Member State; States must respect its resolutions.