I find it difficult to understand how we can find peace if the Israeli delegation this morning did not even once answer the various queries put forth by the Palestinian delegationJakarta (ANTARA) - At the UN Security Council (DK PBB) meeting on Palestine, New York, the US, Jan 21, Indonesia unequivocally condemned Israel's stance that failed to demonstrate good intent in peace efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
"I find it difficult to understand how we can find peace if the Israeli delegation this morning did not even once answer the various queries put forth by the Palestinian delegation," Indonesian Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani noted in a written statement received here on Wednesday.
At the UN Security Council open debate meeting on the situation in the Middle East, the council members heard reports from UN officials: Under Secretary General Rosemary DiCarlo and Assistant Secretary General Ursula Mueller.
The two UN officials noted that the Palestinian-Israeli peace process was hindered by various Israeli actions that ran counter to the international law, including the construction of illegal settlements and the tight blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations in New York Riyad H. Mansour drew attention to the various statistics that showed alarming facts in 2019. The Gaza blockade had driven the region to the point of becoming almost uninhabitable. Last year was also marked by the arrest of over 5,500 Palestinians, including women and children.
Mansour remarked that the rate of expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in 2019 resulted in housing demolition and violence targeting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. This reflects that the real threat of Israel's annexation of the West Bank region is getting stronger.
Reaffirming support for the fate of the Palestinian people, Ambassador Djani urged Israel to respect international law, stop illegal settlements in the West Bank, and stop the blockade on Gaza Strip.
"The negative trends that have occurred in Palestine will thwart peace efforts in the Middle East region," Ambassador Djani cautioned.
He further expounded that such de facto annexation would be causal to deep suffering for Palestine and make it difficult to achieve regional security and stability.
Ambassador Djani closed his statement by draw attention to Israel's actions to forcibly revoke 147 olive trees belonging to Palestinian farmers in Al Jaba Village, Bethlehem, on January 1, 2020, with Israeli illegal actions targeting to uproot the Middle-East peace process.
For Palestinians and several other communities in the world, the olive tree is symbolic of peace. In the current context, olive trees can also embody a two-state solution, a vision of peace in the Middle East.
Indonesia had earlier reiterated its position on the Palestine-Israel conflict by rejecting the United States statement on Monday, November 18, that backs Israel to establish its settlement in the occupied Palestine region, West Bank.
"We could not accept this because it contradicts international law as well as all resolutions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)," Indonesia Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi stated in Jakarta, Tuesday.
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Through a statement of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the US is considered to have veered off from its stance over the past four decades which believed that the establishment of Israeli settlements in Palestine land was inconsistent with the international law.
“The establishment of Israeli civilian settlements is not, per se, inconsistent with international law,” Pompeo told reporters at the State Department, Reuters reported.
Indonesia, as a non-permanent member of the UNSC, is currently preparing further responses. "We are now contemplating the next measure that will be taken later concerning these bleak Palestine issues," Marsudi stated.
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Translator: Yashinta Difa, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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