The 413th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, which convened on Wednesday, August 30, 2023, discussed a study on the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation, prepared by Michael Lynk, the former Special Rapporteur on “The Situation of Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” a study that had been requested by the concerned committee on The legitimacy of the Israeli occupation.
In the aforementioned meeting, the Permanent Ambassador of Palestine to the United Nations, Dr. Riyad Mansour, highlighted the "paralysis of the international community and the lack of progress in holding Israel accountable for its actions." He also presented a report on the preparations for the case before the International Court of Justice, which exposes Israel's long-standing illegal practices. Its term and policies that deny the Palestinian people their right to self-determination, "The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People approved its annual report today."
Mansour declared, “The Palestinian people are angry because of the lack of progress in ending their tragedies. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the number of Palestinians killed this year has already exceeded the number of those killed in 2022; among them 44 children, however, Al-Amin In its report on children in armed conflict, the General Committee did not include Israel as a country that violates the rights of children," he said.
He pointed out that "the current Israeli government is the most extreme right-wing government in the history of Israeli governments."
It includes fascist ministers who are considered by the Israeli legal system to promote terrorism.
One of these ministers, who made a racist statement, also declared that his and his family's right to survival is greater than the Palestinian people's right to movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The report issued by the United Nations stated that the current Israeli government is working to accelerate the annexation process, especially in the majority area - the so-called Area C - which constitutes about 60 percent of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, while the Palestinians face the demolition of their homes. , the displacement of families, and the threats directed against “Masafer Yatta” and other areas in the occupied territories, as well as against the holy places in occupied East Jerusalem, by extremist elements.
Mansour stressed that "settlement is increasing, while the siege of the Gaza Strip continues, threatening two million people living in that huge prison created by the occupation," adding: "This is the reality on the ground that we are struggling against."
Mansour once again denounced the paralysis of the international community, including the Security Council, which repeats principled positions but does not take practical steps to hold Israel accountable and force it to fulfill its obligations under the United Nations Charter and in accordance with resolutions and international law.
He added, "The Palestinian people will never surrender, and they will never raise white flags," pointing out that a number of them take matters into their own hands.
Noting that his delegation was engaged in the follow-up and preparation of documents for submission to the International Court of Justice, he expressed his appreciation to the 58 countries that submitted opinions to the court in support of the argument exposing Israel's long-standing illegal practices and policies that deny the Palestinian people their right to self-determination, and are being Prepare to file an appeal to the International Court of Justice before 25 October to dismiss the few submissions that attempt to indicate the ongoing political process in which the Court should not interfere.
He also referred to his delegation's participation in the next session of the General Assembly, expressing his hope that the Committee and its members would be at the forefront of advancing the cause of the Palestinian people to obtain their inalienable rights. "Maybe we will soon see some light at the end of the tunnel," he said, expressing his hope that the State of Palestine will soon become a full member of the United Nations system as Member State No. 194.
In turn, Pedro Pedroso (representative of Cuba), Vice-Chairman of the Committee, who currently replaces the Rapporteur of the Committee's Bureau, referred to the "implied extermination of the Palestinian people, their deprivation of their rights and their expulsion from their land in an unacceptable process of ethnic cleansing." However, he said, "Here we are acting as if it is business as usual --- the world is not aware, the media is not reporting what is happening in Palestine, neither is the United Nations or the Security Council."
Michael Link, (former Special Rapporteur), briefed the committee on the study he had prepared at its request on the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation, stressing that "no one can say that the subject was dealt lightly or superficially" in the study, noting that while the Many features of the 56-year-old Israeli occupation are illegal in themselves, the main aim of the study is to answer the question of whether the occupation itself is illegal and, if so, to determine the consequences for Israel and the international community.
Link said: "The concept of illegal occupation is not a new idea in international law, as the United Nations stated that South Africa's rule of Namibia, Portugal's rule of Guinea-Bissau and Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories are illegal occupations."
He pointed out that the study highlights three peremptory rules that can determine whether the occupation is illegal, including whether the occupying state has moved to annex any part of the occupied territory; whether that authority violated the right to self-determination of the occupied people; whether that power instituted policies of discrimination or apartheid in the occupied territories, the violation of any of these standards would indicate that the occupation had become unlawful; Violating these three criteria will be conclusive evidence of this illegality, and the study concludes that Israel - as the occupying power - "flagrantly violates these three criteria, and therefore is a bad faith occupier."
He also pointed out that the study found many similarities between the situation in the State of Palestine today and the apartheid rule in South Africa over Namibia 50 years ago.
Given the illegality of its occupation, Israel is obligated to withdraw from the Occupied Palestinian Territory immediately and completely.
He stressed that these are strong results, pointing out that the study deals with the questions that will be raised before the International Court of Justice.
He added that the report will also resonate in political, diplomatic and intellectual circles around the world because it is one of the most comprehensive reports ever published by the United Nations on occupation, decolonization and self-determination.
