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Wednesday 09 Sep 2015 - 11:25 Makkah mean time-25-11-1436
Brussels (IINA) – The conference, entitled “Israeli Settlements as an Obstacle to Peace: Possible Ways Forward”, kicked off on Monday in Brussels.
The two-day event, organized jointly by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the United Nations and the Arab League, aimed at discussing Israeli settlements, the role of the international community and regional organizations, as well as the EU guidelines on the importation and labeling of settlement goods.
Speaking at the opening session, OIC Assistant Secretary-General Ambassador Samir Bakr said Israel was doing everything to bring Palestine down despite the efforts of the international community to establish peace. He noted that the number of Israeli settlers has reached 600,000, living in settlements that fragmented the Palestinian land and communities, which means Judaizing Jerusalem.
Bakr said the Israeli activities, including measures to change the demographics and the exploitation of natural resources in the Occupied Territories, are in violation of international law. He also pointed to the settlers' assaults on the Palestinian homes, churches and mosques.
The ambassador called for an internationally approved deadline for ending the Israeli occupation. He said that the UN Security Council and the Palestinian Rights Committee should take steps to establish the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, stressing that peace cannot be achieved without this.
A statement from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was delivered on his behalf by Rima Khalaf, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
Ban said that Israel’s illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories run counter to its stated objective to realize the two-state solution. He voiced concern at new levels of settler violence against Palestinians. “The continuing policy of settlement expansion and the climate of impunity relating to settler activity are a root cause of the escalating violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” said the UN chief.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said: "The settlement issue is not about real estate or construction of housing units; for each settlement constructed and expanded, Israel destroys Palestinian property and livelihood, something that disrupts Palestinian social fabric and erodes Palestinian hope."
He also said that the EU’s labeling of Israeli settler products was positive, yet overdue. It was a step in the right direction, but nowhere near enough.
Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League Haifa Abu Ghazaleh called for an end to the Israeli occupation, saying that the Security Council must adopt binding resolutions and that the international community and the Quartet should move from mere condemnation of Israeli acts to concrete pressures to end the occupation.
AB/IINA
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