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Palestine accuses UNSC of double standard as its people''s right to freedom being ignored

 UNITED NATIONS, March 4 (KUNA) -- Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour on Friday accused the Security Council of double standard as it seeks to protect the rights of people in the Middle East, especially in Libya these days, and turns a blind eye to the Israeli practices in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.
"The double standard regarding protection of civilians must be ceased; the Palestinian people have for years been in dire need of protection from the brute force and oppression imposed upon them by the occupying Power and this need should be recognized, particularly in light of the critical circumstances prevailing in the region," Mansour wrote in a letter to the Security Council President Li Baodong of China and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
"At a time when the international community is united in advocating for and protecting the universal rights of peoples for justice, democracy and freedom in the Middle East," he argued, "it is unacceptable and indeed morally objectionable to see this unity undermined and even derailed in relation to the international position and action regarding the Palestinian people and their long and difficult struggle for the realization of their inalienable rights, including their right to self-determination and freedom." "The time is ripe to bolster the credibility and unity of purpose and commitment to fundamental ideals and principles of the international community. The United Nations, in particular the Security Council, should act proactively and immediately to stop these Israeli aggressions once and for all, " Mansour urged.
The time for serious action by the international community, including by the Quartet, is now, he stressed, and it is this action that will provide us with a genuine opportunity to achieve our collective objective of securing a peaceful settlement in accordance with the internationally supported two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 borders and within a defined timeframe, bearing in mind the globally-endorsed target date of September 2011, he noted.
The "critical" situation, he recalled, has been further aggravated last week by the failure of the Security Council, due to a US veto, to adopt a resolution regarding the illegal Israeli settlement campaign, which continues to be aggressively pursued in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and which continues to inflame sensitivities, deepen mistrust, endanger the viability of the two-State solution, and obstruct the resumption of the peace process.
The Quartet principles - UN, US, EU and Russia - are scheduled to meet in Paris in mid March. The Quartet Special envoy Tony Blair met with Ban late Thursday to discuss ongoing efforts to move the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations out of the current impasse, a UN official told KUNA.
They also talked about the situation in the wider Middle East and North Africa region, including the crisis in Libya. (end) sj.bs KUNA 042121 Mar 11NNNN