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CAIRO, March 10 (KUNA) -- The Arab League and the UN Committee on the
Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) jointly
appealed on Monday for international support to the Palestinians.
The two sides convened a meeting under the co-chairmanship of the League's
Secretary General Nabil Al-Araby and CEIRPP Chairman Ambassador Abdou-Salam
Diallo, with Kuwait delegation being led by the country's Permanent Delegate
to the League Aziz Al-Daihani.
Addressing the meeting, Al-Araby lauded the efforts being made by Diallo
and his committee to help the Palestinian people attain their legitimate
rights including the rights to self-determination and the establishment of an
independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
"Today's meeting is part of the efforts to implement the UN General
Assembly resolution proclaiming 2014 as the year of international solidarity
with the Palestinian people, a decision which confirms international
commitment to the fair question of Palestine," he said.
"The long years of occupation and homelessness did not weaken the
Palestinians' resolve to press ahead with their legitimate struggle for
regaining all rights enshrined in the UN Charter and the relevant UN
resolutions," Al-Araby stressed.
He highlighted the significance of the UN General Assembly Resolution
11317, adopted on November 29, 2012, to accord Palestine a non-member observer
status at the UN, saying: "The legal and political significance of the
resolution lies in the fact that the international community recognized
Palestine as a state, thereby acknowledging its territories as occupied."
The UN shoulders the responsibility for supporting Palestine and
implementing its relevant resolutions, he said, noting that the founding of
the CEIRPP in 1975 fell in the framework of the commitment of the
international community to support the fair issue of Palestine.
He called for more efforts to help the Palestinians in the face of the
Israeli aggressions and malpractices including the Jewish settlement
expansions which run counter to the international laws.
The League chief commended the efforts being made by US Secretary of State
John Kerry to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict pursuant to the
international legitimacy and the relevant UN resolutions.
In case Kerry's mediation in the dispute fails to bear fruit, the
Palestinians will have to turn to the UN Security Council or lobby for an
international conference, he added.
On his part, Ambassador Diallo, of Senegal, said the CEIRPP, while working
to find a fair and permanent solution to the conflict, backs the US-conceived
two-state solution.
The Arab peace initiative gave momentum to the Middle East peace process,
he said, voicing hope for the success of Kerry's efforts to advance the peace
talks.
Meanwhile, he condemned Israel's persistent aggressive policy including the
recent violations at Al-Aqsa Mosque and in Jerusalem.
The CEIRPP is working with the UN Security Council, the International
Quartet, the Non-Aligned Movement and other international organizations to
stop the Israeli violations and preserve the sanctities and heritage sites in
Jerusalem, he went on.
The committee is lobbying for the international conference on Jerusalem,
due in Turkey on May 12-13, 2014, and the round-table discussion on the issue
on April 24, Diallo added.
On his part, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyadh Al-Maliki said Israel
persists in "the policy of state terrorism" in the occupied Palestinian
territories through speeding up the settlement expansions and the Judaization
of Jerusalem.
"Today's meeting coincides with challenging conditions for the Palestinian
question which require practical measures from the international community,
not mere lip-service," he stressed.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy lauded the coordination between the
League and the CEIRPP, affirming his country's support the Palestinian issue.
Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammad Abdulaziz voiced hope that 2014 will
witness more fruitful efforts by the international community to help realize
the aspirations of the Palestinian people.
On a similar note, Tunisian Foreign Minister Monji Hamedi called on the
international community to recognize Palestine as a fully-sovereign country.
Bahraini Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ghanem Al-Buaynayn said the
meeting metalizes the concept of solidarity with the Palestinian people,
highlighting the importance of the decision adopted by the Arab Summit in Doha
on support to Jerusalem. (pickup previous)
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