Zionists committing crime with undeserved support from allies: Iran

Gholamhossein Dehghani, Ambassador and Charge d’Affaires of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, has made a statement before the meeting of the General Assembly on agenda item 35: “Question of Palestine” the full text of which follows:

Mr. President,

While we commend the United Nations system, the Secretariat and those helpful and supportive Member-States for their tireless efforts to reduce the plight of the Palestinian people, however, we note with grave concern the latest disturbing developments in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as reflected in documents under consideration, today.

We regret that the efforts made so far by the international community have mostly failed or proven inadequate, due to the intransigence on the part of the Israeli regime and its continued unlawful and criminal acts and policies against the people of Palestine.

For decades, year after year, the United Nations has condemned Israel for the various crimes it commits against Palestine and its people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; but this occupying regime, which enjoys undeserved support from a handful of allies, continues to disregard and disrespect the persistent demands by the international community to abide by international law. It is unfortunate that a host of criminal practices and policies are being perpetrated by this regime with impunity and the international community is yet to take any measure to address them.

The systematic violation of the rights of the Palestinian people, including demolition of homes, forced displacement of Palestinian civilians, arrest and detention of Palestinians, including children, and incessant violence, terror and provocations by Israeli settlers and extremists, including at sensitive religious sites, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, have persisted unabated. At the same time, imposition of illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip is continuing to cause massive deprivation and hopelessness and fueling a grave humanitarian crisis. As such, the Israeli regime deliberately and systematically violates each and every basic norm of the international law, including international humanitarian law.

The increasing number of illegal settlements in the Palestinian Territory, which constitute not only grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention but constitute war crimes , have long demonstrated that the Israeli regime has never had any interest in peace with the Palestinians.

The adverse impacts of the Israeli occupation and violations of rules and principles of international law are immense, and have inflicted unbearable hardships on all aspects of the lives of the Palestinians, including from a socio-economic perspective.

Mr. President,

As in the past, the situation in Palestine requires urgent international attention and action.

The continued illegal and brutal Israeli occupation not only causes so much misery to the Palestinian people, it also lies at the origin of various tensions in the Middle East and is dangerously inflaming them in the volatile situation in the region, with far–reaching and serious consequences for international peace and security.

While the Israeli criminal acts and policies are worsening and can at any moment trigger further crises, the extremely-fragile situation on the ground must be seriously addressed to avert further destabilization.

Regrettably and despite the clear global consensus on the illegality of Israeli policies and practices on Palestinian Territory, the Security Council continues to be paralyzed, failing to uphold its obligations. This should change.

The Security Council should shoulder its responsibilities under the Charter of the United and international law to compel the Israeli regime to respect the norms of international law, including the international humanitarian law, and to end its war crimes and human rights violations against the Palestinian people and end its illegal occupation of the Palestinian land and the plight of the Palestinian refugees.

Mr. President,

I would like to conclude by reiterating the unwavering support of the people and Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the oppressed Palestinian nation. Once again we assure them that we will do whatever in our power to help them realize the cause of a free and prosperous Palestine.

Thank you, Mr. President.