BAN-KI MOON CALLS FOR THE FULFILLMENT OF PLEDGES TO ALLEVIATE GAZA CRISIS
New York, 21 Rabi’ul Akhir 1436/11 February 2015 (MINA) – UN Secretary-General Ban-ki Moon warned Tuesday of the continued siege imposed on the Palestinian people in Gaza, calling on donor countries to fulfill their pledges made during Cairo conference for Gaza’s reconstruction in Oct. 2014.
Ban-ki Moon’s remarks came during a meeting for the UN Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on Tuesday in New York, The Palestinian Information Center (PIC) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
The Committee would also address obstacles to peace requiring urgent action, such as illegal Israeli settlements, the situation in Jerusalem, the Gaza blockade, prisoners, and the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson vowed in a message from the Secretary-General.
Israel has imposed an unfair siege on 1.9 million people of Gaza since Hamas won Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006.
The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) was founded in 1975 by Resolution 3376 of the United Nations General Assembly. The CEIRPP was assigned to send reports and recommendations to the UN Security Council on annual basis.
However, the Council did not adopt any of the committee’s recommendations due to the US veto.
The Secretary General urged donor countries to fulfill their pledges made during Cairo conference for Gaza’s reconstruction in Oct. 2014 to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
On July 7, Israel carried out a bloody aggression on Gaza Strip that lasted for 51 days, killing more than two thousand Palestinians, and wounding about 11 thousand others, while 28,366 homes were partially or totally destroyed.
According to UN data, Israel’s summer war on Gaza caused the displacement of approximately 100 thousand Palestinians, mostly are renting accommodation or staying with relatives, while about 15 thousand others are using UNRWA schools as “shelter” centers.
In October 2014, a donor conference in Cairo to raise money to rebuild the Gaza Strip after Israel’s summer aggression on Gaza ended with pledges of $5.4 billion for reconstruction purposes.
He voiced hope that 2015 would see advances towards peace and agreement on a Security Council resolution that included a time-frame to end the occupation, as well as a new negotiating mechanism that would join the two sides.
Despite the collective failure of Israelis, Palestinians and the international community to advance a political solution during the 2014 International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People aimed at catalyzing global action, “all good forces must now be mobilized”, he said.
“At a time when the entire region is facing the threat of terrorism and violent extremism, resolving this conflict is clearly a matter of international security,” he said, calling on the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to exert all efforts to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their rights.
The CEIRPP committee oversees “a program of implementation to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination without external interference, to national independence and sovereignty; and to return to their homes and property.”(T/P008/P3)
Mi’raj Isamic News Agency (MINA)
