Iran calls for global response to Israeli crimes
The following is full text of Danesh-Yazdi's address to the 61st UN General Assembly session, that had been held on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People:
"In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,
"Madam President,
"At the very outset and on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, I would like to reiterate the solidarity of the Government and the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the Palestinian people and Government in their brave struggle to defend their inalienable rights.
"May I take this opportunity to express my delegation's appreciation to the Secretary General for his informative reports and to the Chairman and members of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for their tireless efforts to address the torment and onerous circumstances of the people of Palestine.
"This year's report once again illustrates the uninterrupted and increased violation of the rights and aspiration of the Palestinian people by the Israeli regime, resulting in the deterioration of the situation to an unprecedented and intolerable level.
"As the report indicates, throughout the period under review, the systematic pattern of human rights violations and massive breaches of international law and international humanitarian law by the Israeli regime has continued unabated.
"A fundamental principle of international law, flowing from the United Nations Charter, is the illegality of the acquisition of territory by use of force."
He reminded that, "The occupation of the Arab lands in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, which grossly contravenes this fundamental principle, lies at the heart of the festering crises in the Middle East."
He concluded that, "It gives rise to all illegal and criminal practices by the occupying forces, which all emanate from the inherent dynamics of occupation."
Indiscriminate use of military force, willfully killing and collectively punishing the Palestinians, destroying their homes and infrastructures, trying to economically strangulate them, unrelenting expansion of Jewish settlements on the occupied lands and targeted assassinations, which are all prohibited under the international law, has continued during the year under review.
Indeed, the report documents and records frequent resorts to all these practices by the Israeli regime.
"Madam President,
"The report at hand depicts Israeli brutal military campaigns in Gaza in the last summer, which included aerial bombardments, ground activities, the arrest of Palestinian cabinet ministers and lawmakers, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, including the only electric power plant in Gaza, roads and bridges, as well as many other public and private installations.
"The said atrocious crimes have resulted in the killing of over 202 Palestinians, including 40 children.
"According to the report, from September 2005 to August 2006, 450 Palestinians had been killed and over 2,500 wounded, which underscores the ever-present reality of the brutal, violent, and oppressive policies and practices of the occupying regime against the defenseless Palestinian people.
"During the year under review, the Israeli regime implemented a number of cruel restrictive and punitive measures such as checkpoint curfews and closures that adversely affected the Palestinian lives and in turn have added to their suffering and hardship.
"At the same time, the Israeli settlement activities in the occupied territories continued unabated, and the occupiers began the construction of thousands of housing units in the West Bank and Al-Qods.
"The pace of construction of the separation Wall in the West Bank also accelerated during the reporting period.
"In this regard, land expropriation orders were issued by the Israeli regime to allow the extension of the Wall around Al-Qods.
"The Palestinian election, held on 25 January 2006, was a landmark development in the history of the region.
"Nevertheless, the reaction of the Israeli regime and a number of western governments to this important development not only was unproductive and disgraceful, but indeed helped unmask the real face of the kind of democracy that certain quarters in the west seek to extend to the region.
"While 1,000 international observers, including missions from the European Union, the U.S. and Canada observed the conduct of the elections and called it a free and fair process, soon the US and few of its allies embarked on a campaign to deny the results of the elections, undermine the Government emanating there from and subject the Palestinian people to further hardship and suffering for freely expressing their will.
"Madam President,
"The situation in the occupied Syrian Golan is not very different.
"It continues to be another source of tension in the region and the Israelis have thus far indicated that they are not intent on considering a withdrawal from the Golan.
"Rather, they have made repeated attempts to alter the demographic and legal character of the area by establishing new settlements and imposing their laws on Syrian citizens in contravention of all relevant UN resolutions.
"Moreover, the last summer aggression of the Israeli regime against Lebanon, and its subsequent humiliating defeat, has not stopped this regime to continue threatening the Lebanese people and Government.
"As has been repeatedly indicated by UNIFIL, the Israeli regime continues to occupy the Lebanese lands and to violate Security Council resolution 1701, including through daily violations of Lebanese airspace and harassment of UNIFIL forces.
"Such dangerous practices would undoubtedly create more instability and serve to inflame tension and threaten to further destabilize the situation in that volatile part of the region.
"It is evident that the settlement of the Palestinian issue is imperative and indispensable for the attainment of a comprehensive and lasting peace and stability in the Middle East and beyond.
"Peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved through aggression, state terrorism, intimidation and occupation. It is, indeed, long overdue for the international community to take meaningful measures to restore the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
"The Charter of United Nations has bestowed an immense responsibility upon this world body to help find a fair, just and durable solution to this crisis, which constitutes the core of the Middle East conflict.
"We believe that a durable peace in Palestine will be possible only through the full restoration of the rights of the Palestinian people including the return of all Palestinian refugees to their homeland and establishment of a Palestinian state with Al-Qods -Al -sharif as its capital.