UN marks ‘International Day of Solidarity’ with Palestinians
Riyad Mansour: Translate will to make two-state solution a reality.
By MAYA SHWAYDERPEOPLE MARCH as they hold a large Palestinian flag in Ramallah in October(photo credit: REUTERS)
NEW YORK – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and a room of assembled dignitaries marked Monday, November 24, as the “International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People,” part of the 2014 “Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.”Monday featured a special meeting of the UN General Assembly to discuss the “Question of Palestine,” and a convening of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, to mark the occasion.In his remarks to the committee, Ban reiterated his condemnation of Hamas rocket attacks, saying they “brought nothing but suffering to all sides.”“At the same time,” he continued, “the scale of the destruction by the Israeli military has left deep questions about respect for questions of proportionality and generated wide calls for accountability.”Ban encouraged donors to continue to support UNRWA and the reconstruction efforts in Gaza, which he was pleased to announce were going forward.He also said he was “deeply troubled” by the situation in Jerusalem and the West Bank. He again condemned “attacks on worshipers” and added that he felt “extremists on both sides are dictating the agenda.”The Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, profusely thanked all the participants at the day’s meeting for attending and called on the international community to “translate its collective will to make the two-state solution a reality.”Monday evening brought the opening of an exhibit of archival photographs of Palestinian refugees called “The Long Journey,” and a concert featuring Le Joubran Trio from Nazareth and Ramallah, co-organized by UNRWA.
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