BIASED UNGA COMMITTEE DEBATES ISRAELI PRACTICES IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 001039 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAL IS SUBJECT: BIASED UNGA COMMITTEE DEBATES ISRAELI PRACTICES IN THE TERRITORIES ¶1. (SBU) Begin Summary and Comment: The UN General Assembly's Fourth Committee met November 12-14 to receive and debate the annual "Report of the (UN) Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories." The three-day debate included statements from 30 countries (primarily Arab and Muslim states),most of which condemned Israel's "occupation" of Arab lands, construction of the separation barrier and settlements, administration of "collective punishment" of Palestinians, targeted killings, and obstruction of the free movement of Palestinians. The Syrian PR accused Israel of actions that "take us back to the dark ages of Nazism and fascism." Israel called the Committee's actions shameful, and characterized the rhetoric as "a relic from a by-gone era." Given the focus of this Special Committee, which was first established in the 1970s, it was inevitable that many Arab and Muslim states would expound at great length on their views regarding Israeli practices. Most of these states, however, expressed much more balanced positions in support of efforts to advance the peace process when they took the floor in the General Assembly during the opening days of this session. End Summary and Comment. The Report of the Special Committee -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Sri Lankan PR Prasad Kariyawasam, Chair of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, delivered the committee's annual report to the Fourth Committee November 12. (The UNGA's Fourth Committee handles issues related to decolonization and special political matters.) The report was largely a retread of past reports including the following allegations: that Israel has denied the Special Committee access to the occupied territories covered by its mandate; that self-determination for Palestinians continues to be an elusive goal because of violations by Israel of human rights and international humanitarian law, including Israel's "collective punishment" of 1.5 million Gazans, military incursions, shelling and air strikes, and targeted assassinations. The chairman condemned the "accelerated" settlement activity in the West Bank, as well as the construction of the separation barrier. He asserted that 80 percent of the barrier is being built upon occupied Palestinian territory, and that upon completion the barrier will encompass 13 percent of the West Bank. General Debate -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The great majority of the 30 delegations that made statements called for a halt to Israel's construction of the separation barrier. Many referred to the International Court of Justice's opinion on this matter. Several countries -- Qatar, Libya, Yemen, and Jordan -- condemned Israel's excavation activities around the Temple Mount. Iran accused Israel of "state terrorism, targeted assassination, extrajudicial killing, collective punishment, property confiscation and destruction, mass arrests and arbitrary detention, humiliating and cruel treatment of the Palestinians and other Arabs detained in Israeli jail." New Zealand and Portugal, on behalf of the European Union, condemned rocket attacks on Israeli soil and urged Israel to use restraint when defending itself. Portugal also condemned Israeli settlement activities, which it said is in violation of international law and the Roadmap. Palestine and Syrian Statements -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Syria's statement was the most extreme. The Syrian Permanent Representative accused Israel of actions that "take us back to the dark ages of Nazism and fascism." He accused Israel of burying nuclear waste in the Golan close to the Syrian border, and said, "we are in a hurry to reach peace, but we are not willing to give up land. This land will be Syrian sooner or later." Syria said that Israel flaunts international law because of the support that it receives from "this influential state or that." He continued, "This action is a pouring of oil on fire and Israel should expect an appropriate response in time." Syria urged the international community to take concrete measures to force Israel to respect international orders. ¶5. (SBU) The Palestinian representative accused Israel of "oppression, violence, colonization, collective punishment, and apartheid." He condemned the construction of the separation barrier and said, "It is clearly being built not USUN NEW Y 00001039 002 OF 002 for security reasons but primarily in an attempt to de facto annex more land, particularly on which the settlements have been illegally built." He also accused Israel of restricting the freedom of movement, the destruction of livelihoods, the obstruction of access to medical care, education, essential humanitarian aid, places of religious worship, and securing an adequate standard of living. He concluded by calling for a two-State solution, on the basis of the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel's Statement -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The Israeli representative described the Committee's report as "replete with duplication bordering on plagiarism and one-sided propaganda," and he called the Committee "a relic from a by-gone era" whose existence cannot be justified morally, intellectually, or politically. Israel criticized the Committee for not placing any responsibility upon Arabs for their situation. He called the Committee's conduct "shameful," and said that the real agenda of the Committee is not to help Palestinians but to harm Israel. After discussing some of the anti-Jewish accusations from the Committee, the Israeli delegate said, "We can, however, find consolation in the fact that since the Special Committee is such a marginal and even trivial body, it is very unlikely that many people outside this room have ever heard of it - never mind actually read their reports." ¶7. (SBU) The Fourth Committee will consider five resolutions on November 20 under Agenda Item 34: Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories. --"Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories" --"Applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the other occupied Arab territories" --"Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the Occupied Syrian Golan" --"Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem" --"The Occupied Syrian Golan" Khalilzad