Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the special commemoration meeting of the United Nations Committee on the exercise of the rights of the Palestinian people to mark the 78th anniversary of the Naba.
The meeting is called to order.
The provisional program was stipulated in advance and there being no objections, it is adopted.
I will now offer a few brief remarks in my capacity as chair of the committee.
Excellency distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, 70 years ago, the Palestinian people endured the Nagbar, the catastrophe of dispossession, exile, and loss.
For the Palestinian people, the Nagbar is not a chapter closed in 1948.
It is not a memory confined to photographs, keys, deaths, and stories passed from one generation to the next.
It is a continuing catastrophe.
It continues in the refugee camp, it continues at the checkpoint, it continues in the demolished home, it continues in the uprooted live tree and the lost orange groves.
It continues in Gaza where entire neighborhoods have been reduced to dust.
This year, we marked the Nagbar while Gaza lies in Runs.
Families who survived bombardment now face hunger, disease, displacement, and the daily struggle to find water, medicine, and shelter.
A recent assessment estimated direct physical damage in Gaza at $35.2 billion with reconstruction and recovery needs exceeding $71 billion.
These figures are staggering.
But behind every figure is a home, a school, a hospital, life interrupted, the future deferred, and even now Palestinians in Gaza are told there is a cease fire.
But what kind of ceasefire leaves children killed? Families displaced, aid obstructed and whole areas beyond reach.
This is not a cease fire.
It is less fire, and less fire is not peace.
Peace cannot be measured by the reduction of explosions alone.
Peace means safety, peace means dignity, peace means the right of a people to live, to rebuild, to return, and to determine their own feature.
Ladies and gentlemen, the ongoing Nagbar is also visible across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Settler violence has reached appealing levels.
Demolitions, forced displacement, land confiscation, illegal settlement expansion, and movement restruction are not isolated incidents.
They are part of a system that denies the Palestinian people their inevitable rights.
This committee was created because the question of Palestine is a question of justice.
It is a question of international law.
It is a question of the credibility of this organization.
On this solemn anniversary, we remember the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian approved in 1948.
We honor their descendants, millions of Palestine refugees whose rights cannot expire this time.
We affirm that the right of return, the right of self determination, and the right to independence are not symbolic claims.
They are rights under international law and repeatedly affirmed by the United Nations.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Nagbar continues because impunity continues.
It will end only when unlawful occupation ends.
It will end only when displacement ends.
It will end only when the Palestinian people are free.
Today, we call for a permanent cease fire in Gaza for full humanitarian access.
Today, we demand accountability for violations of international law.
Today, we reiterate our commitment to the two state solution as the only path to a sustainable peace.
Today, we maintain that Palestine must be independent, sovereign, contiguous, and viable, based on the pre 1970 67 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.
70 years ago, 70 years is too long.
The Palestinian people have waited long enough for justice.
The world must not ask them to wait any longer.
Thank you very much.
I I give the floor to His Excellency, misses Ana Barbg President of the General Assembly, will have to leave the meeting at 10:30.
You have the floor, Mr.
P.
Thank you.
Good morning, Excellencies ladies and gentlemen.
Palestinian poet Mahmoud Dawish in his poem, Passports wrote, I quote, My homeland is not a suitcase.
I'm not I'm no traveler.
This line amongst many others captures a blith of the Palestinian people in the wake of the Nakba, the displacement, and dispossession of more than half 1 million Palestinians since 1948.
They were removed from their homes, their houses destroyed, their lives and livelihoods appended.
In a moment, entire people scattered.
It is a pain that endures across generations and thousands of kilometers.
It is a pain for which only meaningful justice can provide relief.
It is a pain which unfortunately lasts until today until this minute.
It is precisely because of this enduring pain that the responsibility of this institution remains so urgent.
One of the first tasks of the United Nations was to find a just solution to conflicts and crises across the world, including the question of Palestine.
For 78 long years, this institution, alongside numerous other peace processes, has worked to address the Israeli Palestinian conflict.
The long promised two state solution recognized as the only sustainable path to peace, security, and prosperity for Palestinians and Israelis and the only real answer to the question of Palestine remains out of reach.
Indeed, as it chair mentioned, the situation in Gaza and the West Bank has not only deteriorated, but is approaching a breaking point.
Exacerbated by the conflict in Gaza, the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank, the increase in settlers settlers attacks against Palestinians, and the broader instability engulfing the Middle East.
According to OCHA since January 2023, 45 Palestinian communities have been fully displaced across the West Bank due to settler attacks and related access restrictions, including nine communities in 2026, with reports of women and girls increasingly exposed to sexual violence, all in violation of international law, including applicable UN resolutions.
These shocking developments underscore the precarious plight of Palestinians and once again, spotlight the inability of the international community and this institution to deliver dignity, justice, and security to the Palestinian people.
Excellencies, past failures no excuse for future inaction.
The United Nations has a 78 year long responsibility to address the question of Palestine and must continue pushing for a just and lasting solution in accordance with the UN Charter, international law, and UN resolutions.
In this regard, I commend the membership once again for the adoption last September of the New York Declaration.
We know what to do.
This declaration, coming at the time of heightened political tension and polarization, stands as a testament to the international community's resolve to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self determination.
It underscores the urgencies of addressing the root causes of displacement and conflict, as well as the need for justice and accountability.
I therefore urge member states again to recommit to the New York Declaration and embrace it also here in this UN halls, to redouble efforts towards the realization of the two state solution.
Recognizing that the future where the state of Israel and the state of Palestine can live side by side in peace, security and mutual respect is neither a threat for Israel nor reward for violence, but rather an investment in long term peace, security, dignity, and equal rights for all.
In this regard, I urge member states as well to not lose sight of what's going on right now in Gaza.
Where the humanitarian situation remains catastrophic, access limited and demand high.
We close to 800 Palestinians, including many children, have been killed in the announcement of the so called cease fire last October.
I can simply reiterate what the chair has been saying that a cease fire, which does not mean peace, but more killing even of children is not peace and is no ceasefire.
It's a continuation of fire.
While the situation in the strait of foremost dominates headlines, these deteriorating conditions should deepen our resolve to make reality what we set out in the charter 80 years ago, to save succeeding generation from the scourge of war and to not lose sight of the call from the ICJ in its advisory opinion in October for respect to the human rights of the Palestinian people, meaning that they must have access to essential supplies of daily life and not be forcefully transferred or deported.
Access to humanitarian aid is a right of every person around the world, which means that the international community together with all parties should work to end the illegal occupation, create a credible and irreversible pathway to achieve the two state solution, and finally solve the question of Palestine as military action, terrorism, and violence will never be a substitute for dialogue, diplomacy, and the respect of international law in the long term.
So that one day we deliver on our promise from 78 years ago, that Palestinians may finally put down their suitcases so that both Palestinians and Israelis may live safely, securely, and peacefully side by side in their own sovereign and independent state as neighboring nations.
I thank you.
Thank you very much, misses Berbg, for your support of the Palestinian cause.
I now give the floor to misses Hat Harrigan, Assistant Secretary-General for Political and peace building affairs.
You have the floor.
Excellency, Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I would like first to thank the committee of the exercise of Iiable rights of the Palestinian people for convening this solemn commemoration on the 78th anniversary of the Naba.
Each year, these observances reminds us that the Naga is not merely a historical event.
This is the world's longest standing protracted refugee crisis, one that remains painfully unresolved, shaping identity, lives, and the enduring pursuit of justice and self determination for the Palestinian people.
In 1948, more than 750,000 Palestinians were uprooted from their homes.
Many forcibly so.
Hundreds of villages were depopulated or destroyed, and people was driven into exile.
Since then, the international community has responded by reaffirming core principles of international law, the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force, the right of peoples to self determination, and a just and agreed resolution of the Palestine refugee questions in line with relevant United Nations resolution.
70 years on, these principles remain unfulfilled.
Excellencies, The situation in Gaza today is a catastrophe of grave proportions.
Since the horrific terror attacks of Hamas on seven October 2023, devastation from the subsequent war is staggering.
The cease fire remains fragile and civilians continue to be killed and displaced.
Homes, hospitals, schools, and other essential infrastructure have been destroyed.
More than 85% of Gaza's population has been displaced, many repeatedly so.
In the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the United Nations continued to document systematic displacement of Palestinians, home demolitions, settlement expansions, and the proliferation of outposts.
Settler related violence has increased in frequency and severity while impunity for settlers remains persistent.
Israeli military operations have caused widespread destruction and displacement, including the forced displacement of over 40,000 Palestinian refugees from camps in the northern West Bank since early 2025.
The Secretariat has been clear all Israeli settlements in the occupied Wes Bank, including East Jerusalem have no legal validity and are in flagrant violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions.
Moreover, as reaffirmed by the International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion of 19 July 2024, Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem and Gaza is unlawful and must end.
Excellency, the United Nations has been clear, Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, constitute a single political and territorial units.
Adré one while neglecting the other entrenches fragmentation and perpetuates instability.
Sustainable peace will not be achieved through humanitarian mitigation alone.
Illegal measures to alter East Jerusalem's demographic composition and restrict freedom of worship and Palestinian presence threaten the city's unique religious, cultural and historical character.
Jerusalem must remain a city shared by all whose final status is resolved through negotiations in line with international law.
Excellencies, remembering the Nakba imposes responsibilities, not only of remembrance, but of action.
The pathway forward is well known.
It is grounded in international law, relevant United Nations resolutions, and the collective commitment of the international community.
They include ending unlawful practices, protecting civilians, supporting Palestinian governance and institution building, and reviving credible political process toward a negotiated two state solution with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security.
If implemented comprehensively, the 20 point US plan to end the Gaza conflict endorsed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 20 803 could offer a way forward addressing these outstanding issues.
On this anniversary, the United Nations renews its commitment to dignity, justice, and the rights of the Palestinian people.
The memory of the Nakba must not serve only as a reminder of past failure, but as a call to finally uphold our collective responsibilities so that future generations need not inherit the injustice of those who came before them.
Thank you.
I thank Assistant Secretary-General Hay for participating in this meeting and for delivering remarks, reaffirming the United Nations determination to advance a peaceful, just, and lasting solution to the question of Palestine based on international law and negotiated two state solution.
We are now going to watch recorded testimony of misses Resam Hamada, the mother of Hindi Jaab, a 5-year-old Palestinian who was killed in Gaza in 2024.
And I Wan Hamad wanted to flesh.
Thank you.
I'm Wm Hamad, the mother of Hinrajab.
That was my biggest joy.
My biggest joy was when Hind was born.
Zavala Bahar It was impossible for her birthday to pass like an ordinary day.
Her last birthday celebration in Gaza, we threw a huge party.
We gathered the whole family.
Not a single person was missing.
It was such an incredibly special day.
I remember being amazed that the entire family had come together.
She was a child with a beautiful spirit.
She loved life and was far beyond her age.
I never truly felt that hint was only five years.
I felt that she was 12 or 13-years-old.
She helped me around the house that she shared her thoughts.
I even used to share and talk to her as a friend.
I would always go with her to the sea or to the market.
I felt she was my companion and when she left, she took my peace and all the joy with her.
Hello, dear.
They are shooting at us.
Hello.
They are shooting at us.
The tank is next to me.
Are you hiding? Yes, in the car.
We're next to the tank.
Are you inside the car? They are dead.
Are they dead? Yes.
And are they now with you in the car? Yes.
Where are you hiding? In the car.
You are in the car, right? Not outside.
Yes.
Stay in the car.
I'm going to stay with you on the line talking to you.
I won't hang up, okay? Okay.
The tank is now beside me.
Where is the tank? Beside me.
The tank is beside you? Yes.
Is it moving or has it stopped? Has anyone gotten out of it? It is moving.
Yes.
It is moving beside the car or is it coming from behind the car or from in front of the car? From in front of the car.
The tank is coming towards you from in front of the car? Yes.
Is it very close? Very, very close.
And is it moving? Yes.
All right.
We don't want to be afraid.
Stay with me.
I am with you, my dear.
I am with you.
I will stay with you until someone comes to pick you.
I will not leave you alone.
When someone comes, you can hang up the phone? What? When someone comes, you can hang up the phone.
I will stay with you until I'm sure one from the Red Crescent or anyone came and got you.
I won't hang up.
Even if the soldiers came, God forbid, don't hang up.
We don't want to hang up.
I'm here with you.
Please come take me, please.
What? My dear.
Please stay with me.
Darling, I swear, I'm with you.
I'm here with you talking to you.
I don't even want to hang up.
What is the time? What? What is the time? It is almost night.
What? It is almost night.
I'm scared.
Please come get me.
My darling, elsewhere, if I could, I would come and get you.
Let's say, a Allah.
Oh, God.
Do you know what it feels like when your child begs you to save them from an Israeli tank or from the fear of death or because they witnessed their loved ones being shot before their eyes.
That is exactly what I lived through as a mother.
My child was executed with 335 bullets by the Israeli occupation army, and yet I know I'm not the only mother.
Tens of thousands of mothers in Gaza have endured and continue to endure devastating losses, but their voices are unheard and their story undocumented.
Tens of thousands of children remain trapped beneath the rubble crying out to be saved.
But their small voices were silenced either by the silence of the world or by a second airstrike.
I speak to you today with a heart full of grief, but we do not accept apologies, nor are we seeking condolences.
As a grieving Palestinian mother.
I ask all of you as fathers, mothers, and human beings, Can you imagine what it feels like for a mother when her child screams from endless terrifying nightmares? Can you imagine what it means for your child to be hungry, to draw food instead of eating it, and then fall asleep dreaming about food? Do you know what it means for a child to search for safety beneath your dress, believing it can protect them from airstrikes? Our Natpa is still ongoing and the displacement continues.
Entire families are being uprooted and illegally forced out of their homes, not knowing whether they will ever return.
Families are deliberately torn apart and children are deprived of their parents.
Years pass without family gatherings or the chance for a final goodbye.
Fathers, mothers, children, and family members have disappeared and their fate remains unknown.
These are not numbers listed in reports.
They are human beings with existence, memories, and lives that have been deliberately erased.
He left behind an incredibly powerful message.
And for a child to receive all this love means that God loved her deeply.
And I hope the whole world never forgets the children of Gaza because they deserve, education, and they deserve a far better life than this.
Thank you.
I have to give the His Excellency, Mr.
Yad Masul, observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations.
We will read out a statement from His Excellency, Mr.
Mohamud Abs, President of the State of Palestine.
We have the floor.
Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
One needs to breathe, after that powerful testimony of the mother of hind Rajah.
But allow me, Mr.
Chairman, to thank you and to thank the committee on the exercise of the inalienable rights for the Palestinian people and the General Assembly, which legislated in a resolution the commemoration of the Nakba of the Palestinian people.
And to thank all of you who are with us and those who are watching us through television for remembering with us the continuous pain of the Palestinian people as we commemorate almost after 80 years, the Nakbah of the Palestinian people.
I'm also very honored to read the statement of His Excellency, President Mahmoud Abs on this occasion.
Say António.
Your Excellency, Mr.
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Your Excellency, miss Annalena Berbuck, President of the UN General Assembly.
Your Excellency, Ambassador Colica chair of the committee on the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people at the United Nations.
Excellency heads of delegations and representatives of States and international organizations, ladies and gentlemen.
Today, in these difficult circumstances that our people are enduring, we commemorate the 78th anniversary of the Nacbah, the catastrophe that is ongoing until this very day and the crime of ethnic cleansing inflicted upon our Palestinian people, this crime carried out by Zionist militias with support of colonial powers, leading to the uprooting of 950,000 Palestinians from their cities and villages and The removal from their ancestral land, which they had inherited and inhabited for thousands of years to be displaced and replaced, transforming into a people of refugees who witnessed the attempts to steal, falsify, and erase their history and heritage.
This heinous crime, the Nakba was accompanied by numerous massacres, during which tens of thousands of our people were slaughtered and killed.
Women, children, and men and their homes were looted and their cities and villages were destroyed.
More than 531 towns and villages, once vibrant with cultural, economic, social, and political life were erased.
We will not leave and we will not forget.
We, the Palestinian people, and our refugees did not emigrate from Palestine nor leave voluntarily in 1948, as Israel and the Zionist movement have claimed.
We have rather been forcibly and coercively expelled.
The truth is that the Palestinian people rose repeatedly to defend their historic homeland and their existence on their land.
We still remember the Palestinian Revolution of 1936 to 1939.
But colonial powers provided the Zionists with every means and force necessary to seize the land of Palestine by the force of arms.
The Zionist movement's reliance on false narratives, mythology, and the infamous Balfour Declaration from the colonial era, along with the selective manipulation of fabricated historical events do not give rise to rights, nor do they nullify the deeply rooted historical and legal rights of the Palestinian people to self determination.
It also does not negate the international law or the charter of the United Nations.
Ladies and gentlemen, The Nb of Palestine has always carried a painful, profound and enduring impact in the memory and conscience of the Palestinian people.
Its annual commemoration at the United Nations and recognition of it by the world makes it an exceptional and indeed historic event and an acknowledgment of the historical injustice that has befallen us and from which we have not yet healed.
At the time when the world was shaping the new international order, drafting the UN Charter and adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Palestinian people were excluded and deprived of their rights enshrined in those charters.
Therefore, commemorating this anniversary is an acknowledgment of the historic injustice committed against the Palestinian people who remain deeply rooted in their land.
It is a step in the right direction towards rectifying this injustice.
It affirms that our vibrant people cannot be ignored, nor can their inherent right to self determination, independence, return, and sovereignty similar to all other nations.
No one in this world, and I repeat, no one else has the right to determine the fate of the land of Palestine and whoever believes that peace and security can be achieved without realizing the rights of the Palestinian people, ensuring the independence of their state and uprooting the Israeli occupation, regardless of how long it takes, whoever thinks so is delusional.
Ladies and gentlemen, today, our Palestinian people, wherever they are, young and old in Palestine and in the diaspora, commemorate the 78th anniversary of the Nagabeh.
Reaffirming our eternal bond to the land.
Israel believed it could erase our existence as if we had never existed and steal our wealth, heritage, and culture.
However, we remained and we rose from the ashes of the Nekbah and we struggled until the United Nations and the entire world recognized our right to self determination.
The Palestine libération Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, has led the Palestinian struggle in all its forms, popular, political, legal, and diplomatic.
Since its founding until today and through every stage of the struggle to confront the attempts to erase us from existence, has fought to preserve our rights, restore us to the international map and root us in our land and expose the falsity of the Zionist narrative all the way to the recognition of the state of Palestine as a non member observer state at the United Nations, its accession to international agencies and treaties and raising the flag of the state of Palestine at the UN headquarters by a UN resolution, ladies and gentlemen.
Israel, the illegal occupying power, continues to commit crimes against our people and has committed genocide in the Gaza strip, destroying more than 85% of the residential buildings, hospitals, schools, universities, churches and mosques, and maiming and killing tens of thousands of Palestinians.
It is working to expand its crimes and transfer their severity to the West Bank, including Jerusalem, through settler terrorism, accelerated settlement expansion and annexation and through the piracy of our funds by withholding more than $5 billion with the aim of undermining the work of our governmental institutions.
It is also plundering our wealth, water, and resources, and committing violence and incitement against an entire people in all its segments.
Occupying forces continue to kill and kidnap and arrest our people and withhold the bodies of our martyrs, abuse and torture our prisoners, and impose racist death sentences upon them.
They terrorize our children, sever the ties between our villages, and displace, invade, bombard, and besiege our cities and refugee camps.
The occupying forces and extremist groups led by ministers of this Israeli government also continue to violate the historic and legal status quo in Jerusalem, including A Alharam Al-Sharif in violation of agreements and international law while destroying the two state solution in full view of the entire world without accountability or consequence and without justice for the Palestinian people and their rights.
We welcomed President Trump's plan for a cease fire.
And the entry of aid and alleviating the suffering of the people in Gaza.
We also welcome Security Council Resolution 20 803, which came after extensive efforts that we undertook in partnership with the Global Alliance for the implementation of the two state solution, which has resulted in the International Peace Conference, co chaired by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France, as well as the recognition of the State of Palestine by 21 countries during 2024 and 2025.
Bringing the total numbers of recognizing states of Palestine to 160 states.
These efforts also led to the issuance of the New York Declaration to take irreversible steps towards the two state solution and ending the Israeli occupation and realizing the independent and sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and in a manner that fulfills the inherent rights of the Palestinian people, including the right of return of refugees as per resolution 194.
However, The cease fire remains fragile.
Our people are being killed.
Gaza's geography is shrinking and aid delivery is still obstructed in a clear Israeli violation of President Trump's vision and of Security Council resolution 20 803.
Together with mediators and partners, we are now working to move into the second phase of the cease fire agreement in order to proceed to the recovery and reconstruction phase.
In this regard, we reaffirm our vision of one state, one government, one law, and one weapon and the necessity of a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza strip.
Raza is an integral part of the state of Palestine and transitional arrangements must be conducive to the reunification of the West Bank and the Gaza strip, paving the way For the realization of our people's right to self determination and the independence of our state.
After all this death, destruction, displacement, and devastation, the time has come for life recovery and rebuilding.
Ladies and gentlemen, Israel continues its aggression against our people and the peoples of the region and continues to enact racist laws, the latest of which is the law to execute prisoners, while entrenching an apartheid regime.
Those who commit genocide, create apartheid, or kill, execute, and assault peaceful people cannot claim to be democratic or moral.
These ordeals have tested our resilience.
However, they did not weaken our determination.
We will continue to work on building and developing our state institutions to serve our people.
Despite the great challenges, our government is working in full capacity to implement broad reforms in the various areas of governance, transparency, digital transformation, strengthening the rule of law and justice, developing education and unifying social protection systems, and strengthening the democratic path.
We have come a long way after completing our local council elections and are heading towards our National Council elections in November.
We are drafting a new constitution and preparing laws for political parties and general elections on the path toward parliamentary and presidential elections.
All this alongside our legal and diplomatic efforts in international forum aimed at ending the illegal Israeli colonial occupation.
We will not relent in protecting the future of our children and the future of our people until the historical injustice and colonialism are ended and until the world fully recognizes the state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, we will also continue to strengthen our identity and preserve our memory.
Even if the elders pass, our young ones will not forget contrary to what they believed, planned, imagined, or fabricated.
Israel has also failed to strip the free people of the world of their awareness and conscience.
Blessed are the millions of supporters around the world.
We thank them all for standing in solidarity with the Palestinian inalienable rights.
The Palestinian cause will remain the greatest test of the international system and its credibility.
Here in my own name and on behalf of the Palestinian people, I would like to extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to everyone who has believed and supported the justice of our historic cause and its centrality around the world.
I would like to thank all countries and peoples who stand in solidarity with us and support our legitimate struggle and who bear witness to our steadfastness and resilience on our land in Jerusalem and in the refugee camps in the homeland and in the diaspora.
I also extend my gratitude to the chair and members of the committee on the exercise of the inalable rights of the Palestinian people for their tireless efforts in the international fora and across the world to achieve the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self determination, independence of their state, and the right to return.
Ladies and gentlemen, over the years, this international organization has adopted more than 1,000 resolutions affirming the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in their homeland, including resolution 181 of 1947.
Which called for the establishment of an Arab state for the Palestinian people on 45% of historic Palestine alongside the state of Israel, as well as resolution 194, affirming the right of Palestinian refugees to return.
The obligation of on Israel to implement these two resolutions was a condition for its admission to the United Nations.
However, unfortunately, Israel has persisted in disregarding and violating these resolutions in a manner that undermines justice, morality, and human values, and that renders its membership at the United Nations incomplete.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Palestinian people have the right to live in their homeland in freedom and dignity, in freedom and dignity.
They have the right to defend themselves, their existence and their national rights.
Allow me to say that they also have a right to expect the nations of the world and this international organization to help them achieve their freedom and independence and to live in peace and security as do all other people of the world.
Today, more than ever, the world must stop denying the Natbah and the crime of ethnic cleansing inflicted upon the Palestinian people.
Nothing deepens strategies more than denying them.
78 years after the Nakbah, the most basic principles require the world to recognize this tragedy and acknowledge that the events of 1947, 1948 against the Palestinian people represent ethnic cleansing as defined under international law, resolutions, and international courts.
Must work to rectify this grave injustice.
Ladies and gentlemen, I finally would like to salute the resilience of the Palestinian people in Palestine and in refugee camps and throughout the diaspora.
I honor with pride our martyrs and courageous prisoners, and I say to them all that the memory of the Nkabah will remain alive in our consciousness and remain a guiding light and motivation for our people until the occupation ends and until freedom and independence are achieved.
I repeat once again, the occupation will end and the Palestinian rights will ultimately prevail no matter how long it takes and may the peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.
Thank you very much, Excency.
Kindly convey our sincere gratitude and appreciation to His Excellency, Mr.
Mahmud Abs, President of the State of Palestine for his particularly important message.
I think the president of the General Assembly also will have to leave the meeting for another engagement.
Thank you very much.
Excellencies, we will now watch testimony from the family of As Nissan.
Please, the video.
The settlers stormed the village and the homes, and my father was killed by the shots of the settlers.
We experienced sorrow and the loss of our father when he should have been among us.
He was killed in 2019.
I was 2-years-old.
And I didn't understand what happened.
I was too little.
I couldn't understand.
Seven years later, history repeats itself.
My brother, who was our backbone, and I thought we would never be separated and I thought we had experienced enough loss.
He went to school like any child to learn.
He had his midterm exams.
Settlers attacked the school.
They were small school children.
We tried to get them away from the danger and evacuate them to the village.
A went to the emergency exit to help some of them.
He barely set foot outside that exit.
A settler shot him.
It was ten or 11 in the morning and I was in the kitchen cooking for them.
I couldn't hear anything.
My daughter in law came in and said, haven't you heard the setters have attacked the school are now shooting.
I kept asking about ause.
Where is aus? A relative came by and hugged me.
He said, May God mend your heart.
I asked what happened.
He said, ause was killed.
The settlers shot him in the head, he died.
We could not save him.
He died.
I am scared to go to school.
When I go to school, I see his blood on the ground, and I am afraid.
He had the hope to support his siblings after his father was killed.
I came every morning and we would spend our time talking and having fun together, doing everything together, and I find the seat next to me empty and I sit by myself.
Ouse there is nothing more beautiful than A.
Everybody loved him.
The entire village loved him.
He was joyful, ambitious.
He wanted to work, to live.
I kept telling him, when you grew up, I will help you may and build your house.
But he found himself in God's embrace before he even turned 16.
He kept telling me, don't cry.
I said, I just want you to grow up and fill the void of your father and I will stop crying.
Who come with me to attend the wedding, I'll say only when you're getting married.
A bullet made of my made my brother a martyr.
He joined God and joined my dad.
He left us with immense pain that will never end.
To have your father killed and seven years later, have your brother killed when we should have spent our childhood and adolescence together as a family.
Instead, we spent them experiencing loss and agony.
House is like any child.
He was 14.
He went to school to learn.
He came back carried as a martyr by his friends.
This is a pain that will last a lifetime.
I will never forget him.
He will never leave my mind.
His voice is still in that house.
I can't believe he was killed.
He was everything in my life.
The I love him so much Thank you very much for this absolutely heartbreaking video.
We will now watch testimonies of survivors of the Nagbar and its ongoing manifestations, as well as a tribute to Walt Halidy, historian of Palestine and the Nagbar by His Excellency Trek Dmitri, Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Palestine Studies.
I was 8-years-old.
It was 5:00 A.M.
And we were sleeping.
They invaded our home and sprayed my father with bullets.
They executed him.
My mother was taken as a prisoner.
I got my brother from his crib.
We escaped with our neighbors.
While we were fleeing in Karin village, my grandfather, who was 70-years-old, was killed and his body thrown on the ground.
That really affected me, my father's father.
They murdered the majority of people, including my uncle, my mom's brother, who was 30-years-old.
They forced them out of the house.
Then the Zionists executed them.
They burned alive my aunt and all of her children in their house.
Life has been difficult.
Until today, I continue to remember Dain.
We went to visit our house, me and my daughter, and her daughters.
I picked almonds from our tree.
We asked to see the house, but the Israelis said no.
So we didn't see it except barely the feelings indescribable.
I was agonized and felt deep sorrow because I remembered my father.
I remembered him so vividly how he would sit on the veranda with his age.
He would sit and smoke.
Visiting the house had a deep impact on me.
I remember everything about it.
Back then, there were no hardships.
We would go to school and return.
It was a beautiful life.
This is me when I was 15-years-old.
I swear, if you told me Palestine is liberated, I swear, I'd be the first one back to Dariin.
I me of the love the G Jasan I'm from Alda They destroyed our lives.
They kicked us out from our homeland and displaced us in different locations.
Kids didn't know where their parents were and vice versa.
Palestine is my soul.
It is all I dream and think about.
Palestine is my whole life.
This is obvious for anyone who knows Palestine.
We had everything lives, figs, cows, sheep, camels.
We had anything you could think of.
My house still remains until today.
So does my tribe, and so does my garden.
Whoever knew Palestine back then would die of anguish about Palestine is heaven.
1948 was, of course, a traumatic watershed in the life of the Palestinian people and of course, of our Middle East or Arab world.
And for Palestinians in particular, there was the need to put on record what happened and how it happened and to whom it happened, and by whom what happened happened.
It's an honor to join you in celebrating Wad Khaled life and enduring legacy.
I had the privilege of being associated with him in the Institute of Palestine Study that he founded and that I preside.
He led the Institute for so many years in so many different ways.
Throughout those years, he has been an inspiring mentor to me and to many and a very dear friend.
Wad Halide is a leader, a public intellectual, a remarkable historian, and a role model for a large number of Palestinian, Arab, and European academics who worked on transforming Palestinian history from fragmented stories into a rigorous discipline.
Khaled work was never about the past.
It was about speaking the truth in a convincing and coherent manner.
One of his seminal works, all that remains, Kailan Ansen is an exceptional piece of scholarship.
He reconstructed a map that the occupiers of Palestine tried to erase.
The names of depopulated villages were intertwined into a story.
He constantly reminded colleagues at IPS and beyond how best we ought reconcile our commitment to a great cause with intellectual rigor.
He always insisted that Palestinian history must be treated both as a memory and a constellation of established verifiable facts in order to become a potential A tool for upholding justice.
Walid Halide ensured that the Palestinian story is told with dignity and precision.
He did not just write history, He did not just cite sources.
He rescued them.
He paired a brilliant mind with an unbreakable heart.
For both those of us who knew him, worked with Him, and loved him, we miss him dearly.
We are all called to follow His steps with the same commitment.
May His memory be eternal.
Thank you very much for these powerful and deeply moving testimonies.
They remind us that behind every statistics are human lives, memories and enduring pain that the should never forget.
I now open the floor for interventions by member states.
We'll start with requests from committee members and observers and then open the floor to all member states.
Delegates are kindly reminded to keep their statement in 3 minutes.
I see Turkey, you have the floor.
Mr.
Chairman.
Mr.
Chairman, thank you very much, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.
Allow me on behalf of the YC group to extend my deepest appreciation to the organizers of this important annual event.
The resolution of the United Nations General Assembly of November 30, 2022, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Nakba is an acknowledgment of the historical crimes and human rights violations against the Palestinian people, which still constitute a dark stain on human memory and conscience.
There is no doubt that the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory and the injustices suffered by the Palestinian people over a period of 78 years represents a setback for the values of freedom and justice, which is enshrined in the United Nations Charter and remains a peremptory norm of international law.
This is compounded by the accompanying state and settler terrorism, forcible mass displacement, ethnic cleansing, confiscation of lands and property, and denial of legitimate national rights which the people of Palestinian people suffered over the years and decades.
On this auspicious occasion, we express our solidarity, admiration, and esteem for the Palestinian people who have remained resolute in their resistance and just struggle in spite of their long and painful experiences.
This includes the heavy human and material losses occasioned by the latest war on Gaza strip and the persistent Israeli violations in the occupied Palestinian territory.
It is most unfortunate that the various efforts of international community and the UN towards the restoration of the national rights of the Palestinian people have not yielded the desired results.
However, we commend the international community for its overwhelming support for the independence of Palestine through the recent adoption of the United Nations General Assembly resolution ES ten slash 24 of 18 September 2024 on the ICJ advisory opinion, which called for the immediate termination of the illegal Israeli presence in the occupied Palestinian territory.
In the same way, we hailed the outcome of the high level international conference on the Palestinian question and the implementation of the two state solution, which resulted in the recognition of the state of Palestine by many UN member states and which provided a clear indication of the global support for the achievement of a Palestinian independence and sovereignty and Palestine's full membership in the United Nations.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.
As we commemorate the painful Nakba this year and witness it is still ongoing in brutal ways, the international community is reminded of its historical, political, legal, humanitarian and moral obligations towards ending the Israeli occupation and holding Israel, the occupying power, accountable for its crimes against humanity.
This includes correcting the historical injustice that still befalls the Palestinian people and finding a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Iras in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions, the principles of international law, and the Arab Peace Initiative.
As we seek a just and lasting solution of the Palestinian cows, we endorse the sant commitment in the New York Declaration on the imperative of entrusting the Palestinian authority solely with all matters relating to governance, law enforcement, and security throughout all the Palestinian territory, along with international support while we welcome the one state, one government, one law, one gun policy of the Palestinian authority.
Accordingly, we welcome the comprehensive peace plan on Gaza and call for the urgent provision of relief and humanitarian support at scale for the Palestinian people in Gaza and elsewhere in the occupied Palestinian territory.
In this regard, we stress the role of the various United Nations agencies, particularly Unrwa in ensuring a coordinated humanitarian response aimed at alleviating the existential challenges of the Palestinian refugees and displaced persons.
In this regard, we call for an urgent adherence to the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice on October 22 year 25 and emphasize the importance of providing political, financial and legal support to Unrwa.
Conclusion, the OIC reaffirms its unwavering support for the Palestinian people in their just struggle for the recovery and exercise of the international rights, foremost of which is their right to return and the realization of the independence of the state of Palestine on the pre 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
OIC also calls on member states to support the inalm rights of the Palestinians and recognize the state of Palestine and support its admission as full member state of the United Nations.
While concluding my statement on behalf of the OIC group, let me add the following in my national capacity.
Mr.
Chairman, Turk strongly condemns in the strongest terms the recent Israeli decisions and measures aimed at imposing unlawful Israeli sovereignty, entrenching settlement activity, and enforcing any illegal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank.
Expansionist Israeli policies and illegal measures pursued by the Israeli government in the occupied West Bank only to fuel violence and conflict in the region.
They undermined the two state solution and represent an assault on the ineligable right of the Palestinian people to realize their independent and sovereign state.
After decades of efforts, it is clear that the two state solution remains the only viable path toward achieving peace, justice, and stability in the region.
Many member states sitting here today, including my own, made extraordinary sacrifices to claim their rightful place as sovereign states.
The state of Palestine deserves to be recognized as a sovereign state and sit amongst us as a member of the United Nations.
On this day, Turkey once again calls on the international community to stand with the Palestinian people and commit fully to the implementation of the two state solution.
Tahiat El Shabi Shabqb we salute our sisterly and heroic Palestinian people.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Turkey, on behalf of OAC.
I will give the floor to Libya on behalf of the Arab Group and after Libya, we'll come to the list as provided by the Secretariat, please keep your statement in the 3 minutes since we have a long list of speaker.
Libya.
Such.
Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
At the outset, I'd like to associate myself with His Excellency, Ambassador ad Mansour.
I find it difficult to speak after all that we've seen this morning, after the testimony that we've heard from the people, the voice, the innocence of a child as she is being killed in such cold blood.
Mr.
Chair, we're here today not simply to commemorate a historic event, but to stand before a wound that continues to bleed for the past 78 years.
Here I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Arab group.
I start by expressing our appreciation for the efforts of this esteemed committee in shedding light on the continued suffering of the Palestinian people and defending their rights that have been endorsed by divine laws and the laws of the land, but unfortunately are being wasted in reality because of double standards in the international arena.
Today, we listened to the testimonies of survivors and the testimony of Osa Hamad, the mother of Hindu Rejab the martyr child, is a live and clear indictment to what is happening.
The Nakhba was never simply something that happened in 1948 and ended, rather, it is a policy of continued genocide that is being practiced on a daily basis under the very eyes and noses of this organization.
What the Palestinian people are experiencing today are not simply the repercussions of an armed conflict rather it is a systematic approach and an exposed attempt to impose another Nakba as the genocide war continues in Gaza perhaps with different manifestations.
We in return also see a horrific escalation in Alcoa Al-Sharif and the West Bank.
UN reports have recorded that the three first months of this year, more than 540 terrorist attacks by the settlers were the protection of the occupation forces that have killed 330 martyrs and this is in line.
This bloodshed comes along with a comprehensive demographic war that witnesses a dangerous escalation in settlement activity that aims to dismember Palestinian territories.
Not to mention the policies of the confiscation of the Palestinian authorities revenues that are required to allow it to function.
Here we would like to confirm the following.
First, All statements of condemnation have been exhausted.
We call for an immediate shift to adopting binding measures to hold the occupying power responsible.
We can't speak about international peace and security while we allow the occupying power to be above the law.
Second, the the United Nations resolutions have established is including including several resolutions and the New York Declaration.
All of these resolutions will simply remain ink on paper if they do not become executive orders that put an end to the systemic destruction of the Palestinian people and put an end to other occupation at its roots.
Third, the Arab group condemns the strongest of terms, attempts at the political and the financial liquidation of the Anarwa.
The Annawa is not simply a relief organization, it is a witness to the Nacaba and any attempt to harm it is a miserable attempt to eliminate the cause of the refugees and their sacred right to return.
Therefore, we condemn any efforts to obstruct humanitarian action in the occupied Parse territories, and we demand an instant lifting of any, um, anything that is imposed on Arwa and the work of its people in implementation of relevant general assembly resolutions and to guarantee that it is funded and properly protected.
Mr.
Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, in closing, the Arab group renews its affirmation that peace and stability in the region is an equation with only one sum, which is a complete end to the occupation and allowing the Palestinian people to enjoy their inelible and legitimate and historic rights, namely their right to self determination and the right to return and the establishment of the independent state with Alcot Asrif as its capital.
I thank you.
Thank you very much, Olivia.
I give the floor to China, followed by Brazil, China.
Chair, I thank the committee on the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people for organizing today's commemoration.
78 years ago, the first Middle East War broke out when massive numbers of Palestinians lost their homeland and a journey of suffering began where the Palestinian people have been plagued by conflict and occupation.
Over the decades, generations of Palestinians have been striving for their legitimate rights and interests.
Yet till this day, the historical injustices suffered by the Palestinian people still persist.
Turmoil and war need not be the fate of the Palestinian people.
The international community must face squarely the root cause of the Palestinian question, step up to the responsibility and take robust action to redress the historical injustices and uphold fairness and justice.
I wish to make three appeals.
First, we call for an immediate end to the suffering of the people in Gaza.
It has been announced that the Gaza ceasefire agreement has entered its second phase, yet Israel is still carrying out frequent attacks, expanding military construction, and restricting humanitarian access.
The casualties of civilians in Gaza continue to rise.
The humanitarian crisis continues to worsen and the people there are living in untold misery.
We call on all parties concerned, Israel in particular to fully abide by the cease fire agreement and realize the comprehensive and lasting cease fire in Gaza.
Israel should fulfill its obligations under IHL, lift restrictions on access of supplies and support URA and other humanitarian organizations in carrying out assistance.
Second, we call for prompt de escalation of the situation in the West Bank.
Recently, the occupying power has been accelerating settlement expansion, demolishing Palestinian structures, and annexing Palestinian territory, violence in the West Bank has been escalating where large numbers of innocent civilians and even children have been brutally killed.
Settlements gravely violate international law and Security Council Resolution 23 34 and any violence against civilians is unacceptable.
Israel should heed the strong call of the international community, immediately stop settlement activities, and its illegal occupation, curb the violence in the West Bank, and seriously ensure accountability for all Incidence of attacks.
Third, we call for the full implementation of the two state solution.
The two state solution is the only viable way forward for the Palestinian question, which brooks no denial or rejection.
The international community should further build consensus, take irreversible steps to implement the two state solution, and stop unilateral actions seeking to undermine the foundation of the two state solution.
Any relevant arrangement or new mechanisms should uphold the principle of Palestinians governing Palestine.
Respect the will of the Palestinian people and promote rather than undermine the two state solution.
Chair, on the Palestinian question, China has always upheld fairness and justice, firmly supported the Palestinian people's just cause of restoring their legitimate national rights, supported the early establishment of a fully sovereign and independent state of Palestine based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and supported the early admission of the state of Palestine as a full member of the UN.
We will work together with the international community for the comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question at an early date so that the Nakba will remain forever in the past and that peace and tranquility will become reality.
I thank you, Chair.
Thank you very much, China.
Brazil, followed by Nicaragua.
Brazil, you have the floor.
Thank you, Mr.
Chair.
Brazil thanks the committee on the exercise of the inalable rights of the Palestinian people for convening this meeting to mark the 78th anniversary of the NACBA.
This annual commemoration is indispensable to honor all the many victims of NACBA deceased and alive.
But it is not only an act of remembrance.
It is also a call to action.
The Nakba remains an open wound for the Palestinian people and for many peoples in the world and the Palestinian rights, dignity, and national aspirations continued to be tragically denied.
As President Lula warned before the General Assembly last September, and I quote, the Palestinian people are at risk of disappearing.
This is a moral and political warning that the international community must not ignore.
Brazil reiterates its deep concern at the ongoing deterioration of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
The continued displacement of civilians, the destruction of homes and infrastructure, the expansion of illegal settlements, and the rise in Str violence are incompatible with international law, international humanitarian law, and the prospect of a just and lasting peace for the entire region.
One must always repeat that Israeli settlements in the OPT are illegal under international law.
Their expansion further seriously threatens the viability of this two state solution and must cease.
Now.
Security Council Resolution 2334 must be fully implemented.
Now, Brazil also reiterates its grave concern at the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
Civilians must be protected.
Humanitarian assistance must reach all those in need safely, rapidly, and without obstruction in full respect for humanitarian principles.
The work of the United Nations, including UnRraA remains indispensable and must be protected at all times and locations.
Accountability is essential.
Violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law must not go unpunished.
In line with the advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice, all states must cooperate with the United Nations to bring an end to Israel's unlawful presence in the OPT and must not render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation.
The humanitarian crisis is aggravated by the withholding of Palestinian tax revenues.
It is extremely harmful to the economic and fiscal situation of the Palestinian authority and must stop.
Mr.
Chair, Brazil reaffirms its unwavering support for the realization of the inalable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self determination and statehood.
We also reaffirm that there is no alternative to a two state solution with an independent and viable state of Palestine living side by side with Israel in peace and security within the pre 1967 borders, including the Gaza strip and the West Bank with East Jerusalem at its capital.
I thank you.
Thank you very much, Brazil.
I give the floor to Nicaragua, followed by Malaysia.
Thank you, Brother Chair.
On behalf of the people and government of national reconciliation and unity of the Republic of Nicaragua, we reiterate our solidarity and our enduring love for the Palestinian people on this 78th anniversary of the Nakba.
Furthermore, our profound respect to the historic resistance to the illegal occupation of their land.
We remember with dignity the suffering of more than 700,000 Palestinians dispossessed of their homes and of their lands.
This was a disaster that is not over and that has continued in time.
Today, more than 5 million Palestinian refugees are waiting to be able to return to their places of origin, and this is their inalienable right.
Justice is essential for the victims of these colonial crimes.
The full respect of this right, as well as the inalienable rights to self determination and to the existence of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and with pre 1967 borders is required in order to lay the foundations for a lasting peace.
The NAPA is not merely an event of the past.
It is being repeated and increasing day by day with the illegal occupation and settlements, demolitions of homes, and the systemic violence by Israel against Palestinian civilians.
Brother President, we recall the decision of the International Court of Justice that ruled illegal the Israeli presence in occupied Palestinian territories.
It is the duty of the international community to not recognize this illegal presence and to adopt measures against the impunity that has been allowed to take place for decades.
Nicaragua reaffirms its historic commitment to the Palestinian cause, which is a principle that is grounded in international law and in our own anti colonial and anti imperialist vocation.
Brother President, while Palestinian children are still being born in exile and while they continue to be displaced from their land, while An end to the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories is not happening, the responsibility of the United Nations are Oto.
The peoples of the world have affirmed their solidarity and the right of the Palestinians to freedom for the Middle East in peace and justice.
Thank you very much.
Qatar, you have the floor followed by Namibia in Nigeria, Qatar.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr.
Chair.
First, the state of Qatar would like to express its appreciation for the efforts of this esteemed committee and for its pivotal role in enabling the Palestinian people to exercise in legitimate rights.
We confer the importance of the adoption of GA resolution 82 slash 79, and we are proud as Qatar, to be one of the co sponsors of this resolution and welcome this important measures.
We stress that recognizing the Nkabah is an indispensable basis for any peaceful, just and comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian cause.
Mr.
Chair, after we listen today to the witness of the mother of martyr Child Hinajb the family of martyr Child Alar Aan, we renew our pledge that their names and the names of all the witnesses and all the martyrs will not be forgotten.
These children are the victims of a continued ob and international community cannot ignore their suffering.
And in this context, the state of Qatar takes this opportunity, this important opportunity to affirm the following firm positions.
First with regards to the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Qatar condemns the illegal Israeli decisions on the West Bank and the recategorization of Palestinian territories as so called state property and Israeli state property and as well as allowing a the death penalty to be practiced against Palestinians and the limitations that are imposed on the worship of Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem.
Second, with regards to the Gaza strip, Qatar stresses the importance for all parties to abide by fully by the cease fire in Gaza and to open corridors to allow for humanitarian access in a sustainable and unobstructed manner the State of Qatar has confirmed its full and set a commitment to the Board of Peace in order to perform mediation and until the Charm Chef agreement was signed with everyone.
He Qatar stresses the need to implement the Security Council Resolution 2322 803.
Third, the state of Qatar renews its stable and the principal position that supports the Palestinian Plaza and the steadfastness of the Palestinian people, which is based on international legitimacy resolutions and a two state solution.
This position aims to guarantee the right to self determination and establishment of an independent Palestinian state and the 1967 borders with its capital as Et Jerusalem we stress the need to put an end to occupation and settlement and the legitimate Israeli practices in the occupied territories, and to guarantee the right to return to Palestinian refugees to their lands in accordance with international law and here.
Qatar renews its firm commitment to supporting politically and diplomatically and financially so that it is able to carry out its mandate in service of the Palestinian people in accordance with GA Resolution three oh two.
I thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
Thank you very much, Qatar, Malaysia, you have the floor, followed by Namibia.
Chair.
Thank you, Chair.
I thank the families and survivors for their moving testimonies.
Malaysia joins the tribute to the historian Walid Kaldi and aligns itself with the statement on behalf of the OIC.
The Nagbar remains a tragic event in history.
It is also the continuing struggle of the Palestinian people against dispossession, exile, illegal occupation, and denial of their inalienable rights.
Yet, despite this immense suffering, the Palestinian people have remained resilient in their legitimate pursuit of justice, dignity, freedom, and self determination.
The Nagbar continues today in the occupied West Bank, in East Jerusalem and in Gaza.
It continues through forced displacement, the demolition of homes, the destruction of infrastructure, the restrictions on movement, through settler violence, and the relentless expansion of illegal settlements.
These are not isolated incidents.
They form part of a broader and continuing policy that entrenches occupation, fragments Palestinian land, and seeks to undermine the realization of the two state solution.
Malaysia calls for urgent, concrete and substantive action by all member states to halt the expansion of illegal settlements, to end settler violence, and prevent further forced displacement of Palestinians.
The international community must act to stop the Nakbar.
Mr.
Chair, accountability must be at the center of our collective response.
There can be no lasting peace while violations of international law continue with impunity.
Israel, the occupying power, must be held accountable for its illegal policies and practices in the OPT.
We recall the ICG advisory opinion of July 2024, which affirmed the illegality of Israel's continued presence in the OPT and the obligations of all states not to recognize or assist the unlawful situation.
Laws and rules must be applied consistently.
With no double standards.
Malaysia recalls the New York Declaration as the only viable pathway towards a just comprehensive and sustainable solution.
The Declaration provides a framework for concrete, time bound and irreversible steps toward the realization of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine based on the pre 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The international community must translate this political commitment into meaningful action.
Malitia will continue to speak firmly and consistently in defense of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self determination and independence.
We will continue to work closely with members of this committee and the wider UN membership toward ending the occupation and realizing the independence of the state of Palestine.
Mr.
Chair, let me conclude by saying, May the day soon come when we commemorate the end of the Nakbar, celebrate the independence of the State of Palestine and its full membership of the United Nations.
I thank you.
Thank you very much, Malaysia.
I give the floor to Namibia, followed by Cuba and Indonesia.
Thank you, Chair.
Your Excellency's, distinguished delegates.
Namibia joins the international community in commemorating the 78th anniversary of the Nagba, a tragic turning point in the history that resulted in the displacement, dispossession and suffering of the Palestinian people and injustice that continues to this day.
Namibia also joins this observance in honor of the resilience of the Palestinian people and to reaffirm the imperative of justice, accountability, and lasting peace.
The Naga of 1948 is not merely a historical event.
It is an ongoing reality marked by prolonged Israeli occupation, forced displacement of the entire Palestinian communities, denial of fundamental human rights, and repeated cycles of violence affecting successive generations of Palestinians.
As a country, whose own people endured colonialism, dispossession and apartheid.
Namibia deeply understands the enduring scars of injustice and the necessity of historical redress, dignity, and self determination.
Namibia further stresses the agency of accountability and respect by all for the international legal mechanisms, including relevant United Nations resolutions, and advisory opinions of the international judicial bodies, and the principles of the United Nations Charter, double standards and selective application of international law erode its credibility and perpetuate impunity.
Mr.
Che, the plight of the Palestinian refugees now skimming multiple generations remains unresolved.
Namibia reaffirms its support for a just and lasting solution to the refugee question.
We underscore the indispensable humanitarian role played by Unwra and call for a lifting of all restrictions and for sustained predictable support to enable it to fulfill its mandate.
My delegation reiterates that the persistent use of force and terror cannot be a solution to the question of Palestine.
Only a comprehensive, just and lasting political solution based on international law can bring sustainable peace.
In this regard, we firmly reiterate or support the two state solution with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security within the internationally recognized borders based on the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Palestine.
Namibia HS the occupying power to uphold the hard earned ceasefire agreement, support the reconstruction of Gaza, Protect civilians, respect international law, and re engage incredible efforts towards a negotiated settlement that addresses the root causes of this conflict.
Peace cannot be postponed.
Indefinitely.
Justice cannot remain aspirational.
The Palestinian question cannot be relegated to quarterly Security Council debates.
The continued denial of Palestinian rights undermines the regional stability and the credibility of the multilateral system itself.
On this solemn occasion, Namibia stands on the right side of history, reaffirming that freedom, justice, and self determination are not privileges, but universal rights that must apply equally to all peoples, including the people of Palestine.
I think you check.
Thank you very much, Namibia.
I give the floor to Cuba, followed by Indonesia and Nigeria.
Cuba, you have the floor.
Thank you Chairman.
Today, we remember an historic tragedy that marked the lives of the Palestinian people whose wound remains open after more than 70 years of pain, displacement, and expropriation.
The NAPA does not belong in the past.
It is not a closed chapter of history.
It is a painful reality that continues to manifest itself through occupation, the expansion of illegal settlements, the destruction of homes and communities, the collective punishment and denial of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self determination and to live on the land that belongs to them.
The anniversary of the NAPA compels us to demand once again an end to the genocide and apartheid against Palestine.
The occupying power must be held accountable for the crimes against humanity that it has committed for years with the historic complicity and absolute political, diplomatic, military, and financial support of the United States.
The call of the international community must be heard and Palestine must occupy the role that is rightfully theirs as a fully fledged member of this organization.
Chair, we call out the use of hunger as a weapon of war, as well as Israel's attacks against civilians and the essential infrastructure of the occupied Palestinian territories that have deprived the population of essential services that they require to live.
We call for an end to the criminal annexing a policy of Israel that's aggravating the humanitarian situation and blocking a lasting solution.
The solution that the international community has continuously called for.
Lasting peace cannot be built on systematic violations of the most fundamental human rights of an entire people.
We reject the illegal activities of the Israeli settlements and settlers violating international law, undermining the two state solution, and imperiling the viability of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state within pre 1967 borders.
With East Jerusalem as its capital, including the right of refugees to return.
On this commemoration of the Napa, we honor the resistance and heroism of the Palestinian people.
Their right to exist, to live in peace, and to build their own future with dignity is something that cannot be ignored.
The Cuban people who recognize the value of resistance and the defense of sovereignty and the absolute right of all peoples to decide on their own destiny reaffirm our unshakable solidarity to the Palestinian people and their just cause.
Thank you very much.
Much, Cuba to Indonesia followed by Nigeria and Venezuela.
All.
Indonesia, you have the floor.
Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
Nakba is a tragic history.
Nakba is also a day to day reality that continues to befall the people of Palestine.
Today, we honor not only the profound loss and sufferings, but also the extraordinary resilience and hope that the Palestinians have to carry across generations.
Allow me to highlight three points.
First, preserving identity and restoring dignity.
Nakbah must be recognized not only as a historical fact, but as a collective memory that define the Palestinian struggle.
Upholding this truth is fundamental to restoring dignity and countering narratives that seek to diminish the strength and perseverance of the Palestinian people.
Second, building on an intensified recognition to Palestinian cause.
We continue to witness an expanding support and recognition from all corners for the sovereign state of Palestine.
This reflects a widening international commitment to the Palestinian right to self determination.
We must build on this momentum toward a lasting peace, including through the implementation of the New York Declaration on a two state solution.
Indonesia continues to call for the full membership of the State of Palestine to the United Nations.
Third, advancing justice through collective action.
The International Court of Justice has declared that Israel's continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful.
The court has further made it clear that Israel is under an obligation to bring to an end its illegal occupation.
It is now our task to ensure that the rule of international law is upheld on the ground without further delay or exception.
Excellencies, we are once again reminded of the resilience of the Palestinian people.
They have unbroken determination to overcome occupation and injustice.
Today, We, the international community, is called upon to step up and push harder for peace and justice for free Palestine.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Indonesia.
I give the floor to Nigeria, followed by Venezuela, Nigeria.
Thank you, Mr.
Chair.
Excellency, distinguished colleagues.
Nigeria thanks the United Nations Committee on the exercise of the inalieable rights of Palestinian people for organizing this event and joins the international community in solemn reflection to mark the 78th anniversary of the Nagba or the catastrophe.
We got are not merely to recount a historical event from 1948, but to acknowledge an enduring legacy of displacement, dispossession, and persistent struggle of the Palestinian people for their fundamental human rights.
The Naga serves as a private cornstone in the history of the Middle East.
It represents the forced displacement of arms of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and beginning of humanitarian crises that have spanned generations.
For 78 years, the Palestinian people have demonstrated an extraordinary resilience that commits our deepest respect and demands our urgent action.
Nigeria's support for the Palestinian cause is rooted in our history of decolonization and unwavering commitment to the principles of justice, equality, and the right to self determination.
Our position remains clear and consistent, aniable rights.
We affirm our support for the inalable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to return and the right to an independent and sovereign state.
Nigeria continues to advocate for a just lasting and comprehensive settlement based on the two state solution with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders based on the 1967 lines.
We call for the full implementation of all relevant United Nations resolutions and adherence to international humanitarian law.
The commemoration of the Nabai is a stark reminder that the question of Palestine is not just a political dispute, but a profound test to our collective humanity.
Peace cannot be achieved through the management of conflict but through the courageous pursuit of justice.
Nigeria in the United Nations and the global community.
To move beyond rhetoric, we must intensify diplomatic efforts to end the cycle of violence and expansion of settlements which continue to undermine the viability of future Palestinian state as we honor the memory of those lost and the perseverance of those who remain.
Nigeria stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
We dream of a day when the Nakbai is remembered not as a continuing tragedy, but as the difficult beginning of a journey that eventually led to a just and lasting peace.
I thank you, Mr.
Chair.
Thank you very much, Nigeria.
They have South Africa followed by Saudi Arabia, South Africa.
Thank you, Chair.
As the Palestinian question stands at one of its most perilous and defining junctures since the Nagbar of 1948.
The situation in Gaza continues to reflect an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe amid the systematic targeting of infrastructure, depopulation, displacement, starvation, and humanitarian siege.
It is unfortunate that to this day, the Palestinian people have yet to have their dignity restored.
Through the recognition of Palestinian statehood.
The mass displacement of 1948 laid the foundation for a refugee crisis that remains a defining aspect of the Palestinian Israeli conflict.
Today, the consequences are starkly felt in Gaza, where the majority of the population are refugees and in the West Bank, where the demolitions, evictions, and settlement expansion continues to displace Palestinians from their land.
Moreover, the very existence of Gazans is being threatened with a continued act of genocide, while the illegal settlement construction on Palestinian land in the West Bank continues to expand, both brazen afrs against international law.
The Naga is not a distant memory.
It is not a distant historical event.
It is a lived reality for millions of Palestinian refugees who remain displaced across Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria 78 years later.
The right of return and the right of self determination, affirmed in UN General Resolution 194 remain unfulfilled.
Israel continues to wage its brutal genocide on the Palestinian people in the occupied territories.
It is undeniable that the existence of Palestine is being targeted as evidenced in both the menacing rhetoric and depraved acts of the Israeli government, army, and settler militias.
As the occupied Palestine and throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Palestinians are struggling to survive, struggling to remain in their homeland, struggling for freedom and dignity under the colonial genocidal occupation that seeks their erasure, failing that, submission to its domination.
All these actions are poignant reminders of the 1948 catastrophe.
South Africa stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
We reaffirm our support for the inalieable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self determination and to an independent sovereign state of Palestine.
We call for the protection of Palestinian civilians and refugees in accordance with international law.
The preservation of UR's mandate, and the immediate reversal of measures that obstruct its work.
In addition, we call for a credible political process that addresses the refugee question as a core final status issue.
In conclusion, Chaperson, our own experience of apartheid and disposition compels us to speak out against all forms of oppression, discrimination, and displacement.
The Nagbar must not be erased from collective memory nor repeated.
Justice, dignity, and the right of return cannot be postponed immediately.
We are reminded today of the pertinence of Nelson Mandela's statement that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.
I thank you.
Thank you very much, South Africa.
Venezuela was supposed to speak before South Africa, but I give the floor to Venezuela, followed by Saudi Arabia and Guyana, Venezuela and sorry.
Chairman, we thank you for convening this special meeting where we are not only remembering an historic fact, but also an open wound that 78 years later continues to mark the lives of millions of Palestinians.
Chairman, the Nakba was and sadly remains a disaster for the Palestinian people and all peoples who are fighting for their fundamental right to exist.
This is not only memory, it's also the present.
It's a reminder of entire villages raised, but also the reality of families that today remain displaced and are being murdered.
It's the history of uprooting, but also the daily experience of those who still live under occupation under a regime of apartheid without their most fundamental rights being guaranteed.
Chairman, the NAP was merely one milestone in the long history of the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Since October 7th, 2023, the Palestinian people have been subject to an even more brutal bloody process accelerating the processes of genocide and ethnic cleansing that began during the 1920s.
The suffering of this people through displacement, systemic starvation, strategic bombings of the civilian population, and massacres against journalists, rescue workers, doctors, and other civilian groups has gone above the worst that this people had suffered before since 1947 2048 and 2023.
However, the systemic aggressions have caused negative consequences not only for the Palestinian people, but also for multilateralism and the very viability of the United Nations in Palestine.
We continue to see a failure to protect the civilian population, both in the Gaza strip as well as in the West Bank and other occupied Palestinian territories.
The Napa is not just a sad event of the past, but rather a painful prelude to the current suffering of the Palestinian people.
Today, it's expressing itself in new forms through the expansion of settlements, the demolition of homes, the displacement of entire communities, the uncertainty that comes with daily life, and attempts to exterminate an entire people who are refusing to cease to exist.
However, We also see resilience from this very people who have not renounced their identity and their right to live in dignity in an independent, free and sovereign state.
Chairman, the international community must be coherent in its functions and priorities.
We must uphold the multilateral system and the collective security of the United Nations, acting with determination to prevent new massacres and famine against the Palestinian people.
We reiterate once again the commitment of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the defense of international law, to multilateralism, justice, and peace, and our unshakable solidarity to the just Palestinian cause, the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self determination, including the establishment of a Palestinian state within pre 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, as well as the right of refugees to return.
The time has come for the Napa to no longer just be a living reality and for it finally to become a closed chapter surpassed by justice, liberty, human dignity, and peace.
Thank you very much, Chair.
Peninsula.
I have Saudi Arabia, followed by Guyana, Saudi Arabia, please.
In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate Mr.
Chair, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, we convene today on the 78th anniversary of the Aqaba, the pain when the Palestinian people lived the largest humanitarian crisis in the 20th century, that is Anaba.
This is not a page in the history books, but the story of people who still live Macaba on a daily basis.
Palestinians were dispossessed were forcibly dispossessed and millions were deprived of their basic human rights.
Unfortunately, this injustice continues, persists one generation after the other in refugee camps and in the occupied Palestinian territory where Palestinians face occupation, settlement activities, forced dispossession and daily violations by the occupation.
Ladies and gentlemen, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia reiterates today as it has done always, that the right does not elapse with time and that human dignity is non negotiable.
We renew our firm unwavering support to the Palestinian people in their pursuit for establishing their independent sovereign state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital in line with international resolutions.
But we say it very clearly.
Peace cannot be realized while one people live under occupation and security cannot be achieved when fundamental rights are being violated and the region cannot prosper when a whole people are denied their freedom and their future.
On this painful anniversary, we tell our Palestinian brothers, you are not alone.
Your cause is the cause of anyone who believes in justice and anyone who rejects injustice and who sees in humans a value that is sacred.
I reaffirm our commitment to work with the international community to achieve just a comprehensive, sustainable peace that ends catastrophe as a reality and restores to the Palestinian people their right to live and dignity.
Thank you, Mr.
Chair.
Saudi Arabia to Guyana followed by Kyrgyzstan.
Mr.
Chair, today we gather not only to reflect on a tragic historical event, but also to reaffirm our collective responsibility to uphold the principles of justice, human dignity, and international law.
78 years after the NkmaA of 1948, the Palestinian people continue to endure displacement, dispossession, occupation, and profound humanitarian suffering.
What began as a historical tragedy has evolved into a prolonged and painful reality for generations of Palestinians who continue to live without the full enjoyment of their inalienable rights, including the right to self determination.
The commemoration of the Nakba is therefore not only an exercise in remembering the past.
It is also a call for us to confront the continuing realities faced by Palestinians on the ground today, including forced displacement, destruction of civilian infrastructure, restrictions on movement, expansion of settlements, and a worsening humanitarian situation, particularly in Gaza.
Ghana remains deeply concerned by the immense civilian suffering and loss of life arising from the ongoing conflict.
We reiterate the imperative of full respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Throughout her tenure on the Security Council, Ghana consistently advocated for dialogue de escalation, humanitarian access, and the protection of innocent lives.
We supported meaningful council engagement aimed at alleviating human suffering and advancing the prospects for peace.
We reaffirmed the importance of the many General Assembly resolutions which have consistently underscored the permanent responsibility of the United Nations with respect to the question of Palestine, including resolutions affirming the right of the Palestinian people to self determination and calling for a peaceful settlement based on international law and relevant resolutions.
Sadly, the situation today remains largely unchanged.
Mr.
Chair, dear colleagues, Afghanist's position has remained longstanding and principled.
We support the two state solution with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security within and internationally recognized borders, consistent with international law and relevant resolutions.
We believe that not only We believe, in fact, that only a just, comprehensive, and lasting political solution can bring an end to this decades long conflict as a country deeply committed to multilateralism and the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, Afghanistan's in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their legitimate aspirations for peace, dignity, statehood, and a future free from fear and violence.
May this commemoration strengthen international resolve to pursue justice, accountability, and a durable peace for the Palestinian people and for the region as a whole, I thank you.
Thank you very much, Guyana.
I give the floor to Clikistan followed by Pakistan.
Mr.
Chairman, Excellencies, dear brother, doctor Mansour.
The Kyrgyz Republic is honored to take part in today's commemoration marking the anniversary of the Nakba, the tragic catastrophe of 1948, during which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were killed and their loved ones forced to flee their homes and lands.
The Nakba is not simply a historical event.
It is a wound that has never healed, carried across generations alive in the memory of the Palestinian people.
To this day, we welcome the decision of the General Assembly to formally commemorate this tragedy under Resolution 79 82.
It is an important step, one that reminds the international community of the enduring plight of the Palestinian people and of the need for a just solution grounded in international law and UN resolutions.
This morning, we listened with great sorrow to the testimonies by the mother of Hihinrajab and by the family of A Al Nasan.
The words remind us that the humanitarian crisis facing civilians in Gaza and the West Bank demands the urgent attention of us all.
Excellencies, Kyrgyzstan from the very first days of our independence has stood in support of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
We also have consistently supported General Assembly resolutions affirming the Palestinian people's right to self determination and to an independent state of their own.
Our nation is in a profound state of shock and disbelief at the immense scale of human suffering unfolding in Gaza.
We feel deep anguish as we witness day after day on our television screens, the suffering of women, children, the elderly, entire families, and communities left without protection, safety, or hope.
We struggle to comprehend our humanity as a whole and our United Nations in particular, continues to fall short in preventing and alleviating such suffering.
We call on all parties to fully respect international humanitarian law and to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those who need it without delay.
Kyrgyzstan believes that a just, comprehensive and lasting resolution to this conflict must be based on UN resolutions and on the principle of two states living side by side in peace and security within the borders of 1967.
This principle is reflected in Resolution 79 82 and it remains our guide.
Today, we honor the memory of those who lost their homes in 1948, and we reaffirm our unwavering support for the Palestinians right to freedom, dignity, and statehood.
May this day serve as a renewed commitment by all of us to work towards a peace that is just and lasting.
I thank you.
Thank you very much, Kygistan I give the floor to Pakistan followed by League of Arab States, Pakistan, please.
Thank you, Mr.
Chair.
Excellencies, colleagues.
78 years ago, more than 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced and uprooted from their homes.
Entire cities that had flourished for centuries were emptied, occupied, and renamed.
This tragedy came to be known as Nakba, the catastrophe.
Tragically for the Palestinians, the Nakba is not a closed chapter of history.
It is continuing The reality marked by occupation, displacement, dispossession, and denial of rights.
The right of return of Palestinian refugees affirmed in resolution 194 remains unfulfilled and millions of Palestinians continue to live in exile and denied the right to return to their homes.
Refugee camps that were meant to be temporary have become symbols of prolonged statelessness and collective suffering.
Today, as we commemorate the Nakba, we are also witnessing its most devastating contemporary manifestation in Gaza.
For two years, Gaza endured devastating Israeli attacks with over 70,000 Palestinians killed, majority of them women and children.
The overwhelming majority of Gaza's population has been forcibly displaced multiple times.
The heart wrenching killing of innocent children, including Hendrajab has come to symbolize the unbearable human cost of this tragedy.
At the same time, in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, illegal settlement expansion, settler violence, forced displacement, arbitrary restrictions, and collective punishment continue unabated.
The condemnable storming of the Al Aqsa mosque by Israeli extremists is the most recent manifestation of these policies, whose illegality and nefarious objectives are evident to alter the demographic and geographic character of the occupied Palestinian territory and to make Palestinian existence on their own land increasingly untenable.
The chair Arwa created to hold the space for refugees return remains indispensable.
For millions of Palestinian refugees, the international community must ensure its continued political and financial support.
On this solemn anniversary, remembrance alone is not enough.
Nakba must not be allowed to continue into another generation of Palestinians.
It must end through justice, accountability, and vocation of illegal occupation.
Mr.
Chair, the support for Palestine is etched in Pakistan's own independence struggle.
Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the people of Palestine.
In their just struggle for self determination, freedom, and dignity.
We believe that the only viable path to a just and durable peace is the realization of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people through the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and contiguous Palestinian state on the basis of the pre 1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
I thank you.
Thank you very much, Pakistan.
I give the floor to League of Arab State, followed by Egypt and Iran.
N.
Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
Allow me, Mr.
Chairman, to begin by expressing on behalf of the League of Arab States our deep appreciation for your esteemed committee for convening this important meeting and for the moving testimonies that we've listened to today, led by the testimony by the mother of the martyr Child Hinderajab and the family of the martyr Childs and Assan in Ramallah.
I would also like to express appreciation for the contribution of His Excellency, doctor Toruk Mitri in commemorating the great Palestinian historian, doctor Alid Raldi I also salute the statement delivered by his Excency Rad Mansour on behalf of his Excellency, President Mahmoud Abs.
I also applaud the organization by the committee of the screening last Wednesday of all that is left of you.
With distinct attendance, especially by Director Shirin Dabas and the rich conversation that took place.
I recommend to the members who were unable to attend and the states and organizations present today to watch this important work of art that conveys the issue of the Nakoa through three successive generations of the Palestinian people.
Mr.
Chairman, at the United Nations, we must seize this commemoration to assess how the United Nations and the international community has addressed the question of Palestine and the extent to which this has contributed to strengthening the Palestinian people's ability throughout the Palestinian territory to exercise their legitimate and inalienable rights.
Foremost among which is the right to live in dignity, freedom in their independent sovereign state.
There is no doubt that the adoption by the UN Conference on the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and the implementation of the two state solution under the joint French Saudi presidency of the New York Declaration and the subsequent adoption by the General Assembly through an overwhelming majority, including a clear plan of action towards achieving this objective, as well as the increasing number of states recognizing the state of Palestine now exceeding 160 countries.
All of this has injected positive momentum towards realizing the vision underlying the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002.
Equally the 20 point initiative by President Trump and endorsed by Security Council resolution 28 003 has provided additional impetus to efforts in this regard after the success of Egyptian Qatri, Turkish, and American mediation in reaching a cease fire and completing the implementation of its first phase, despite the repeated Israeli violations.
These violations which have expanded to include efforts to illegally annex the West Bank and to displace the Palestinian people to neighboring countries through starvation as a weapon of war.
The central question that arises today based on Security Council resolutions 233-04-2803, and other relevant resolutions is when and how will these initiatives and parallel overlapping plans, each with its own mechanisms and procedures be implemented? How can we guarantee their full implementation in Maner that leads to the full enjoyment of the Palestinian people of their inalienable rights in their long awaited independent state, especially as we do not yet witness any genuine effort to ensure the full implementation of the recovery and reconstruction plan for Raza that was adopted at the emergency Arab Summit in Cairo and which aims to restore normal life in Gaza? We also have not witnessed any real activities of the numerous mechanisms approved under President Trump's initiative in a way that will help restore calm and stability on the ground, especially as the international community's attention at this stage is focused on addressing the volatile situation, the explosive situation in the Arabian Gulf region and halting the brutal Iranian attacks against the Gulf states and restoring the full freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormouz in order to avert the catastrophic consequences of its closure.
Or the restriction of international navigation and the impact of this on energy and food security and global trade.
These developments have led to humanitarian repercussions on all of our countries in the Arab region and beyond.
Accordingly, it is necessary today to issue a clear warning against the dangers of the continued Israeli violations without accountability, including the ongoing military attacks, settler violence backed by the extremist Israeli government and the assaults on Islamic and Christian holy sites.
Last of which was just yesterday.
We must address resolutely all the measures and laws in Israel that violate the human rights of the Palestinian people, including the death sentence against the prisoners.
It is also necessary to strengthen Unwa's capacity to carry out its mandate supporting Palestinian refugees displaced by the Nakba until they return to their Palestinian state in accordance with the two state solution.
This must be in parallel with providing all financial support necessary for the immediate implementation of the recovery and reconstruction plan for Raza.
We must allow full humanitarian access at large scale for it to reach the Palestinian people who remain committed to their land and their identity.
In this regard, I can only reiterate what His Ecency Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Mr.
Ahmad Adré has affirmed.
He clearly expressed the firm Arab position that rejects displacement or liquidation of the Palestinian question through eliminating the right to return, and I quote, Palestinians will never be left alone.
They will not be allowed to suffer a second Naba or that their question or cause be erased or that their legitimate rights be denied.
Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
They have Bahrain flu followed by Egypt and Iran.
S Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.
In this commemoration of the Nkpa, we remember the suffering of our Palestinian brothers and sisters, the suffering that has extended for more than seven decades.
This commemoration represents a humane and political occasion.
The occasion reiterates the continued legitimacy of the question of Palestine as the central question for the Arab world and a necessary pillar to achieve peace and stability in the region.
The King of Bahrain reiterates on this occasion its firm position.
Represent by its commitment to the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people at the foremost of which is the right to self determination and independence and an independent state on the borders of June 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital as per the two state solution and the Arab Peace Initiative and the international resolutions.
The Kingdom of Bahrain reiterates the need to build on the initiatives and international processes, including efforts to support the recognition of the state of Palestine and granting Palestine full membership at the United Nations and strengthening the political track based on the adopted agreements until a lasting and full peace is achieved that fulfills the aspirations of the Palestinian people.
Through as well the different processes, such as the Board of Peace, which was welcomed by Security Council Resolution 20 803, and its subsidiary organs, as well as the New York Declaration and the Committee on humanitarian access for the Palestine people, the Kingdom, affirms the need to work together and integrated fashion between these different processes in order to strengthen their effectiveness and to enable the Palestinian government to uphold its responsibilities and protect civilians and guarantee the fulfillment of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
Mr.
Chairman, we thank you for convening this meeting.
Thank you very much.
I have in the order, Egypt, Iran, Maldives, followed by Colombia, Egypt, you have the floor.
Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
Naturally, Egypt aligns itself with the statement delivered by Libya on behalf of the Arab group, as well as the Islamic group delivered by Turkey.
Instead of delivering a statement that repeats what we all agree with, as we've heard from all the different delegations, allow me, Mr.
Chairman, to deliver parts of a poem by Mahmoud Darwish, the great Palestinian poet in 1964.
Identity card is the name of the poem.
I will deliver this in English to guarantee that the message is delivered to everyone.
Write this down.
Write this down, I am an Arab.
I have a first name but no surname.
I am patient in a country where people are enraged.
My roots were entrenched before the birth of time and before the opening of the eras and before the pines and the olive trees and before the grass ever grew.
My father descends from a family that plowed the Earth.
I am not from a privileged class.
My grandfather was a farmer.
He was neither well bred nor well born, but my family taught me the pride of the sun before teaching me to read.
And my house is like a watchman's hut made of branches and vines.
Are you satisfied with my status? I am just a name with no surname.
Now write this.
I am an Arab, my hair is dark, my eyes are brown, and my distinctive feature is the Kaila on my head.
But what is my address? I am from a forgotten, defenseless village.
Its streets are no longer and they have no names.
Now write this down.
I am an Arab.
You have stolen the citrus groves of my ancestors and the land which I cultivated with my children, and you left us nothing for our offspring except for these rocks.
Will the regime now take these rocks as well? Therefore, write this down.
I do not hate people nor do I encroach on their property.
But if I am hungry, beware.
Beware, beware of my hunger and beware of my anger.
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Egypt, for this very beautiful test.
Now I give the floor to Iran followed by Maldiv and Colombia.
In the name of God the compassionate the merciful, Mr.
Chair, Ambassador Mansour, Excellencies.
On the 78th anniversary of the Nagp which marked the mass displacement of Palestinian and remains a profound regional tragedy, we are reminded of their collective expulsion and the long standing denial of their fundamental rights, including the rights to self determination.
Despite decades of violence, war crimes, and the ongoing impact of the occupation, the Palestinian people have preserved their identity, dignity, and legitimate aspiration.
Their struggle underscore the urgent need for international mobilization to confront the root cause of this situation, including the Zioniste occupational and expansionist policies that drives the inhuman pressures imposed on Palestinians, such as starving civilians, including children, an act of state terrorism aimed at ethnic cleansing and displacement of Palestinians from their homeland.
While reaffirming its solidarity with the Palestinian people, the Islamic Republic of Iran stressed that the support for the cause must move beyond a sole expression of sympathy.
It requires actively addressing these root causes which are reinforced by broader patterns of militarism by the occupying regime in the region and supported by the extra regional actors.
Continuation of this situation demands a critical reassessment of approach that have failed to deliver peace or justice.
Surrender is not an option.
History will honor those who resisted oppression and defended freedom and self determination, and it will judge those who enabled injustice silence or indifference.
We remain convinced that the future of Palestine must be determined by its own people.
The international community must adopt a more action oriented approach, reject double standards, and align its conduct with the universal values of claims to uphold.
We believe that pursuit of justice leaves no path other than a steadfast resistance.
This determination grounded in unity, cooperation, and a shared sense of purposes among the region remains essential for achieving justice and securing a lasting peace.
I thank you.
Thank you very much, Iran.
I give the floor to Maldives, followed by Colombia in Oman, Maldives, please.
Thank you, Chair.
The Maldives aligns with the statement delivered by the OIC.
The Maldives joins the international community in marking the 78th anniversary of the Nakba in spirit of reflection and solidarity.
For Palestinians, the Nakba is not confined to an annual commemoration, nor is it merely a chapter in the history books.
It remains a lived reality across generations, marked through displacement, occupation, loss, and in their continuous pursuit for justice, dignity, and self determination.
The expansion of Israeli settlements continue to alter the status quo in the occupied territories.
This constitutes a clear breach of the international law.
The Maldives reiterates that international law must not be applied selectively.
Palestinians are no exception to the right to live freely on their land in dignity, peace, and security.
Commorating the Nakba must go beyond remembrance.
It must be a reminder of collective responsibility, particularly when human suffering is normalized.
And when accountability remains elusive, it must galvanize meaningful action and renewed international commitment to justice and accountability.
The Maldives calls for renewed international efforts towards a just comprehensive and lasting resolution of the Palestinian question.
That must be incurred in the recognition of Palestine as independent and sovereign state based on the pre 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mas.
I give the floor to Colombia, followed by Oman and Jordan, Colombia.
Presidenti Chairman, Colombia thanks you for convening this commemorative meeting and applauds the committee on the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people for keeping the historic memory of the Napa alive and the collective responsibility of this organization, vis-à-vis a tragedy that 78 years later continues to unfold before our eyes.
The mass forced displacement of millions of Palestinians across the whole Palestinian territories and the policies of segregation and annexations, systemic and organized violence constitute the historic continuation of the same process of dispossession, territorial fragmentation, and the denial of the rights of the Palestinian people to exist in freedom, autonomy, and dignity.
Today, Gaza faces one of the darkest chapters in its recent history.
The Gaza genocide, over the last 2.5 years has left more than 72,000 Palestinian people murdered, more than 70,000 injured, and many more thousands who are still living amongst rubble.
Many more are dying due to the deliberate policies of the Israeli regime that is impeding access to health services and means for a decent livelihood today with a commitment the ceasefire is repeatedly violated and the population subject to hunger in salubrious conditions.
At the same time, in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, we are seeing an entrenchment of the de facto violence by settlers, confiscation of property, and the displacement of Palestinian communities.
These policies are in open violation of international law of General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, and the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of July 2024.
The NAPA does not only belong in the past.
It didn't end in 1948.
It is an ongoing process.
The international community cannot continue to treat these facts as isolated or sporadic.
Continuity has prolonged the tragedy.
Accountability is an essential condition for peace.
Colombia reaffirms its historic solidarity to the Palestinian people and to their inalienable rights to self determination to return and to reparations, and to live in a sovereign and independent, viable, contiguous territory within pre 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Thank you very much.
Colombia, I give the floor to Oman, followed by Jordan and United Arab Emigrate.
Oman, please.
Thank you, Mr.
Chair.
Today, the Sultanate of Raman joins in commemorating the 78th anniversary of the Palestinian ACA, not merely as an occasion to recall a tragedy of the past, but as an ongoing issue whose painful chapters continue to unfold before the eyes and the conscience of the world in light of the continued occupation, the widening cycle of violence, and the growing humanitarian suffering endured by our brotherly Palestinian people.
The Sultanate of Aman expresses its appreciation for the continued efforts of the committee on the exercise of the inalieible rights of the Palestinian people.
At the same time, Aman affirms that keeping the Palestinian issue alive in the conscience of the international community is not only tied to the just nature of the cause itself, but rather to the ability of the international system to uphold its fundamental principles of justice, human dignity, respect for international law, and the rejection of occupation and policies of exclusion and displacement.
Mr.
Chair.
We join those who spoke before us in condemning what is taking place in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in the Gaza strip, in terms of the unprecedented humanitarian deterioration and the continued escalation in the West Bank, the expansion of settlements, and the repeated violations of Islamic and Christian holy sites.
All of this is exacerbating tensions and undermining the prospects for peace and stability in the region.
Based on the above, the Sultanate Aman affirms that security cannot be achieved through force or through imposing a fait accompli.
Rather, it can only be achieved through justice and respecting the legitimate rights of peoples.
We affirm that any attempt to diminish historic or legal rights or to bypass the rights of the Palestinian people will only lead to further tension and instability.
Mr.
Chair, the past decades have demonstrated that the absence of a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause will always be a source of tension and instability in the region.
Therefore, the Sultan Nat Aman renews its call for an immediate stop to the machinery of destruction, the need to ensure the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and to provide protection for civilians and to create appropriate conditions to launch a serious political process that leads to the end of the occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the four June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative, and the two state solution.
At A Aman emphasizes the importance of supporting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees on Arwa and allowing it to continue its noble humanitarian mission away from any attempts that aim to undermine its role or diminish its mandate, given its vital responsibility towards the millions of Palestinian refugees.
Mr.
Chairman.
Sultanate of Aman, and based on its steadfast approach that advocates for dialogue, justice, and peaceful solutions, believes that a just and lasting peace remains the only strategic option capable of achieving security, stability and prosperity for all the peoples of the region.
In closing, the Sultanate of Oman reduced its firm solidarity with the brotherly Palestinian people and its full support for the retainment of their legitimate and inalienable rights, foremost among them, their right to self determination and the establishment of an independent and sovereign state.
Thank you, Mr.
Chair.
Thank you very much, S.
I give the floor to Jordan, followed by United Arab Emigrates.
Jordan, please.
Kn.
Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
On the anniversary of the commemoration of the Nakaba, Jordan affirms that the Palestinian cause is our first and central issue and that defending the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, the rights to freedom and independence and statehood is an unwavering political and historic commitment.
Ending the illegal Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories is a necessity that is legal, moral and political.
It constitutes the key to security and stability for the region and all its peoples.
It is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace.
Jordan stresses the need for the United Nations and the international community to continue to provide protection to the Palestinian people and their rights until this is achieved against any attempts aimed at displacing Palestinians from their land or detracting from their legitimate rights.
Here, Jordan emphasizes the importance of implementing President Trump's plan with all its provisions, which was adopted by the Security Council by virtue of resolution 2803.
Jordan will continue to support the Palestinian people and Jordan will continue to protect Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem based on the Hashemite custodianship, which is a historic custodianship and until the attainment of the legitimate rights and the establishment of the independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the lines of the June four, 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital.
I thank you, sir.
Thank you very much, Jordan.
I give the floor to Inti Arab Emirates.
S.
Mr.
Chair, the 78th anniversary of the Palestinian NACBA comes at a time when the suffering of the Palestinian people continues despite the significant developments witnessed in the past period, developments that have renewed momentum for international efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace.
While the ceasefire achieved in Gaza at the end of last year was an important step towards alleviating humanitarian suffering, the repercussions of the catastrophic war remain evident before us with the extensive destruction of the infrastructure, mass displacement, and the severe deterioration of humanitarian and living conditions.
Not to mention, the suffering of civilians, especially women and children who have lost security, shelter, and basic services.
The conditions in the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in the West Bank, including E Jerusalem, these conditions continue to witness a dangerous escalation manifested in settlement expansion, settler violence, and attempts to impose illegal realities that undermine the prospects for peace and the two state solution.
In this context, the UAE affirms its categorical rejection of any attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land or to oppose a reality that would uproot Palestinians from their homeland.
Which would amount to a new Nakba against the Palestinians.
The United Arab Emirates affirms firm and supportive position towards the brother of the Palestinian people and their inelible rights, foremost among which is the establishment of their independent and sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the two state solution basis.
It also stresses the importance of building on recent developments to transform the ceasefire into a sustainable path leading to security, stability, and a just and lasting peace.
At the same time, the UAE expresses its deep concern over the continued deterioration in the West Bank, including Jerusalem amid escalating settlement activities, settler violence and attempts to impose illegal facts on the ground.
This undermines the prospects of peace and threatens the possibility of realizing an independent Palestinian state.
We stress the need to reject any measures aimed at changing the status quo of Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian holy sites and we stress the need to ensure the freedom of worship and access to holy places, and we affirm that Has might custodianship over these sites.
This painful anniversary once again highlights the importance of serious action towards ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory and putting end to this conflict.
We need to launch a clear and irreversible political horizon that fulfill the aspirations of the Palestinian people security and dignity and ensures a more stable and prosperous future for all the peoples of the region.
I thank you.
Thank you very much for Arab Emigates.
I give the floor to Lebanon, followed by Tunisia.
Mr.
Chair, the Nakba is not a relic of the past, nor is it a date confined to the archives of history.
For the Palestinian people, it is a lived and painful reality that unfolds every single day.
We are here today not just to mark an anniversary, but to acknowledge that the Palestinian people are subjected to a continuous catastrophe.
Nowhere is this reality more harrowing than in Hez.
Today, Hz stands as a testament to the failure of the international community.
We see a population trapped in a cycle of relentless bombardment and human made deprivation.
The amount of suffering endured by the Palestinian people is not a burden that can easily be put into words.
It is measured in decades of displacement and the denial of basic human rights.
In the West Bank, the escalation of settler violence and the systemic expansion of illegal outposts are not merely concerning.
They are a direct assault on the possibility of any viable and just peace.
Lebanon stands in unwavering solidarity with a people whose resilience across generations remains extraordinary.
Restoring dignity requires more than rhetoric.
It requires the recognition of the Palestinian right to self determination and the fundamental right of return for refugees.
Justice cannot remain selective.
We must move toward a two state solution with an independent Palestinian state.
To this end, Lebanon joins the growing international chorus calling for the full membership of the state of Palestine within the United Nations.
Accountability is the only path forward.
The International Court of Justice has been unequivocal.
The continued presence of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful.
This occupation must end without further delay or exception.
We all know what the obligations are.
They've been enshrined in various resolutions, be it that of the General Assembly or the Security Council.
It is therefore the duty of the international community.
It is our duty to move beyond words and push for a future where peace is finally a reality, not a deferred hope.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
I give the floor to Tunisia and I have three more speakers, Arab Republic, Yemen, and Kuwait.
Tunisia, you have the floor.
Such Cider.
Thank you, Mr.
Chair.
Today is the 78th anniversary of the Nacbah, which is a day where we commemorate the struggles of the strong Palestinian people as they face the unjust war of brutality over decades as they seek to fulfill their aspirations to live in an independent and sovereign state on all the lands of Palestine.
This anniversary comes as the occupation tightens the noose around the West Bank and Gaza and as it targets systematically the basic foundations of daily life with no accountability at all.
This is a blatant and unprecedented violation of all international values and human values as well.
Therefore, we stand in full respect for the stead fatness of the Pasian people who alone stand to face this conceit and brutality of the occupying power as the international community remains suspiciously silent.
They are thus recording new historic epics that have not been witnessed by humanity as they continue to struggle to regain their lands and their legitimate historic rights in full and with with completeness, we continue our support for the Palestinian people as they struggle to uphold their illegal rights that will stand forever and so that they can regain their full historic rights and establish their country under the complete territory of land with Atif as its capital.
Thank you.
I give the floor to Arab Republic, followed by Yemen.
Sorry.
Thank you, Mr.
President, Mr.
Chair.
I'll be brief.
Everybody in this room is aware of the changes that Syria has undergone over the past two years.
But amidst these upheavals, one thing remains unchanged, which is the Syrian people and Syrian government and Syrian states position on the just Palestinian cause.
Today, Syria renews its position supporting this cause.
Despite the fact that 70, 80 years have passed since the Nacaba took place, we in Syria have lived it with our brotherly Palestinian people.
We have hosted them, we have worked with them, and we will continue to support them until their rights are regained.
We have felt pain, and we have shared this pain with them.
Mr.
Chair, the Syrian people will never abandon the Palestinian people and their just cause, and we in this forum and all fora will continue to call for their rights until the state of Palestine becomes a state that lives within its internationally recognized borders.
Mr.
Chair, I am confident that with the efforts of everyone in this room and Ambassador Riyadh, that we soon will celebrate Palestine's full membership in the United Nations as it sits amongst us today.
I thank you.
Thank you very much, public.
I give the floor to Yemen.
Sun say the rise.
Thank you, Mr.
Chair.
Today we commemorate the 78th anniversary of the Nakaba We were not here to recall an event that happened and remains in the archives in 1948, rather, we stand before a living crisis and a systematic policy of genocide and displacement that we continue to witness to this very day.
Mr.
Chair.
The international community must be aware of the true lessons of this n and catastrophe that followed the repeated wars against Gaza.
The apartheid policies, the policies of settlement and displacement in the West Bank.
The most important lesson is that the machinery of killing and destruction, no matter how strong it becomes, will not be able to liquidate a people who believe in their cause.
They will not be able to hide a reality whose roots are deep in its land.
Our position is firm and we stress that what is happening in Gaza and the continued settlement and displacement in the occupied West Bank are simply more chapters of a major NACBA that aim to eliminate the Palestinian people's right to exist.
Mr.
Chair, we confirm the basic tenets of Yemen on this important, a central cause to us.
We believe that security and stability in the Middle East will not be achieved unless the occupation is completely eliminated and ended and until an independent and sovereign Palestinian state is established on the four June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
We warn that the current Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank clearly aim to undermine any chance for the establishment of a Palestinian state and will turn the two state solution into simply a slow good that cannot be achieved in reality in closing.
Yemen, despite its deep wounds and the great challenges it is facing, will never abandon Palestine.
Palestine is in the heart of our political priorities and the existence of our peoples.
The Nakbas of the Palestinian people are the true and final test of the conscience of the international community and the system of human values.
The time has come for the international community to exit to simply stop issuing statements and start taking actions to protect the Palestinian people from this machine of destruction.
I thank you.
Thank you very much.
I give the floor to Cove.
S.
Thank you, Mr.
Chair.
I would also like to thank everyone who's here with us today to send a message of solidarity and support Mr.
Chair, 78 years have passed and Palestinians continue to keep the keys to their homes in their minds, their lands and their hearts and their pain wherever they went, wherever they go.
78 years have passed since entire families were uprooted from their homes, displaced and entire convoys containing Palestinian villages and towns leaving behind, opened doors.
And dinner tables that were never eaten and children growing up in diaspora as they memorized the names of places that they were never allowed to visit or even see.
Mr.
Chair, the Nakba is not simply a chapter in a history book, rather, it is a continuous human, a tale of a people that have not lost their right, despite their long suffering, a people who have not lost their identity, continued attempts to erase it, a people that have never lost hope despite all the pain.
Today, As we commemorate this day at the United Nations, we are not simply here to recall the past, rather, we are here to look at a present that is even more difficult.
In Gaza, our Palestinian brethren are experiencing one of the most painful human tragedies in modern history, children under the rubble.
Mothers who are bidding farewell to their children, families searching for safety and unable to find it, an entire people facing death, facing hunger, facing fear and deprivation, while the entire world stands helpless before this human bloodshed.
I There are questions that we must pose.
How can humanity become accustomed to these scenes? How can the international conscious accept for an entire people to remain hostage to war and occupation and to be refugees after all of these decades? The Palestinian people are not asking for the impossible.
All they're asking for is to live in freedom, to raise their children in safety, to pray with no fear.
To return home without the threat of shelling, displacement, or loss of dignity.
From this very rostrum and in every forum, my country, the State of Committee, will always stress that the Palestinian cause will be a cause of righteousness and justice and human dignity.
The people of Palestine are a symbol of steadfastness and they are not alone in their suffering.
On this painful day, we must ask ourselves, how much time will the world need to realize that true peace cannot be achieved without justice and that security cannot be achieved while an entire people are deprived of their most basic human and national rights.
In closing, Mr.
Chair, We seek blessings to the souls of the martyrs, freedom for Palestine, peace that is based on justice for steadfast people.
May God, blessings and peace be upon you.
Thank you very much, Kuwait.
I give the floor now to Minister atms for the payment of the State of Palestine.
Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
Allow me at the end to express on behalf of the Palestinian people and the leadership and also on behalf of the delegation of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, our gratitude for your participation with us, your presence in this room with us to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, to your statements and the content that reflect contained and also allow me to express our appreciation and thanks to the committee, to the leadership of the committee, the Bureau, for being with us for their efforts, for their statements, led by my twin brother, Ambassador of Senegal, the chairman of the committee, and also to the division and the team within the division that collaborated with our team from our mission under the leadership of the chairman and the Bureau in putting together this commemoration and also for the event that took place two days ago, which my brother Maged Abd Aziz referred to it by organizing showing a very moving film telling the Nakba of the Palestinian people through three generations in the presence of the leading actress and the director of the movie Davis.
I think that these commemorations in these two events at the United Nations is a testimony that the world, although we are not reaching the objective that we all aspire to, which is the attainment of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self determination, statehood, and the right of the refugees to return.
But our people are not despairing.
Our people are steadfasting on the ground, suffering immensely, but continuing the struggle in every corner of the land of the state of Palestine.
And we hear you that also you are contributing to the accumulation of steps and gains while we are marching until the deadline.
The Palestinian people are not going to be the exception to the rule.
One day, it looked like it was impossible for the people in South Africa to defeat the abhorrent system of apartheid.
But with their steadfastness and their struggle and solidarity and support by the international community and by the millions of people who were marching in the streets as they are marching in the streets in our case, in almost all cities, in all capitals, we are all accumulating on this process.
The most important thing that each and every country, each and every leader, each and every individual to contribute in a concrete way to this process, and one day in Shalon, that we will see the efforts of the Palestinian people and all those who love Palestine and inspired by the story of the Palestinian people will succeed in adding to this process and creating the tipping point in which we will succeed in breaking the backbone of this illegal occupation to end it and to allow the Palestinian people to enjoy freedom and dignity in their land, as was summarized by my Egyptian brother when he recited in English, one of the most famous poems of Mahmud Rish when he was at the beginning stage of his glorious contribution to the story of the Palestinian people in poetry.
As being maybe the most important contemporary poet in translating our tragedy into literature, And as we saw in the movie, a brilliant Palestinian actress, director translating also our story in art, fine art in a movie that should have won the Oscar.
But nevertheless, it is an inspiring movie telling our pain through our determination.
And through our resiliency to continue on the course until we succeed.
And I assure you that the Palestinian people will celebrate their freedom hopefully soon with efforts by the committee, by all of you and above all, by the steadfastness and resiliency of our people, we shall overcome and we shall see the state of Palestine free, independent, and full member of the United Nations.
I thank you very much my twin brother, Mr.
Chairman, for everything that you do.
Thank you for the cause of Palestine.
We will never forget, this special role.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Minister Mansau, dear colleagues, as we conclude, may your engagement strengthen our collective responsibility to preserve memory, uphold human dignity, and pursue a just and lasting peace for the Palestinian people.
Silence and indifference can never be an option in the face of such human suffering.
Thank you.
This meeting is action.
GA
General Assembly
Commemoration of the 78th anniversary of the Nakba Convened by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP)
The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will convene the annual commemoration of the Nakba provides a moment for reflection and mobilization toward a just, lasting solution to the Question of Palestine in accordance with international law—one essential for peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis. The commemorative event will be held on 15 May 2026, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the ECOSOC Chamber at UN Headquarters, New York.
Description
H.E. Mr. Coly Seck Chair, UN Palestinian Rights Committee; Permanent Representative of Senegal
H.E. Ms. Annalena Baerbock President, United Nations General Assembly
Mr. Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific
Testimony of Ms. Wesam Hamada, Mother of Hind Rajab
Statement of the President of the State of Palestine, delivered by H.E. Minister Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine
Testimony from the family of Aws Al-Na'san
Tribute to Walid Khalidi, the historian of Palestine and the Nakba
Statements by Member States
Closing.
The event will revisit the historical context of the Nakba and the events of 1948 and examine the ongoing manifestations of dispossession and displacement. It will highlight how these developments have been experienced by the Palestinian people and implemented on the ground. Through this event, the Committee aims to help preserve Palestinian historical memory and share this narrative with Member States and the wider public, while emphasizing existing obligations and potential avenues for meaningful international action.
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