INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE
DECLARATION OF THE GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE C.C. OF AKEL ANDROS KYPRIANOU
29 NOVEMBER 2018, EMBASSY OF PALESTINE, NICOSIA
Dear friend Ambassador of Palestine, Jubran Taweel, we are living in a period characterized by increased militarization and an ongoing arms race, the escalation of tension and the danger of flash points breaking out in our turbulent region of the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean. In these conditions, Israel’s occupation of Palestine for 51 years has not only continued, but has deepened and is being consolidated. The Palestinian people continue to be subjected to all the consequences of the occupation.
Israel continues to violate every concept of international law, but also international humanitarian law. In 1947, with UN resolution 181, the decision was taken to establish two states in historic Palestine and a special international status for Jerusalem was established. This resolution was implemented only as far as the establishment of Israel is concerned, with the Palestinian people taking the road of a refugee and to date it is asserting the self-evident: its own State.
In 1980, UN Security Council Resolution 478 determined that all the legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying power, and which have altered or purport to alter the character and status of Jerusalem, in particular Israel’s “Basic Law” (that proclaimed Jerusalem as its full and unified capital), are null and void, as never having been made and must be annulled immediately.
Instead of respecting and implementing this resolution, the Palestinians are being expelled by every illegal means from their homes and properties in East Jerusalem, with the aim of the complete alteration of the demographic character of this sacred city for Jews, Christians and Muslims. Last December, and in violation of UN resolutions, the US recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel. They subsequently transferred their Embassy there. This decision was denounced also by the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus.
With the support of the US, every prospect of a peaceful solution to the Palestinian problem is being destroyed. The efforts of Israel and US to abolish the international recognition of the refugee status for five (5) million Palestinian refugees are part of the plan they want to impose. The increasing colonization of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in itself constitutes a war crime. With more than 750,000 settlers, Israel is destroying every possibility of creating a viable, independent Palestinian state. The demolition of homes, sheds and the displacement of Palestinians is continuing. Gaza is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster as a result of its continued blockade. The Palestinian economy is full dependent on Israel.
More than five thousand Palestinians (5,580 according to figures released in October 2018) are in Israeli prisons. Among them, five (5) members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, fifty-two (52) women and two hundred and fifty (250) children, thirty-five (35) of them under the age of 16 !!! We condemn this inhumane treatment of Palestinian children, which has been denounced in reports released by international organizations and international forums and bodies. With the solidarity meeting with the children of Palestine being organized by AKEL next Saturday, we demand their immediate release.
The Palestinian problem is at the heart of the Middle East. In every respect a just solution with the restoration of international law and the implementation of UN resolutions is needed urgently. The responsibility of all UN member states is to recognize the Palestinian State as an independent, sovereign, viable state with territorial cohesion, on the borders of 4th June 1967 and with East Jerusalem as its capital.
On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, AKEL reaffirms its unreserved solidarity with the heroic struggle being waged by the Palestinian people and the progressive forces in Israel who are struggling for the termination of the occupation. As Cypriots we know what it means to be uprooted and a refuge; we know what occupation and colonialization mean. We will continue in practice, from every podium and forum at our disposal (the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, international fora), expressing our solidarity and supporting the efforts for a just and peaceful solution to the Palestinian problem. This is the only way for peace to prevail in the Middle East for the sake of the children and future generations of both Palestine and Israel.
