The resolution on the dramatic developments in Israel and Palestine tabled by the Parliamentary Group of AKEL-Left-New Forces in today’s Plenary of the House of Representatives.

 

 

(tabled by the AKEL-Left-New Forces Parliamentary Group)

RESOLUTION ON THE DRAMATIC DEVELOPMENTS IN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

12 October 2023

The House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus

• Having regard to all previous Plenary Resolutions of the House on the situation in the Middle East
• Having regard to all the Resolutions of the UN General Assembly, the Security Council and the Human Rights Committee/Council of the United Nations on the Middle East and the Palestinian question, the relevant reports of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as well as the Opinion of the International Court of Justice of the Hague of 9 July 2004
• Having regard to the EU Council Conclusions on the Middle East Peace Process of 18 January 2016 on the EU’s commitment to “a two-state solution that meets the security needs of Israelis and Palestinians and the aspirations of Palestinians for the establishment of a state and sovereignty, will end the occupation that began in 1967 and resolve all the permanent status issues in order to put an end to the conflict”
• Having regard to the statement of the Secretary-General of the UN of 9 October 2023 with regards the situation in the Middle East

Decides as follows:

1. Denounces unequivocally the murders and kidnappings of Israeli civilians by “Hamas” as acts of terrorism and barbarism, which have nothing to do with the legitimate right of resistance to the occupation. It demands the immediate release of all Israeli civilians who have been kidnapped.
2. Denounces unequivocally the killings of civilians and the imposition of collective punishment on the Palestinian people by the Israeli government, through a total blockade of Gaza, actions which are prohibited by the international humanitarian law. It demands an end to the military attacks against Palestinian civilians and humanitarian infrastructures.
3. Calls on the United Nations to mobilise immediately to bring about a ceasefire, an end to the bloodshed and preventing the conflict from developing into a wider war in the region and new waves of refugees in our region.
4. Calls for the immediate restoration of water, electricity, fuel and food supplies to Gaza necessary for the survival of the more than two million civilians. Calls on the UN and the international community to provide the necessary medical supplies to treat the wounded.
5. Notes the UN Secretary-General’s statement that the upsurge in violence has not come in a vacuum, but has grown out of a long-standing conflict, with a 56-year long occupation and no political end in sight. It points out the recent intensification of violence by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank and Jerusalem, the expansion of the illegal settlements and the continued killings and imprisonment of Palestinians.
6. Stresses that the Palestinian and Israeli peoples have the right to live in peace and security and that the vicious circle of blood and violence in Israel and Palestine can be broken by terminating the Israeli occupation and colonalisation of the Palestinian territories and by a two state solution, on the basis of the UN Resolutions, which provide for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the borders of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living in peace side by side with the State of Israel.
7. Underlines that Cyprus – itself a victim of continued occupation, colonisation and violation of international law by Turkey – defends international law and the Resolutions of the UNSC for the resolution of outstanding international issues. Calls on the Government of the Republic to reaffirm its commitment to the relevant Resolutions of the UN Security Council on the solution of the Middle East problem.