Malaysian permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) Datuk Hussein Haniff said the Palestinian people would continue to suffer with prolonged negotiations.
“We’re perpetuating the historic injustice against the Palestinian people if we insist that their only hope for a Palestine state banks on endless negotiation with Israel while, at the same time, we allow Israel to move further away from a two-state solution,” he said.
The envoy was speaking at the open debate on the situation in the Middle East including the Palestinian question, at the UN Security Council in New York. The text of his speech was made available to Bernama.
Malaysia, recently elected as a non-permanent member of the Council for 2015-2016, strongly supported the Palestinian effort to set a time frame to end the Israeli occupation, said Hussein.
However, the Malaysian envoy reckoned that the Security Council remained in paralysis as Israel carried on its illegal actions with impunity.
Hussein said since the Security Council continued to shut its doors on Palestine, it should not blame or punish Palestine for trying to open other doors, based on international law and multilateralism, to attain the long-denied right to self-determination.
The envoy cited the Palestinian decision to accede to various internaional conventions and treaties earlier this year, including the four Geneva Conventions.
“We call on the international community, especially the Security Council, not to shut its doors again but to back the endeavor to end colonialism and apartheid against Palestine for the sake of peace and stability in the region,” he said.
Hussein further said that Malaysia was deeply concerned about increasing attacks and provocations by Israel on various holy sites in Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
“We strongly condemn attempts by the Israeli authorities to change the status and identity of the holy sites in Jerusalem.
“We call for such provocations to cease before the situation escalates and turns into another senseless and tragic incident,” he said.
Meanwhile, at the open debate on the ‘Working Methods of the Security Council’, Hussein said Malaysia was encouraged to note that calls for better transparency, coherence and accountability on the part of the Council by the wider membership had – to a certain extent – been implemented or taken on board.
“My delegation wishes to underscore that effecting possible inprovements on the Council’s working methods should not take place in a vacuum,” he said as he alluded to several initiatives already underway or about to commence.
Citing the upcoming review of the Peacebuilding Commission, UN Peacekeeping Operations as well as Special Political Missions, he said the outcome of these and other relevant intergovernmental initiatives should be taken into account in the Council’s deliberations on improving its working methods.
Malaysia also called for more coordination between the Security Council and troop contributing countries to strengthen the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations.
— BERNAMA
