“The new round of repression and massacre of unarmed Palestinian peaceful protesters in Gaza, including women and children, is the latest in an old pattern followed by the Israeli regime in the past seven decades," said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday while addressing a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Committee on Palestine in the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku.
Mr. Zarif’s remarks came after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salma, in an interview during his visit to US, publicly recognized the Israeli regime's existence.
Here comes the full text of his address:
Mr. Chairman,
I am pleased to participate in this meeting of the NAM Ministerial Committee on Palestine.
Our Movement has been right in placing emphasis on Palestine since its inception. It has always been the most outstanding issue on our agenda, because the basic rights of an entire people, including their right to self-determination, are at stake and the criminal policies and practices of the occupying Israeli regime to deny these rights have been the source of extended and wide-ranging atrocities against the Palestinian people for seven decades. Our Movement can and should translate its attention to this question into serious steps towards the realization of the basic rights of the Palestinian people. Regrettably, short-sighted policies of some regional governments in befriending the Zionist and sidelining our Palestinian cause have made the apartheid Zionist regime and its supporters more brazen in their ongoing criminal acts.
The new round of repression and massacre of unarmed Palestinian peaceful protesters in Gaza, including women and children, is the latest in an old pattern followed by the Israeli regime in the past seven decades. Given the circumstances, there is no doubt that these vicious attacks and killings were premeditated and deliberate. Those who support and enable the Israeli regime to commit these types of crimes have also the Palestinians’ blood on their hands. The impunity this regime has enjoyed for so long wouldn’t have been possible without the help it receives from the US and other public and private sources in the West.
Undoubtedly, recent unilateral policy measures by the new US administration, especially the unlawful announcement on al-Quds al-Sharif and the imminent transfer of US embassy to this city, are exacerbating the problem. These measures, which contravene international law and relevant UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, have demonstrated that the United States could have never been an impartial broker in dealing with the issue.
In the light of the recent reprehensible carnage in Gaza, it is imperative that NAM should take concrete actions in the United Nations to have the Security Council live up to its primary responsibility by taking a clear stance, condemning this new round of massacre and taking appropriate measures to provide protection for the Palestinian people. NAM needs to take collective action in the UNGA to establish an international inquiry bringing perpetrators to justice, to call for full restoration of the rights of Palestinians, in particular the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital, and to demand an immediate end to the siege on Gaza.
Mr. Chairman,
In closing, let me reiterate that we joined the consensus on the Declaration adopted in this meeting in solidarity with the people of Palestine, while we have reservations on some parts of the text, especially those that may be construed as recognizing the Israeli regime.
Thank you
YNG/PR
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