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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 16 May 2023

Palestinian President Abbas urges U.N. to suspend Israel

By EDITH M. LEDERER government and its plan to
Associated Press overhaul Israel’s judiciary
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — show no sign of abating.
Palestinian President Mah- Israel’s polarization and the
moud Abbas urged the Netanyahu government’s
United Nations on Monday extremist positions have
to suspend Israel’s mem- also sparked growing inter-
bership unless it implements national concern.
resolutions establishing Mansour said Friday that
separate Jewish and Arab Palestinian refugees “are
states and the return of Pal- being forcibly removed
estinian refugees. from their homes and forc-
Abbas spoke during the first ibly transferred by Israel at
official U.N. commemora- an unprecedented rate,”
tion of the flight of hundreds reminiscent of 1948.
of thousands of Palestinians In a speech to the U.N. Se-
from what is now Israel fol- curity Council on April 25,
lowing the U.N.’s partition Palestinian Foreign Minis-
of British-ruled Palestine into ter Riyad Malki renewed
separate Jewish and Arab his call for countries that
states 75 years ago. haven’t yet recognized the
Israel’s U.N. ambassador, state of Palestine “to do so
Gilad Erdan, had sent let- as a means to salvage the
ters to General Assembly moribund two-state solu-
ambassadors condemn- tion.” He also urged coun-
ing the commemoration tries to support the Palestin-
and urging them not to ian request for full member-
attend what he called an Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a conference to support Jerusalem at the ship in the United Nations,
“abominable event” and Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 12, 2023. which would demonstrate
a “blatant attempt to dis- Associated Press international support for a
tort history.” He said those two-state solution where Is-
who attended would be dence. The Arabs rejected they were given in the par- organize a high-level event raelis and Palestinians lived
the plan and neighboring tition.
on May 15 to commemo-
condoning antisemitism side-by-side in peace.
and giving a green light to Arab countries launched Abbas said Palestinians are rate the Nakba. The Unit- To hurt Israel economically,
a war against the Jewish not against Jews, but “I am ed States was among the
Palestinians “to continue Malki urged countries to
exploiting international or- state. against those who occupy countries that joined Israel ban products from Israeli
The Nakba commemorates our land.”
in voting against the resolu-
gans to promote their libel- settlements and trade with
ous narrative.” the estimated 700,000 Pal- He said Israel should rec- tion. settlements, to “sanction
estinians who fled or were ognize and apologize for Explaining why a U.N. com-
Israel and the United States those who collect funds for
were among those that forced from their homes in the Nakba and pay com- memoration took so long, settlements and those who
1948.
pensation to the refugees Palestinian U.N. Ambassa-
boycotted the commemo- advocate for them and
ration of what is known as The fate of these refugees and for land it now oc- dor Riyad Mansour told The those who advance them,”
cupies. And he said that if Associated Press on Friday
and their descendants es-
the Nakba, or catastrophe. and to list settler organiza-
In an hourlong emotion- timated at over 5 million these root causes are not that the Palestinians have tions that carry out killings
addressed, the Palestin-
across the Middle East re-
moved cautiously at the
charged speech, Abbas and burnings as “terrorist
asked the world’s nations mains a major disputed is- ians will continue to pursue United Nations since the organizations.”
sue in the Arab-Israeli con-
legal action, especially at General Assembly raised
why more than 1,000 reso- And he urged the interna-
lutions adopted by U.N. flict. Israel rejects demands the International Criminal their status in 2012 from a tional community to take
for a mass return of refu-
Court, which was greeted non-member observer to
bodies regarding the Pal- Israel to the International
estinians had never been gees to long-lost homes, by loud applause from the a non-member observer Court of Justice. The Gen-
saying it would threaten large audience in a U.N. state.
implemented. He held up eral Assembly asked the
a letter from Israel’s foreign the country’s Jewish char- conference room. U.N. recognition as a state court in December to give
enabled the Palestinians
Israel has remained defiant.
acter.
minister, Moshe Sharett, af- its opinion on the legal con-
ter resolutions were adopt- Abbas specifically blamed “We will fight the ‘Nakba’ to join treaties, take cases sequences of Israel’s occu-
Britain, as Palestine’s ruler lie with full strength and we against Israel’s occupation
ed in 1947 and 1948 prom- pation of Palestinian territo-
ising to implement them before the 1947 partition, won’t allow the Palestinians to the International Crimi- ries, a move denounced by
and the United States, Isra-
to continue to spread lies nal Court and the Inter-
and said: “Either they do Israel.q
respect these obligations, el’s most important ally, for and distort history,” Foreign national Court of Justice,
Minister Eli Cohen said in a which is the U.N.’s high-
the flight of the Palestinians.
or they stop becoming a
member.” He said the most impor- statement. est tribunal, and in 2019 to
tant right Palestinians are As the 75th anniversary chair the Group of 77, the
The General Assembly,
which had 57 member na- demanding now is self-de- approached, the now U.N. coalition of 134 mainly
termination based on June 193-member General As-
developing nations and
tions in 1947, approved the
resolution dividing Palestine 1967 borders. He reiterated sembly approved a resolu- China, he said.
that the Palestinians have tion last Nov. 30 by a vote The Nakba commemora-
by a vote of 33-13 with 10
abstentions. The Jewish side agreed to accept 22% of of 90-30 with 47 abstentions tion comes as Israeli-Pal-
the 1947 territory as part of requesting the U.N. Com-
estinian fighting has inten-
accepted the U.N. partition
plan and after the British a two-state solution to the mittee on the Exercise of sified and protests over
the Inalienable Rights of Prime Minister Benjamin
decades-old Israeli-Pales-
mandate expired in 1948,
Israel declared its indepen- tinian conflict, not the 44% the Palestinian People to Netanyahu’s right-wing facebook.com/arubatoday/