November 29: International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights
Press Release, 28 November 2006 (E/26/06)
The 2006 International Day of Solidarity is a day of commitment to ending
almost 40 years of occupation and 60 years of Palestinian Nakba
On 29 November 1947 the young United Nations proposed to divide Palestine
against the will of the majority of its population (UN Resolution 181). A
proposal of some Arab states to request an advisory opinion from the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the legality of the UN
partition plan was voted down at the UN General Assembly. The Partition Plan
was passed, but never implemented, because powerful states at the time lacked the political will for enforcement (1).
The failed UN partition initiative triggered armed conflict and war in
Palestine which resulted in the Nakba (Catastrophe) of 1948, i.e., the forced
displacement and dispossession of 80% of the Arab-Palestinian population and the establishment of the state of Israel on 78% of the land.
The majority of UN member states recognized their direct responsibility for
the destruction of Palestine in 1947-1948 and the ongoing plight of its
people. In 1977 the General Assembly thus adopted 29 November as the
International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People to point out that
the question of Palestine remains unresolved. The implementation of numerous UN resolutions to protect fundamental Palestinian rights, however, has failed due to the lack of political will of powerful states.
57 years later, on 9 July 2004, the Palestinian people finally succeeded to
obtain their first hearing at the ICJ, the highest judicial authority in the
world. The Court ruled that Israel was to dismantle its illegal Wall under
construction in the 1967 occupied West Bank and provide restitution and
compensation to Palestinians, and that states were obliged not to render
assistance in any form to the illegal situation created by Israel. No further
action has followed, because powerful UN members states lack the political
will for enforcement of the ICJ opinion.
The international community of states has failed the Palestinian people, but
global civil society has not. In light of ongoing occupation, colonization,
displacement and dispossession under Israel's Apartheid-regime over the
Palestinian people, 29 November 2006 can become a day of solidarity and
awareness of the collective strength of global civil society organizations
working for freedom and justice in Palestine through:
Raising awareness of Israel's system of discrimination as the root cause of
the conflict and the major obstacle to a just solution;
Developing understanding, solidarity, and cooperation among Palestinian and
international professional, academic, cultural and political communities;
Building the global campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS)
against Israel until it complies with international law;
Holding to account Israeli perpetrators of crimes under international law;
and,
Invoking the responsibility of third parties, individuals, companies and
states, for violating international law.
--
BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights
PO Box 728, Bethlehem, Palestine
Telefax: 00972-2-2747346
info@badil.org - www.badil.org
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