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STATEMENT OF H.E. FATHER MIGUEL D´ESCOTO
BROCKMANN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS
GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY
OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINAN PEOPLE

UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK
24 NOVEMBER 2008

Mr. Chairman,
Mr. Secretary-General,
Excellencies,
Brothers and Sisters,

1. It is with mixed emotions that I join you today to observe the
International Day of
Solidarity with the Palestinian People at this event organized by the
Committee on the
Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. As you know,
Solidarity is a
concept that is central to my work as the Assembly President. I want to
thank the Committee
for its dedicated efforts to rally our solidarity with the Palestinian
people, pursuing the
mandate entrusted to it by the General Assembly.

2. Today we recall that, 61 years ago this month, the General Assembly
adopted the historic
resolution 181, calling for the creation of a Jewish State and an Arab
State. The State of
Israel, founded a year later in 1948, now celebrates 60 years of its
existence. Shamefully,
there is still no Palestinian State to celebrate.

Read More »Statement of he father miguel dâ´escoto

Only by vigorously subduing the US and Israel to the authority of the world community will it be possible to end the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict

By William Cook

(source: Al Ahram Weekly Online)

A confluence of news stories emerged this past week that, if related, shed unusual light on the deteriorating crisis in the Middle East, most especially on Palestine and Iran. On 27 June, Haaretz made this observation about discussions at the G8 meeting in Ontario: "World leaders ‘believe absolutely’ that Israel may decide to take military action against Iran to prevent the latter from acquiring nuclear weapons," citing a statement made by Italy’s prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi.

Indeed, Berlusconi continued that, "Israel will probably act pre-emptively." So engaged were the representatives of the G8 that they issued a statement "calling on Iran to ‘respect the rule of law’ and to ‘hold a transparent dialogue’ over its nuclear ambitions." Their statement went on to say that Iran should show a "commitment to international law".

On 7 July, Newsmax, in an article entitled "Lieberman: US Prepared to Strike Iran to Stop Nuclear Weapons" states: "The United States may be forced to launch an attack on Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities if diplomatic efforts and economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic fail, Senator Joseph Lieberman said Wednesday after a meeting with Israeli officials in Jerusalem."

On 11 July, Ali Asghar Soltaniyeh told Press TV that "over 100 countries in the general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] have condemned Israel for not cooperating with the IAEA. The Zionist regime has refused to sign the [Nuclear] Non-Proliferation Treaty and it is believed that the regime has about 200 nuclear warheads capable of being mounted on long-range missiles and a stockpile of chemical and biological weapons."

Read More »United against peace