Pakistan, speaking on behalf of Islamic countries, has called on the UN to play a "more active role" in settling the Middle East question, while stressing that peace can only be attained by an Israeli withdrawal from Arab territories.
"In the present atmosphere of quiet tension in the region, it will be the UN's challenge to keep up efforts towards reaching a just, fair and comprehensive solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Acting Pakistani Permanent Representative Farukh Amil told the Security Council on Wednesday.
"Whatever one's political perspective, it is clear that there can be no military solution to the issue of the Middle East," he said while participating in a debate on the Middle East question.
"Peace can only be attained by a complete and unconditional Israeli withdrawal from all Arab lands, including the Palestinian territories, East Jerusalem, the occupied Syrian Golan and Lebanese lands, and the creation of an independent and viable Palestinian state," he added. Farukh Amil was speaking in Pakistan's capacity as the chair of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
He said that 7th June had marked 40 years of occupation by Israel of Arab lands, a situation that had gone on far too long and served only to cause agony and anguish.
The visible and often brutal suppression of the Palestinian people was also the principal root cause of the rise of extremism across the Muslim world, Amil said. That political reality - however unpalatable - could no longer be ignored. It was not only the United Nations, but the entire international community that should denounce Israel's continued violation of the fundamental principles of the Charter.
He said that while there had been recent developments in the region, including the meetings between Israeli and Palestinian leaders and the agreement by the diplomatic quartet to meet again in September as part of the effort to provide support for the parties in their bilateral discussions and negotiations to push the peace process forward, the continued violence by Israel, as well as inter-Palestinian divisions, had left the already weary Palestinian people uneasy and unsure of the future.
Quartet is the diplomatic grouping that comprises the UN, the European Union, Russia and the United States. Addressing the recent developments in a concrete manner would be the international community's most pressing task in the weeks and months ahead, towards the realisation of a comprehensive solution to many of the challenges facing the Middle East, Amil said.
While stressing stepped up UN role, Amil said the most urgent task was to halt the violence in the occupied Palestinian territories. While efforts to secure the release of the captured Israeli soldiers were ongoing, Israel must also release the remaining Palestinian prisoners, do more to support the Palestinian authority and end the economic blockade.
Simultaneous efforts should be made to promote inter-Palestinian reconciliation, he said, noting that an essential step to surmount differences was for the situation that existed on the ground in Gaza today be restituted to that which existed prior to the events of June 2007.
On the broader peace process, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference strongly urged the resumption of peace talks, without prejudice to the positions of either side. Those talks should lead to the early agreement to resume implementation of the agreed peace plan and the road map.
"Let us hope that next year, when the Palestinians mark 60 years of the 'Nakba, or the great catastrophe, it will be accompanied with celebrations for the creation of an independent and viable Palestinian State, at peace with all its neighbours," Amil said in conclusion.
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