Solidarity Declaration on Palestine by NAM Members

16th Summit of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran26 - 31 August 2012  1.        The  Heads  of  State  or  Government  of  the  Non-Aligned  Movement  (NAM) expressed their  deep regret that, due to the deplorable measures of Israel, the occupying Power, the NAM Committee on Palestine was unable to convene the Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting in  Ramallah,  Palestine, on 5  August  2012, which had been planned as a demonstration of the Movement’s solidarity with the Palestinian people.  They condemned Israel’s provocative action, in contravention of international law and its obligations as an occupying Power, which prevented the Members of the Committee from witnessing firsthand the grave situation in the Occupied  Palestinian  Territory,  including  East  Jerusalem,  and  from  directly conveying  to   the  Palestinian  people  and  their  leadership  the  Movement’s longstanding, principled support for the just cause of Palestine and commitment to the  achievement of  a  just, lasting and  peaceful  settlement  of  the  question of Palestine in all its aspects.2.        The Heads of State or Government regretted that Israel’s obstruction of the entry of NAM Ministers to the Occupied Palestinian Territory prevented the Committee on Palestine from meeting with H.E. President Mahmoud Abbas and the rest of the Palestinian  leadership.        They  expressed  deep  appreciation  to  the  Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for receiving the Members of the Committee on Palestine and for the efforts exerted to facilitate arrangements for the  planned Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting. They recalled the Press Statement issued by the Committee on 5 August 2012 in Amman, as well as the related Statement by the NAM Coordinating  Bureau  in  New  York  on  9  August  2012.  They  reaffirmed  the Movement’s resolve to continue assisting the Palestinian people in their legitimate quest for dignity, justice and their inalienable right to self-determination in their independent State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the pre-1967 borders. 3.        The  Heads  of  State  or  Government  reaffirmed  the  Declarations  on  Palestine adopted by the  Committee  and endorsed by the  Movement, most  recently in Sharm El-Sheikh in 2012 and Bali in 2011, and their commitment to the positions1NAM 2012/Doc.5therein. They renewed the call for political, economic and humanitarian assistance in support of  the Palestinian people and their efforts to achieve their legitimate national aspirations and  inalienable human rights, including their right to self- determination in their independent State  of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and their right to return.  They paid special tribute to the resilience of the Palestinian people throughout the many decades of hardship they have been forced to endure for over 64 years since the 1948 Al-Nakba, which dispossessed and rendered the majority of Palestinians as refugees, now constituting more than 5 million people, and for over 45 years since the 1967 Israeli military occupation of the remainder of the Palestinian land, including East Jerusalem.4.        The Heads of State or Government reiterated their grave concern regarding the critical situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, as  a  result  of  Israel’s  prolonged  military  occupation  and  illegal  policies  and practices.  They condemned Israel’s ongoing military raids and attacks against the Palestinian civilian population; blockade of the Gaza Strip; settlement colonization campaign involving, inter alia, land confiscations, construction and expansion of settlements and “outposts”, transfer of Israeli settlers, construction of the Wall, home demolitions, and imposition of severe movement restrictions and hundreds of checkpoints; detention and imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians; forced displacement  of  Palestinian   civilians;  and  all  other  measures  of  collective punishment  against  the  Palestinian  people,   constituting  grave  breaches  of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law.5.        The Heads of State or Government deplored the vast physical, economic and social  devastation caused by the Israeli occupation, particularly the destructive impact of the illegal Israeli settlements and the Wall, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.  They condemned all such illegal colonization activities deliberately aimed at altering the Territory’s demographic composition, character, and legal status and at forcibly acquiring more Palestinian land in total contradiction of international law and the two-State solution based on the pre-1967 borders.  They  expressed  grave  concern  at  the  situation  in  Occupied  East Jerusalem, where the Israeli settlement campaign is most intense, and called for a complete end  to all settlement activities, excavations, including near Al-Haram Al-Sharif  (Noble  Sanctuary),   home  demolitions,  residency  revocations,  and closure of Palestinian institutions in the City.   They condemned also the terror, violence and provocations by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians and properties, including homes, agricultural lands, and Muslim and  Christian holy sites, and cautioned that such actions are fueling religious sensitivities that risk  further destabilization and must  be  brought  to  an  immediate  end by the occupying Power. 6.        The  Heads  of  State  or  Government reiterated  their  grave  concern  about  the critical  humanitarian and socio-economic conditions in the Gaza Strip due to Israel’s blockade, by  which it continues to collectively punish the Palestinian people and obstruct movement, humanitarian access, entry of essential goods, and the  reconstruction  of  Gaza.  They  reiterated   the  demand  that  Israel  respect international humanitarian law and fully end this illegal  blockade, stressing the need to ensure the sustained, regular movement of persons and goods  between Gaza and the outside world and to restore the link and unity between Gaza and the 2 NAM 2012/Doc.5West  Bank,  reaffirming  that  the  Gaza  Strip  remains  an  integral  part  of  theOccupied Palestinian Territory. 7.        The  Heads  of  State  or  Government  further  reiterated  the  call  for  ensuring accountability  for the crimes and violations committed by Israel, the occupying Power, during its military aggression against the Gaza Strip in December 2008- January 2009.  They also reiterated the call to ensure accountability for the Israeli military  attack  on  31  May  2010  in  international  waters  on  the  humanitarian convoy destined for the Gaza Strip, in which nine Turkish civilians were killed. They called on the international community, including the Security Council, to pursue serious efforts to end Israel’s impunity and realize justice for the victims, including via  follow-up  of the findings and recommendations of the UN Fact- Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. They reaffirmed the obligations of the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva  Conventions regarding penal sanctions, grave breaches and responsibilities. 8.        The Heads of State or Government expressed grave concern about the inhumane treatment of  Palestinian political prisoners and detainees being held by Israel, including physical and  mental  abuse, reported torture and denial of access to proper medical care and family visits. They expressed concern about recent crises of prolonged hunger strikes by prisoners and detainees, in peaceful protest of the illegal practice of administrative detention, by which hundreds of Palestinians are held without charge or trial, and other human rights violations by  Israel. They reiterated the call for the immediate release of all the Palestinians detained and imprisoned  by  Israel,  including  children,  women  and  elected  officials.  They recalled the Ministerial Declarations on Palestinian Political Prisoners adopted in Bali (May 2011) and Sharm El Sheikh (May 2012), and urged the mobilization of efforts to address this critical issue.9.        The Heads of State or Government demanded that Israel immediately cease all of its illegal  policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and cease  its violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people.  They reiterated  the  demand  for  the  complete  cessation  of  all  Israeli settlement colonization activities, which constitute grave breaches of international law and flagrant defiance of UN resolutions, the 9 July 2004 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion, and obligations under the Quartet Roadmap to freeze all settlement  activities  and dismantle all  settlement  “outposts”.                                                                                         They expressed grave concern that this illegal campaign is undermining the contiguity, integrity, viability and  unity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and jeopardizing the prospects for physically achieving the two-State solution for peace on the basis of the pre-1967 borders, prompting a search for alternative just solutions.10.      The Heads of State or Government reiterated their serious concern about the dangerous  impasse in the Middle East peace process and called for immediate, practical efforts to salvage  the two-State solution and advance a fair, credible peace process based on the relevant UN  resolutions, including Security Council resolutions 242, 338, 425, 1397, 1515 and 1850, the Madrid terms of reference, including  the  principle  of  land  for  peace,  the  Arab  Peace  Initiative  and  the Roadmap.     They stressed  that  the  peace  process  must  ensure  an  end  to  the occupation of the Palestinian Territory and the other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including East Jerusalem; the exercise by the Palestinian people 3 NAM 2012/Doc.5 of their right to self-determination in an independent, sovereign, and viable State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital; and a just solution for the plight of the Palestinian refugees based on General Assembly resolution 194 (III). 11.      The Heads of State or Government recalled in this regard the historic role and obligations of the international community, in particular the UN Security Council and General Assembly, as  well as the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva  Convention  to  uphold  their   obligations  and  ensure  respect  of  the Convention in all circumstances.  They called on the Security Council, based on its  Charter  duty  for  maintenance  of  international  peace  and  security,  to  act forthwith  to  implement  its  resolutions,  to  ensure  compliance  by  Israel,  the occupying Power, and to promote a just, lasting and comprehensive solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Arab-Israeli conflict as a whole.12.      The Heads of State or Government reaffirmed support for the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and the Palestinian National  Authority under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas,  and  emphasized  the  importance  of  protecting  and  strengthening  the national and democratic institutions of the Palestinian  Authority, including the Palestinian Legislative Council, which shall constitute a vital foundation  for the independent State of Palestine. They reiterated the urgency of Palestinian unity for realization of the legitimate national rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people.  They thus welcomed the Reconciliation Agreement signed in Cairo, on 4May  2011,  aimed  at  ending  the  division  since  June  2007,  as  well  as  the Declaration  signed  in  Doha,  on  5  February  2012,  aimed  at  overcoming  the challenges to the  agreement’s implementation, and called on the international community to respect and support the Palestinian reconciliation. 13.      The Heads of State or Government called for continued support for strengthening Palestinian national institutions, in line with the plan launched by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in August 2009, “Palestine: Ending the Occupation, Establishing the   State”.   They   commended   its   completion   in   August   2011   with   the implementation of the second phase, “Homestretch  to Freedom”, stressing the importance of this initiative for laying the foundations for the independence of the State of Palestine, and called for efforts to preserve and advance achievements in this regard during this critical period. They further reaffirmed the importance of the official recognition extended to Palestine by 132 countries, and urged the Members of the Movement that have not recognized the State of Palestine to do so as soon as possible as a positive contribution to making Palestine’s independence a reality based on international law and UN resolutions.14.      The  Heads  of  State  or  Government  welcomed  in  this  regard  the  application submitted, on 23 September 2011, by Palestine to be admitted as a Member State of the United Nations, consistent with the right of the Palestinian people to self- determination and independence, convinced that realization of this objective will be a major step towards securing freedom,  dignity, stability and peace for the Palestinian people.  They also welcomed the admission of Palestine as a Member State of  the  United  Nations  Educational,  Scientific  and  Cultural  Organization (UNESCO).4 NAM 2012/Doc.515.      The Heads of State or Government called on the Members of the Movement to remain at the forefront of support for the historic march of the Palestinian people for freedom and peace. They called for intensified efforts in this regard, including at the UN Security Council, General Assembly, Human Rights Council and other relevant organs and agencies. They commended the members of the NAM Caucus of the Security Council for their serious efforts concerning Palestine, and urged them to remain active to enhance the Movement’s role in the peace effort.   They stressed the importance of regular contacts by the Movement at the Ministerial level with the members of the Security Council, Quartet, League of Arab States and all other concerned parties for advancing Palestine’s recognition as a State and its admission as a Member of the United Nations at the earliest possible date as well as for reviving international and regional efforts to bring an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967, realize the long-overdue independence of the State of  Palestine, with East  Jerusalem  as  its  capital,  and inalienable  rights  of  the Palestinian  people,  and  achieve  a  just,  lasting  and  comprehensive  peace  and security.  The Ministers extended an urgent call for launching a plan of action, based on the  longstanding terms of reference of the Middle East peace process based on international law  and  UN resolutions and in coordination with other relevant political and re