In its 12th session, The Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) which was held in Antalya city-Turkey today Monday 16th of Dec. 2019, adopted a resolution under the title: Unlimited Support to the Palestinian People, with the the participation of the delegation of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) headed by Father Constantine Qarmash, Deputy Speaker of the PNC, and the membership of Mr. Omar Hamayel, Mr. Imran Al-Khateeb and Ambassador of the State of Palestine in Turkey, Mr. Faid Mustafa.
The resolution included 19 articles as follows:
We, the Members of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly,
Recalling APA Resolutions on Supporting Palestinian State and Protecting Rights of Palestinian People, (APA/Res/2013/03, 9 December 2013); Violations of International Humanitarian Law in the Palestine and the War Crimes Committed By the Zionist Regime in Gaza (APA/Res/2009/01,
8 December 2009); and Humanitarian Crisis in Palestine Particularly in the Gaza Strip (APA/Res/2008/08, 29 November 2008); and the catastrophic humanitarian impact of the aggressive war on the Gaza Strip in July 2014.
Also recalling the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, including resolutions 242 (1967), 252 (1968), 267 (1969), 298 (1971), 446 (1979), 465, 474, 478 (1980), 468 (1980) and
1322 (2000), 2334 (2016), and resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and other relevant international documents.
Inspired by the Principles and objectives enshrined in the APA Charter and the relevant APA
resolutions;
Committed to contribute to the promotion of peace and security at regional and global levels on the basis of justice and the rule of law;
Affirming the responsibility of the international community to support implementation of resolutions and recommendations of the United Nations Security Council; the UN General Assembly; the Human Rights Council; and the APA pertinent to the situation in Palestine, particularly in Al-Quds;
Supporting the struggle of Palestinian people against Israeli occupation by its all means to liberate its land and establish an independent Palestinian State with Al-Quds city as its capital;
Denouncing the transfer of the American Embassy from Tel-Aviv to the occupied city of Jerusalem in disregard of the principles and rules of international legitimacy and UNSC Resolutions;
Expressing serious concerns on Israel’s lack of commitment to abide by resolutions and
recommendations of the UN Security Council, the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council,
the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the APA regarding the human rights situation in the occupied
Palestinian territories, particularly in Al-Quds;
Reaffirming the applicability of the fourth Geneva Convention relative to the protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to the occupied Palestinian territories, including Al- Quds;
Recognizing that Israel’s severe violations of international humanitarian law and of the human rights of Palestinian people undermine international efforts towards achieving a just and lasting peace in the region;
Affirming that the road to peace, stability and prosperity in the Middle East comes first by ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine in implementation of the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy, and not to replace the political solution with economic solution through economic conferences aimed at legitimizing the Palestinian lands occupation and coexistence, and prolongs the occupation tenure.
Emphasizing that the practice of worship, prayers and all Islamic religious rituals in Al-Aqsa Mosque is a natural and guaranteed right for only Muslims. The Israeli occupation has no right to intimidate and prevent them from carrying out their duties, while Israeli occupation allows settlers and extremists to break into the sanctity of islamic sacred places, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque.
1. Urge all Members of the APA to support and treat the State of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations.
2. Reject and strongly condemn the statements made by the Israeli Prime Minister on
10th of September 2019, in which he announced his intention to annex the entire Palestinian Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea and settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in a massive and flagrant violation of the rules of international law and the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and its resolutions, particularly Security Council resolution 2334 for 2016. We call upon the United Nations to defend its resolutions that end the Israeli occupation and enable the Palestinian people to self-determination on their land.
3. Affirm our adherence to the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy as the sole reference to the resolution of the Palestinian issue, and we confirm our absolute rejection of all plans and deals of the so-called "American Deal of the Century" and conferences that do not abide by those resolutions. We affirm that there is no peace, no security or stability in the Middle East without ending the Israeli occupation, and establishing of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital on the borders of 4th of June 1967, and the resolution of the refugees issue in accordance with Resolution 194.
4. Condemn all violations of international law that threaten international peace and security, including all acts of terrorism and organized crime, and human rights violations by Israeli occupying forces and settlers in Palestine, and call for international protection of the Palestinian people in accordance with General Assembly resolution A / Es-10 / L. 23 of 11 June 2018, and the relevant Geneva Conventions.
5. Encourage all members of the international community to take up with the pressure on Israel to immediately release all the Palestinian prisoners including the Members of the Palestinian Parliament and condemns the Israeli Knesset's failure to respond to the fact-finding and investigation committees established by the Inter- Parliamentary Union on prisoners in Israeli jails as evident in to International Parliamentary meetings in St. Petersburg and Geneva in March 2018, and dismantle all illegal settlements as well as the entire separating wall and put an end to confiscating Palestinian lands.
6. Declare all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel, including expropriation of land and properties which tend to change the legal status of Jerusalem as invalid and bearing no legal effect on their original status.
7. Condemn Israel’s continuation of building settlements defying applicable international law particularly Security Council resolution 2334 of December 2016; disregarding the legitimate rights of the Palestinian People including their right to resist and protest against foreign occupation of their lands; and hampering international efforts towards achieving a just and lasting peace in the region;
8. Express grave concerns on the suppression and injustice, as well as continuing violence practiced against the Palestinian people, particularly women and children, in the occupied Palestinian territories under the Israeli occupation including East Jerusalem, and in the Syrian Golan occupied by Israel;
9. Call Upon all members of the APA and the United Nations as well as all regional and international organizations concerned, particularly the United Nations Security Council and the International Criminal Court to address, under the UN Charter and the Rome Statute, the crimes against humanity and the war crimes committed by Israel in Palestine which threaten the international peace and security;
10. Condemn the closure of the PLO diplomatic mission in Washington in retaliation for the membership of Palestine to the International Criminal Court;
11. Praise the decision taken by the European Union not to purchase any products produced in the settlements based in the occupied territories and call on states of the APA Member Parliaments to act in a similar way and affirm the full support for international boycott movement against Israeli occupation;
12. Reject the occupation policies and measures contrary to international law and the international legitimacy resolutions practiced by the Zionist entity to change the historical, cultural, religious and demographic features of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, especially the city of Jerusalem and its Islamic and Christian sanctities in general, and Al-Aqsa Mosque in particular, and also reject the Knesset law aimed at splitting the Al-Aqsa Mosque temporally and spatially; This constitutes a blatant attack on the freedom of worship and the practice of religious rites, as stipulated in human rights charters, and the First Geneva Protocol of 1977, Article 53 of which prohibits hostilities directed against places of worship.
13. Reject the illegal decisions taken by the Israeli Knesset, such as the Judaization of Jerusalem, the Law of Loyalty to Citizenship, the Denial of the Palestinian State and the rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Territories, the Law of Jewish Nationalism, and / withholding the Financing of the State of Palestine, and the theft of clearing funds that belong to the State of Palestine under the pretext of Palestinian caring for the families of the martyrs and wounded and the families of prisoners and detainees, who are victims of the occupation, in violation of Articles
89 and 98 of the Geneva Convention.
14. Reject and condemn the US Administration's decision to suspend its financial contributions to UNRWA, and all attempts, resolutions and alternatives that affect the status and role of UNRWA established by UN Resolution 302 of 1949. We call on all countries in the world, especially the members of this Assembly, to support and protect UNRWA's budget so that it can fulfill its obligations to about 6 million Palestinian refugees until their case is resolved in accordance with UN Resolution
194.
15. Call upon the international community to fulfill its pledges to rebuild infrastructure and rehabilitate people in Gaza, which have been destroyed by Israeli forces, and to support the Palestinian economy in the occupied Palestine.
16. Call upon countries that have established embassies, offices or diplomatic missions in occupied Jerusalem, to draw back the decisions in compliance with the UN Security Council resolutions referred to in the preamble to the resolution, in particular resolution 478 of August 1980, and UN General Assembly Resolution: A / ES-10 / L. 22 of December 2017, which considered the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as null and void, and calling on all APA member states to refrain from establishing diplomatic missions in occupied Jerusalem.
17. Affirm that development, investment and improvement of the standard of living are rights denied to the Palestinian people for 52 years now, due to the continuation of the Israeli occupation. It’s a must first to end the occupation, in order to liberate the Palestinian economy, and enable the Palestinian people to control their natural.
18. The APA reaffirms its rejection of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's declaration on 18th of Nov. 2019 that Israeli settlement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is not inconsistent with the international law, and considers the declaration a flagrant violation of international law and UN resolutions, in particular UN Security Council Resolution 2334.
19. The APA invites the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, to expedite the publication of the “black list” of Israeli and foreign companies dealing and / or working in Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as a necessary step to isolate settlements and protect human rights.
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The Antalya Declaration issued by the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, which concluded its works this evening, also affirmed the renewal of the support of the parliaments of the Asian continent for a viable, independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions.
The Antalya Declaration also condemned all illegal Israeli settlement activities, demolitions, and other serious violations of international law and human rights by the Israeli occupation forces.
The Declaration confirmed that it does not recognize any attempt to change the legal or religious status and historical nature of the city of Jerusalem.
