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I. COMMITTEE ON PALESTINIAN RIGHTS HEARS REPORTS ON REGIONAL MEETINGS AND APPROVES PROGRAMME FOR INTERNATIONAL NGO MEETING\/EUROPEAN NGO SYMPOSIUM<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People held its 222nd meeting on 31 July 1996. The Chairman reported on the United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People, held at Cairo from 21 to 23 May 1996, and the United Nations North American NGO Symposium on the Question of Palestine, held at United Nations Headquarters from 24 to 26 June 1996, both convened by the Committee. He also reported on the summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) held in Yaoundé from 1 to 5 July 1996, which the Chairman attended representing the Committee.<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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\t<\/span>At the 31 July meeting, the Committee approved the provisional programme for the combined International NGO Meeting\/European NGO Symposium on the Question of Palestine, to be held from 2 to 4 September at Geneva (see section X below). <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>With regard to recent political developments, the Chairman observed that the situation was of grave concern and stressed the need to do everything possible to support the continuation of the peace process (GA\/PAL\/727). <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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II. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COÄ¢¹½ÊÓÆµCIL ADOPTS TWO RESOLUTIONS<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n
RELATING TO THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n
\t<\/span>At its substantive session of 1996, held at United Nations Headquarters from 24 June to 26 July 1996, the Economic and Social Council had before it two reports of the Secretary-General, on the economic and social repercussions of Israeli settlements (A\/51\/135-E\/1996\/51), prepared by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, and on assistance to the Palestinian people (A\/51\/171-E\/1996\/75) as well as the report of the United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People, held at Cairo from 21 to 23 May 1996 (A\/51\/166-E\/1996\/67). The Council adopted two resolutions, on Israeli settlements, reproduced below, and on Palestinian women.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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1996\/40.\t<\/span>Economic and social repercussions of the Israeli settlements on the Palestinian people in the Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, occupied since 1967, and on the Arab population of the occupied Syrian Golan<\/u><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>The Economic and Social Council<\/u>,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Recalling<\/u> General Assembly resolution 50\/129 of 20 December 1995,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Recalling also<\/u> its resolution 1995\/49 of 28 July 1995,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Reaffirming<\/u> the principle of the permanent sovereignty of people under foreign occupation over their national resources,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Guided<\/u> by the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, affirming the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force and recalling Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967 and 497 (1981) of 17 December 1981,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Recalling<\/u> Security Council resolution 465 (1980) of 1 March 1980 and other resolutions in which the Security Council affirmed the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, 1<\/u>\/ to the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Recalling also<\/u> Security Council resolution 904 (1994) of 18 March 1994, in which, inter alia<\/u>, the Council called upon Israel, the occupying Power, to continue to take and implement measures, including, among others, confiscation of arms, with the aim of preventing illegal acts of violence by Israeli settlers, and called for measures to be taken to guarantee the safety and protection of the Palestinian civilians in the occupied territory,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Aware<\/u> of the negative and grave economic and social repercussions of the Israeli settlements on the Palestinian people in the Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, occupied since 1967, and on the Arab population of the occupied Syrian Golan,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Welcoming<\/u> the ongoing Middle East peace process started at Madrid, in particular the signing in Washington on 13 September 1993 by the Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people, of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, 2<\/u>\/ and the signing in Washington on 28 September 1995 of the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>1.\t<\/span>Takes note<\/u> of the report prepared by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia; 3<\/u>\/<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>2.\t<\/span>Reaffirms<\/u> that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 are illegal and an obstacle to economic and social development;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>3.\t<\/span>Recognizes<\/u> the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli settlements on the Palestinian people in the Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, occupied by Israel since 1967, and on the Arab population of the occupied Syrian Golan;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>4.\t<\/span>Reaffirms<\/u> the inalienable right of the Palestinian people and the population of the Syrian Golan to their natural and all other economic resources, and regards any infringement thereof as being illegal;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>5.\t<\/span>Requests<\/u> the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-second session, through the Economic and Social Council, a report on the progress made in the implementation of the present resolution.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>With regard to Palestinian women, the Economic and Social Council adopted resolution 1996\/5, the text recommended to it earlier this year by the Commission on the Status of Women, entitled “Palestinian women”. The text of the resolution adopted by the Commission on the Status of Women is contained in the March 1996 issue of this bulletin.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>1<\/u>\/\t<\/span>United Nations, Treaty Series<\/u>, vol. 75, No. 973.<\/p><\/div>\n\n
\t<\/span>2<\/u>\/ \t<\/span>A\/48\/486-S\/26560, annex.<\/p><\/div>\n\n
\t<\/span>3<\/u>\/\t<\/span>A\/51\/135-E\/1996\/51.<\/p><\/div>\n\n
III. EXCERPTS FROM COMMÄ¢¹½ÊÓÆµIQUÉ AND RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE OF FOREIGN MINISTERS OF THE MEMBER COÄ¢¹½ÊÓÆµTRIES OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Excerpts from the final communiqué and the text of two resolutions relating to the question of Palestine, which were adopted by the twenty-third Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers of the member countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, held at Conakry from 9 to 12 December 1995, are given below (A\/50\/953-S\/1996\/344). <\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>28.\t<\/span>The Conference reaffirmed that the question of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif is the prime cause of all Muslims, and expressed its solidarity with the Palestine Liberation Organization in its just struggle for removing the effects of the Israeli occupation and the building of Palestinian national institutions on the land of Palestine so as to achieve the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, including their rights to return, to self-determination and to the establishment of their own independent State on the soil of their homeland with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>29.\t<\/span>The Conference called upon member States to continue the consolidation of their solidarity with the Palestinian people and to continue supporting the position of the PLO in its negotiations for the complete withdrawal of the Israeli forces from all of the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>30.\t<\/span>The Conference expressed its support for the peace process in the Middle East and welcomed the agreements concluded in its framework. It also welcomed the signing of the agreement on the implementation of the second phase of the Palestinian-Israeli Declaration of Principles and called for respect of all its components. It noted that the success of the peace process hinges on the implementation of resolutions of international legitimacy, including resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978) of the Security Council, on the basis of Arab and international understanding of those resolutions, and the ‘land for peace’ formula and the need to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their national and political rights. It affirmed that a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East region can only be achieved through complete and unconditional Israeli withdrawal from all of the Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since 1967, including the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, the Syrian Golan and the occupied Lebanese territories.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>31.\t<\/span>The Conference reaffirmed that the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif is an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and to it apply all the provisions applicable to the other occupied territories; and reiterated the necessity of its return to Palestinian sovereignty as capital of the State of Palestine. It called upon all States to refrain from having any dealings with the Israeli occupation authorities which might be interpreted, in any way, by those authorities as an implicit recognition of the fait accompli imposed by the proclamation of Al-Quds as the capital of Israel. It reaffirmed that all legislative, administrative and settlement measures and arrangements that aim at changing the legal status of the Holy City are null and void and are in contradiction with the international agreements and conventions. It called upon all States to comply with Security Council resolution 478 (1980), which invites Member States not to transfer their diplomatic missions to the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif. It invited the international community, and in particular, the two co-sponsors of the Peace Conference, to compel Israel not to effect any geographical or demographic changes in the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif during the transitional period that might affect the outcome of the negotiations on the final status of the city.<\/p><\/div>\n\n
\t<\/span> Resolution No.1\/23-P<\/u><\/p><\/div>\n\n
on the Question of Palestine<\/u><\/p><\/div>\n\n
and the Arab-Israeli conflict<\/u><\/p><\/div>\n
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\t<\/span>The Twenty-third Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (Session of Peace, Solidarity and Tolerance), held in Conakry, Republic of Guinea, from 17 to 20 Rajab, 1416H (9 to 12 December, 1995),<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Having considered<\/u> the report of the Secretary General on the cause of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict contained in document no. ICFM\/23-95\/PAL\/D.1,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Proceeding<\/u> from the principles and objectives of the Charter of the Organization of the Islamic Conference,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Pursuant to<\/u> the resolutions of the Islamic conferences on the cause of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Recalling<\/u> all the resolutions issued by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, the Organization of African Unity and the League of Arab States on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the other occupied Arab territories,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Reaffirming<\/u> Security Council resolutions 681 (1990) and 904 (1994) on the carnage at the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron and the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War to the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Recalling<\/u> Security Council resolutions 465 (1980), 476 (1980) and 478 (1980) on the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the Islamic resolutions emphasizing that the question of Al-Quds Al-Sharif constitutes the heart of the Palestine issue which is the prime cause of all Muslims and the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and that a just and comprehensive peace will only be achieved with the return of the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif to Palestinian sovereignty as capital of the State of Palestine,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Reaffirming<\/u> the need for all States of the world, including their executive, legislative and other institutions, to abide by and respect the resolutions of the Security Council on the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Reaffirming<\/u> that the Palestine cause is the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict and that Israel's continued occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories, its annexation of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the Syrian Golan, its continued denial of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people and its disrespect for the human rights of the Palestinians constitute a flagrant violation of the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy and the principles of international law as well as the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Proceeding<\/u> from Islamic and international resolutions which reaffirm the legitimacy of the struggle waged by the Palestinian people under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, their sole legitimate representative, for the re-establishment of their sovereignty over their land and the exercise of their inalienable national rights,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Expressing deep concern<\/u> at Israel's continuing terrorist and repressive measures and practices, its continued policy of deportation and mass reprisals against Palestinian and Arab citizens in all occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, its siege of the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the desecration of the holy shrines,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Condemning<\/u> the continuous Israeli aggression against southern Lebanon and western Beqa'a and emphasizing that the Israeli policies, practices and expansionist plans threaten not only the Arab States and the peace process but also the Islamic countries and endanger international peace and security;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Following with interest<\/u> the peace efforts being exerted for the achievement of a just and comprehensive solution of the question of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978) and of the formula of “land for peace”, and the legitimate national and political rights of the Palestinian people,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Commending<\/u> the efforts made by the Palestine Liberation Organization throughout the occupied Palestinian territories for the reconstruction of what had been destroyed by the Israeli occupation, as well as the efforts exerted by its National Authority for the rehabilitation of the Palestinian national economy and its consolidation, with a view to the establishment of the Palestinian State, and stressing<\/u> the importance of supporting those efforts by all possible ways and means,<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>1.\t<\/span>Reaffirms<\/u> all the resolutions of the Islamic conferences relating to the Palestine cause and the Arab-Israeli conflict;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>2.\t<\/span>Reaffirms<\/u> that a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved without a full and unconditional Israeli withdrawal from all Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since 1967, including the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, the occupied Syrian Golan and the occupied Lebanese territories;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>3.\t<\/span>Reaffirms also<\/u> that the Palestine cause is the prime cause of all Muslims, and expresses<\/u> its solidarity with the Palestine Liberation Organization in its just struggle for removing the effects of Israeli occupation and building Palestinian national institutions on the land of Palestine, with a view to fulfilling the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to return, to self-determination and to the establishment of their independent State on their national soil, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>4.\t<\/span>Calls on<\/u> member States to further strengthen their solidarity with the Palestinian people, and support their just and legitimate struggle for ending Israeli occupation and achieving all their goals of freedom and independence, and to continue supporting the PLO in its negotiations for the full withdrawal of the Israeli forces from all the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and for the guarantee of the transfer of all powers and responsibilities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, to the Palestinian National Authority;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>5.\t<\/span>Welcomes<\/u> the conclusion of the agreement for the implementation of the second stage of the Israel-Palestinian Declaration of Principles as an important step towards the achievement of the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people and the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace in the region, and calls for<\/u> commitment to the speedy implementation of all its provisions, including the expansion of the Palestinian self-rule area, the release of the Palestinian detainees, the completion of the Palestinian election, honouring the chronological programme of the agreement;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>6.\t<\/span>Expresses<\/u> its support and backing for the peace process in the Middle East, which is aimed at bringing about a just and comprehensive solution to the question of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict, and welcomes<\/u> the agreements concluded within the framework of the peace process. It believes that the success of the peace process in the Middle East hinges on the fulfilment of the following principles and basic premises:<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>First<\/u>: That it is based on the resolutions of international legality, including Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978), and the obligation to implement them in accordance with the Arab and international understanding of those resolutions, which guarantee full Israeli withdrawal from all the occupied Palestinian territories, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif, as well as from the occupied Syrian Golan, to the lines of 4 June 1967, and the occupied Lebanese territories, and on the basis of the formula “land for peace”; of the legitimate national and political rights of the Palestinian people, and of the need to enable them to exercise their right of return in conformity with General Assembly resolution 194 (III);<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Second<\/u>:\t<\/span> Applicability of Security Council resolution 242 (1967) to all Arab occupied territories, including the Palestinian territories;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Third<\/u>: The fact that Al-Quds is the heart of the Palestine question which, in turn, is the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Al-Quds is an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and to it apply all the provisions applicable to the other occupied territories under the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly, and the necessity of its return to Palestinian sovereignty as capital of the State of Palestine, as a guarantee for peace and security in the region;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Fourth<\/u>: Dismantling the settlements already established in the occupied territories, as they are illegal under the international resolutions including resolution 465 (1980) of the Security Council, and cessation of the settling of Jews in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the Syrian Golan, combined with the necessity of providing international guarantees to that effect;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>Fifth<\/u>: The need to secure international protection for the Palestinian people in the occupied territories, to implement the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Hague Treaty of 1907, to halt all of Israel's terrorist and repressive practices against the Palestinian people, to release all Palestinian detainees in the occupied territories, to halt the expropriation and attempted transformation of Islamic and Christian properties and waqfs, to halt the continuing violations of Islamic and Christian holy places and to halt the excavations which endanger those shrines;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>7.\t<\/span>Urges<\/u> all States and concerned parties to extend their support to the international programme of economic, social and cultural development in the occupied Palestinian territories, to avail the Palestinian people of the necessary approved assistance for the reconstruction of its national economy and to back up its national institutions and enable it to establish its independent State with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>8.\t<\/span>Reaffirms<\/u> the continued and constant responsibility of the United Nations vis-à-vis the Palestine question until a just and comprehensive solution to all its aspects is achieved, securing an end to occupation and the exercise by the Palestinian people of their inalienable national rights, and calls<\/u> for<\/u> more effective participation of the United Nations in promoting the success of the peace process in the Middle East;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>9.\t<\/span>Urges<\/u> the international community, and particularly the permanent members of the Security Council, to compel Israel to implement the resolutions of international legitimacy without delay or procrastination and to desist from violating the principles of international law and abide by the principles of international legitimacy;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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\t<\/span>10.\t<\/span>