New York, November 30, 2018. Cuba participated today in the General Debate on agenda Item 39 of the UN General Assembly, devoted to the Question of Palestine, where it expressed its deep concern about the situation in the Middle East region, buffeted by violence, interference in internal affairs, external aggression and long-term conflicts, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
In his statement, Manuel de Jesús Pírez, Minister-Counselor at the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the UN, reiterated the demand to put an immediate end to the prolonged and illegal Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and to the blockade of more than a decade to the Gaza Strip. He reaffirmed the island's support for the admission of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations, as well as the unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people and the determination to continue supporting it in the legitimate struggle for justice, dignity and peace.
He stated that a two-state solution and a comprehensive, just, peaceful and lasting settlement to the Palestinian question will not be possible, as long as Israel continues to violate International Law and the Charter of the United Nations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem; as well as the UN relevant resolutions, among them the resolution 2334 (2016) of the Security Council.
The Cuban diplomat referred to the need to settle the historical debt with the State of Palestine and to restore the inalienable rights of its people, violated by Israel during half a century of occupation. He added that the international community must express its rejection of the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by Israel against Palestinian civilians in the occupied territory, including East Jerusalem and particularly the Gaza Strip, in serious and flagrant violation of the Charter of United Nations and International Humanitarian Law.
The Cuban representative also demanded the total and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from the Syrian Golan and all the occupied Arab territories.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations