Parliament supports the establishment of a Palestinian State
The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Lechesa Tsenoli, participated in the forum “International Parliamentarian Support to the Question of Palestine” that took place in May.
The forum was convened by the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. It was chaired by Ambassador Cheikh Niang, Chair of the committee and Permanent Representative of Senegal to the UN, and moderated by Mr Pedro Roque, Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and a Member of the Portuguese Parliament.
The forum consisted of an opening session with remarks from Ambassador Niang; Minister Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine; and Ms Rosemary DiCarlo, UnderSecretary-General of the Department for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs of the UN Secretariat and two discussion panels.
The first panel, on “Parliaments, Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016) and
Israeli Settlements: Calls for Accountability”, consisted of Mr Francisco Chahuán, Senator of Chile; Ms Julie Elliott, Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom; and Mr Hubert Julien-Laferrière, Member of the French National Assembly.
Mr Tsenoli participated in the second panel, on the topic: “Parliamentarians and Support for Efforts to Achieve a Just Solution”. The panel comprised Mr Alexandre Boulerice, Member of Parliament of Canada, and Mr Tsenoli.
In welcoming the participants, the Chair reiterated the committee’s mandate, which is to promote a just and peaceful settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an end to the Israeli occupation and to support the realisation of the two-state solution and exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including selfdetermination, sovereignty and right to return.
He gave examples of the successful work of parliamentarians to advocate for the same, including recent letters from European Members of Parliament to call for their governments to impose sanctions on Israel over its annexation policy and to put pressure on Israel to stop the eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem.
The Chair also referred to the recent resolution approved by the Chilean Senate, calling on the President to adopt a law banning the import of settlement goods into the country, as well as to the support provided by South African parliamentarians to Palestinian solidarity movements and civil society groups in their advocacy at the UN Human Rights Council, among other bodies.
He reiterated the commitment of the committee to continue working with a variety of partners, especially parliamentarians because of the important legislative and diplomatic work that they contribute to the question of Palestine. The committee was deeply alarmed by the dramatic deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip and reiterated the committee’s call for a deescalation of conflict.
Mr Tsenoli said the current violence in the OPT reminded South Africans of what apartheid did to them. He called on more Israelis to object to “unsustainable violent and hegemonic imposition of all kinds” on the Palestinian people. He regretted that this continues to be the legacy of the provocative approach by the previous US administration.
Mr Tsenoli recalled former President Nelson Mandela’s and his grandson’s commitment to the Palestinian cause, repeating the stance that “our freedom in South Africa is dependent on the freedom of the Palestinians”. As Israeli violations of international law and UN resolutions are unacceptable, he fully supported his government’s efforts in all multilateral bodies to pursue peace in the Middle East.
Mr Tsenoli reiterated the South African Parliament’s solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to selfdetermination and the full support for the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The situation cannot be allowed to remain unchanged as it represents an impediment to the security, peace, stability and development of the broader Middle East.
Mr Tsenoli underlined the position of South Africa on ending the Israeli occupation, which would be in the interest of both Israel and Palestine, and called on both parties to take concrete steps to that end. He said the outstanding final status issues will need to be resolved through negotiation, with support from the international community, including South Africa, to resume the peace process for a lasting and just settlement of the Palestinian question.
He stressed that any peace plan should ensure that the Palestinian state does not become an entity devoid of territorial contiguity and economic viability. Mr Tsenoli said solidarity from parliaments of the world and civil society would contribute significantly to the prospect of peace.