Cheikh Niang, Chairman of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, affirmed during a virtual ceremony marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People: “Today we cannot celebrate, as the illegal Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands, which has been going on for 53 years, is exacerbated today by threats of annexation and imposing a de facto situation, while the Palestinian people are still deprived of their inalienable rights, especially their right to self-determination.”Pointing to the continued Israeli settlement expansion, in contravention of international law, he said, “There must be a complete cessation of settlement building and planning,” explaining that Israeli settlements constitute a major obstacle to peace. For his part, the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, called on the United Nations to continue to support the Israelis and Palestinians to resolve the conflict based on international law and bilateral agreements and to achieve the vision of a two-state solution living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders based on the pre-1967 borders. In his speech, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, referred to a deep sense of concern over what he described as the horrific facts in the occupied Palestinian territory and the diminishing prospects for resolving the conflict, which has remained with the United Nations since its inception. “On the ground, the expansion of settlement planning and construction continues, while the demolition and confiscation of Palestinians buildings by the Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has reached the highest recorded rate in four years,” he added. He noted that such actions contradict international law and undermine prospects for establishing a viable and geographically connected Palestinian state. To check the news, click here