by Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini
Ambassador of Islamic Republic of Iran
on the occasion of Quds week
A brief History:
Palestine was among former Ottoman territories placed under UK administration by the League of Nations in 1922. The British Mandate incorporated the “Balfour Declaration” of 1917, expressing support for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”. During the Mandate, from 1922 to 1947, large-scale Jewish immigration, mainly from Eastern Europe took place, the numbers swelling in the 1930s with the Nazi persecution. Benefiting from false and inapplicable slogans like “A land without a people for a people without a land”, and US absolute support, these large migrations, coinciding with plunder of Palestinian properties and infringement of their essential rights by the occupiers, finally resulted in the establishment of the Zionist regime.
Following the illegal acts of Britain during the trusteeship period, in 1948 the Zionist regime was recognized by the United States and later by other countries such as the former Soviet Union, whereas the people of the territory of Palestine were never consulted about their fate. In fact, the Zionist regime was established without allowing the native population of the territory of Palestine to exercise their right to self-determination.
The measures that led to the formation of the Zionist regime were contrary to international law. According to Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, Britain had no sovereignty over Palestine and should have allowed the exercise of the right to self-determination, namely holding a free referendum with the participation of all inhabitants of Palestine. Not only this important didn’t happen, but maximum pressures like subjugation of opponents, enforced displacement the Palestinian intellectuals, evacuation of indigenous Palestinians from their homeland and many other ferocious actions occurred against them.
Negligence of the then big powers to the Islamic countries demands for resistance to and cease of immigrations coincided with violence against people of Palestine and lead to conflicts in the area. During this asymmetric conflict, the occupier was endowed with highest military technology and arsenals while people of Palestine just had some stones in their hands to throw. People of Palestine were losing both their land and entity and Zionists were reaching both power and lands by usurpation.
Lack of comprehensive solutions:
From that time, some proposals were offered to the UN to whitewash heinous crimes perpetrated by expansionist Zionists in Palestine; also different resolutions were issued to orally condemn the Zionist regime atrocities in international and regional organizations that none of them lead to a breakthrough for the sake of oppressed people of Palestine.
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that the philosophy of its establishment in 25 September 1969 (following the criminal arson of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem) was to support Palestine, has so far miserably failed to liberate the long-persecuted Palestinians from the yoke of imperial Zionist regime due to its members divisions and negative role of interventionists. The defeat of proposed plans and ratified resolutions that supposedly wanted to bringing peace and stability for the Palestine, paved the ground for the Zionist regime to first occupy and then annex Gaza Strip and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) that resulted in great exodus of Palestinians to other countries. Unsuccessful attempts of the UN in defending the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for self-determination, national independence, sovereignty, and returning their homeland, forced the Palestinians to resort to first and Second Intifada. Read More…
