Delegates attending the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ministerial conference in Durban, South Africa, are expected to shortly approve sanction-type measures against Israel, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, Dr Nasser Al Kidwa, said on Thursday.
Among the obligations contained in a declaration on Palestine — one of three documents concerning Palestine before the conference — was for the NAM’s 114 member states to prevent the movement of products from Jewish settlement areas.
They are also urged to deny the entry of settlers into their countries and to implement punitive measures, such as fines, against countries helping construct the settlement partition wall.
However, Al Kidwa qualified the mooted sanctions, saying they should not be construed as being against Israel per se.
He said the beauty of the proposals is that they do not have to go through the UN ”and face possible United States veto” because according to the International Court of Justice ruling on the partitioning wall, states are under a ”clear legal obligation” to respect and ensure respect of the Geneva Convention.
Al Kidwa said the NAM will be also be calling on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to expedite the register of damages caused by the construction of the contentious wall.
He said it will also try to convene a conference to consider how states can build a broader coalition together to work towards a peaceful resolution of the Middle East situation, which he characterised as being premised on the recognition of a two-state solution, respect for international law and the right for all to live in peace and safety, free from violence and terror.
Arafat renews ceasefire call
Meanwhile, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Thursday renewed his call for a ceasefire, at the same time urging the Israeli government to come to the negotiating table.
The call came in a written message to be delivered on his behalf during the course of the day to the NAM’s committee on Palestine, which is meeting in Durban alongside the ministerial conference.
”We always stressed that violence and sheer force is not the way to achieve a peaceful solution,” he said. ”Negotiations are the answer. And we challenge the Israeli government to stop its military attacks and join us at the negotiations table.”
He said despite what he said is Israel’s ”flagrant departure” from the principles of the road-map peace plan, the Palestinian Authority is prepared to take over and assume responsibility in any area from which Israel withdraws.
”We therefore propose the simultaneous and mutual ceasefire being the first obligation of the road map, to be effected immediately,” he said.
Previous ceasefire calls by Arafat have been rejected by Israel as propaganda, though a ceasefire is reportedly being discussed as part of an Egyptian-brokered agreement.
Arafat was quoted earlier this month as saying that if a ceasefire is reached, he will enforce it on all Palestinian factions. — Sapa