UN Day for Solidarity with Palestinian people

International media is rife with reports of hundreds of thousands of people marching, protesting, showing solidarity with the people of Palestine. Tens of thousands have marched in support of the Palestinians in cities around the world calling for an end to Israeli bombing of Gaza. For decades, Israeli occupation has denied Palestinians access and control over their land, borders and natural resources. The occupation is the source of profound human and environmental rights violation against the Palestinian people, including pollution, destruction of livelihoods, land and water grabbing which affect food production and food sovereignty, discriminatory planning laws, forced evictions and displacements. The world is increasingly becoming more aware of the injustice in Palestine, and they stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. So what does it mean by standing in solidarity with Palestine, or any other cause for social, political, and cultural justice?
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is observed by the United Nations and around the world on November 29 each year. The date was chosen because of its meaning and significance to the Palestinian people. On that day in 1947, the General Assembly adopted a resolution known as the Partition Resolution. That resolution provided for the establishment in Palestine of a "Jewish State" and an "Arab State", with Jerusalem as a corpus separatum under a special international regime. Of the two States to be created under this resolution, only one, Israel, has so far come into being. The Palestinian people, who now number more than eight million, live primarily in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, including East Jerusalem; in Israel, in neighbouring Arab States, and in refugee camps in the region.
The International Day of Solidarity traditionally provides an opportunity for the international community to focus its attention on the fact that the question of Palestine remains unresolved. The Palestinian people are yet to attain their inalienable rights as defined by the General Assembly, namely, the right to self-determination without external interference, the right to national independence and sovereignty, and the right to return to their homes and property, from which they have been displaced.
The recognition of Palestinian statehood has now become an important issue in the evolution of the conflict between the state of Israel and the Palestinian people. The State of Palestine, within the pre-1967 war borders and with a shared capital in Jerusalem, has already been recognised by 139 out of 193 UN member States, as well as by the Vatican. Formal recognition of the State of Palestine will put an effective end to occupation, to isolation, and to the annexation of Palestinian land and complete the overall political framework indispensable for establishing peace, and delegating to the institutions of the two States the responsibility of guaranteeing peace, coexistence and security.
Palestinian statehood is a right to be recognised. The refusal to recognise the statehood reinforces the view that rights of only one people are supported and upheld. Those who do not recognise Palestine, but recognise the state of Israel means that they are not at all serious in their claims of supporting a two-state solution. Several of them argue that Palestinian statehood should be the outcome of negotiations. For a proper negotiating process to start to bring lasting peace to both the Israeli people and the Palestinian people, it would be preferable, and equitable for Palestine to enter that process as a recognized sovereign state.
Of the states that are yet to recognise Palestine include western powers such as the United States, Canada and a number of European countries. As the Palestinians' representatives began seeking support for international recognition for the state of Palestine, Israel reached out to other countries--most significantly, the United States-to block such move. On December 15, 2010 the United States Congress passed a resolution condemning acts by the Palestinians to seek recognition of the state of Palestine. Recent developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict suggest that a clarification of international law regarding new states, as well the issue of recognition of Palestinian statehood, is ripe for analysis.
On this day of Solidarity of Palestine, and in the coming years, we all must join together to support the full recognition of Palestine, end of Israeli occupation and apartheid, and not allow the issue to be forgotten from public discourse. We all must ensure that the right to statehood for Palestinians is not something to be bartered over, but something that has to happen. Unlike the Israelis, who are citizens of a state, having full-fledged passports, having vote right at the UN, Palestinians are stateless. They have travel documents and can travel only with the permission of the occupier, Israel. Palestinians have no say in the control of their land, water, maritime area or airspace, or even their population registry. On this day of solidarity, we must recommit to our resolve that this situation has to change. Palestine must be free!

Simon Mohsin is political and international affairs analyst. [email protected]