PA Foreign Ministry criticizes UN response to center named after Dalal Mughrabi
Note: Shortly after PMW reported on this center, which had been funded by the PA, Norway, and the UN, Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende condemned the center and demanded that the Norwegian money donated to it be returned. The UN, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, also condemned the decision. Shortly afterwards, Denmark also demanded its funding to the Palestinian NGO that had founded the center be returned.
Headline: “The [PA] Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticizes the UN’s silence over Israel’s violation of international law, and the statements from Guterres’ office regarding the women’s center in the village of Burqa, in [the] Nablus [district]”
“The [PA] Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded that the UN – in accordance with its convention – stand alongside the Palestinian people and its struggle against the occupation, and ensure the application of international law, the principles of human rights, and the Geneva Conventions to the situation in Palestine.
It also demanded that [the UN] implement international legal proceedings in order to obligate Israel, as the occupying power, to uphold these principles.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the UN ‘to stop expressing the surprising and unacceptable positions and statements that UN Secretary-General [António Guterres’] office made regarding the women’s center in the village of Burqa, in the Nablus district, on the pretext that it bears the name of Martyr (Shahida) Dalal Mughrabi (i.e., terrorist who led murder of 37, 12 of them children).’
[The ministry added:] ‘These are responses that chose to adopt the Israeli narrative and terminology, while completely ignoring the contents of the UN report (refers to an annual report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released May 31, 2017, which blames “the occupation” for the suffering of Palestinians –Ed.) that summarizes a series of outrageous violations of international law, which the UN must protect, and while ignoring the severe violations of the Palestinians’ human rights, which the UN must defend. And then [the UN] comes and in an unprecedented manner publishes extremely strange and severe notices, and gives troubling signals of changes that have been taking place recently in the functioning and language of the UN. The State of Palestine will track the issue in the most serious and responsible manner.’”
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The article refers to a statement issued on May 28, 2017, by Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, which reads: “The United Nations disassociated itself from the [Dalal Mughrabi] Centre once it learned the offensive name chosen for it and will take measures to ensure that such incidents do not take place in the future. The glorification of terrorism, or the perpetrators of heinous terrorist acts, is unacceptable under any circumstances. The UN has repeatedly called for an end to incitement to violence and hatred as they present one of the obstacles to peace. The United Nations support to this community ended last year and it has asked for the logo of UN Women to be removed immediately. Furthermore, the inauguration of the Centre took place after the UN’s association with it.”
Dalal Mughrabi led the most lethal terror attack in Israel’s history, known as the Coastal Road massacre, in 1978, when she and other Fatah terrorists hijacked a bus on Israel's Coastal Highway, murdering 37 civilians, 12 of them children, and wounding over 70.
Headline: “The [PA] Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticizes the UN’s silence over Israel’s violation of international law, and the statements from Guterres’ office regarding the women’s center in the village of Burqa, in [the] Nablus [district]”
“The [PA] Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded that the UN – in accordance with its convention – stand alongside the Palestinian people and its struggle against the occupation, and ensure the application of international law, the principles of human rights, and the Geneva Conventions to the situation in Palestine.
It also demanded that [the UN] implement international legal proceedings in order to obligate Israel, as the occupying power, to uphold these principles.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the UN ‘to stop expressing the surprising and unacceptable positions and statements that UN Secretary-General [António Guterres’] office made regarding the women’s center in the village of Burqa, in the Nablus district, on the pretext that it bears the name of Martyr (Shahida) Dalal Mughrabi (i.e., terrorist who led murder of 37, 12 of them children).’
[The ministry added:] ‘These are responses that chose to adopt the Israeli narrative and terminology, while completely ignoring the contents of the UN report (refers to an annual report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released May 31, 2017, which blames “the occupation” for the suffering of Palestinians –Ed.) that summarizes a series of outrageous violations of international law, which the UN must protect, and while ignoring the severe violations of the Palestinians’ human rights, which the UN must defend. And then [the UN] comes and in an unprecedented manner publishes extremely strange and severe notices, and gives troubling signals of changes that have been taking place recently in the functioning and language of the UN. The State of Palestine will track the issue in the most serious and responsible manner.’”
Click to view bulletin
The article refers to a statement issued on May 28, 2017, by Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, which reads: “The United Nations disassociated itself from the [Dalal Mughrabi] Centre once it learned the offensive name chosen for it and will take measures to ensure that such incidents do not take place in the future. The glorification of terrorism, or the perpetrators of heinous terrorist acts, is unacceptable under any circumstances. The UN has repeatedly called for an end to incitement to violence and hatred as they present one of the obstacles to peace. The United Nations support to this community ended last year and it has asked for the logo of UN Women to be removed immediately. Furthermore, the inauguration of the Centre took place after the UN’s association with it.”
Dalal Mughrabi led the most lethal terror attack in Israel’s history, known as the Coastal Road massacre, in 1978, when she and other Fatah terrorists hijacked a bus on Israel's Coastal Highway, murdering 37 civilians, 12 of them children, and wounding over 70.
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