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Bangladesh calls for recognition of State of Palestine

December 3, 2021 at 4:41 pm

Protest against Israel’s attack on Palestinians on the Gaza Strip in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 14 May 2021 [MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images]

Bangladesh called on the international community to do more to achieve a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian crisis by recognising an independent State of Palestine and its rightful place in the United Nations (UN).

“The international community must make genuine efforts to address the root causes of the Palestinian crisis, and put an end to the Israeli aggression,” said Bangladesh’s Ambassador to the UN, Rabab Fatima, while addressing the UN General Assembly yesterday.

Fatima reiterated Bangladesh’s unwavering and steadfast support for the just cause of the people of Palestine for an independent, viable, and sovereign Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, under a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders.

She added that Israel’s compliance with all international human rights and humanitarian laws, and relevant UN resolutions, including resolution 2334 (2016) must be ensured.

“The continuation of the Palestinian debate here is a stark reminder of the international community’s failure to protect the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” she said.

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She also criticised the deteriorating situation in the occupied Palestinian territories due to demolitions and seizures of homes and structures, and expulsions, forced displacement and bloodshed of Palestinians at the hands of Israeli occupation forces.

The ambassador said that these are examples of its blatant disregard of the UN resolutions and international human rights and humanitarian laws.

Bangladesh has no diplomatic relations with Israel and trade with the Zionist state is prohibited until it ends its military occupation of Palestine.

However, earlier this year it was revealed that business between the two countries had been carried out under a cloak of secrecy. Al Jazeera found that Israeli-made surveillance equipment was being used by the Bangladeshi government to target political opposition. It  had been sold via a convicted criminal.