Vietnam continues to commit to joining the international community’s collectiveefforts towards the peaceful settlement of Israel-Palestine and Arab-Israelconflicts, and the ultimate attainment of a just, comprehensive and lastingpeace in the Middle East.

Ambassador Bui The Giang, Deputy PermanentRepresentative of Vietnam to the United Nations, made the statement at theSecurity Council open debate on the situation in the Middle East, including thePalestinian question in New York on Jan. 27.

The Ambassador said afterResolution 1860 was adopted by the UN Security Council last January, nosubstantive progress has been made towards a durable ceasefire between theparties concerned, the required resumption of peaceful negotiations on finalstatus, and the sustained opening of border crossings.

He noted thatIsrael has yet to cease its construction and expansion of settlements and theSeparation Wall, demolition of Palestinian homes and eviction of their families,and revocation of residency permits, thus directly endangering and altering thedemographic composition, character, nature and status of the OccupiedPalestinian Territory .

“In order to achieve a breakthrough in which anindependent State of Palestine can thrive and all peoples in the region canco-exist in peace and security, all parties concerned should uphold their mutualobligations under the Road Map, the Madrid terms of reference, the Arab PeaceInitiative and relevant Security Council resolutions,” the Ambassadorsaid.

He stressed that constructive dialogue and political negotiationsmust be put first, whereas military option should be excluded. “ Israel mustimmediately freeze illegal settlement activity, dismantle outposts erected sinceMarch 2001, open all border crossings, release all Palestinian prisoners, andfacilitate humanitarian assistance and reconstruction efforts in Gaza . And thisState must do this with the utmost urgency and responsibility.”

Ambassador Giang also called on Palestinian factions to make sincereefforts to resolve their differences within the framework of anintra-Palestinian reconciliation and jointly work toward the establishment of aGovernment of national unity.

In the interest of the long-term regionalpeace and justice, we reiterate our calls for all the parties concerned tostrictly comply with international humanitarian and human rights laws andconduct, without delay, credible domestic investigations into the many reportedallegations of violations as recommended by the Goldstone Report, the Ambassadorsaid.

Giang acknowledged the intensified efforts of the Quartet, theLeague of Arab States, regional countries and the international community atlarge in helping achieve a two-State solution to the Israel-Palestine conflictand revitalize the Middle East peace process on all tracks as well as thePalestinian National Authority’s determination, under difficult circumstances,to embark on practical policies and measures to strengthen socio-economicfoundations, security sector reforms and functional institutions for a futureState.

Turning to Lebanon , Ambassador Giang said, Vietnam welcomes andsupports the efforts undertaken by the Lebanese Government to strengthen thenational course of peace consolidation, socio-economic reconstruction andnormalization of external relations, and encourage the parties in Lebanon tojointly contribute to these endeavors.

He demanded that Israelimmediately and unconditionally cease all violations of Lebanese independence,sovereignty and territorial integrity, including by ceasing flights overLebanese territory and withdrawing from the northern part of Ghajar village andan adjacent area north of the Blue Line./.