New York (VNA) –Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, head of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission to the UnitedNations, has expressed Vietnam’s concern about the current Middle Eastsituation and called on the UN Security Council to uphold its important role inencouraging the resumption of peace talks between the parties.

Nga was delivering a speech at the open debateof the UN Security Council under the agenda item “The situation in the MiddleEast, including the Palestinian question” on April 26.

She noted that “Vietnam is deeply concernedabout the recent report by the Special Coordinator for the Middle East PeaceProcess on the implementation of Resolution 2334, especially the lack ofdialogue between the parties, the continuing illegal settlement expansion, thedemonstrations and deadly clashes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, thedeteriorating humanitarian and economic situation in Gaza, growing incitementto violence, and the violation of rights and dignity of the Palestinian people.These negative developments imperiled the prospect of the two-state solutionand put security of the whole region at stake.”

The ambassador said de-escalating tension on theground is a pre-requisite for any future negotiation and dialogue. She urgedall parties concerned to strictly comply with the UN Charter and internationallaw, exercise maximum self-restraint, refrain from any provocative acts andfoster a favourable environment for the pursuit of peace.

It is clear that foreign occupation is illegalunder international law and constitutes an obstacle to peace, she said, callingon Israel to halt and reverse all settlement development, lift its blockade inthe Gaza Strip and step up its efforts to protect the civilians and improve theliving condition of the Palestinian population. 

Nga reaffirmed Vietnam’s unconditional supportfor the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people for their inalienablerights, including the right to self-determination and establishment of an independentand sovereign state, as well as a two-state solution.

She also stressed the need for all parties torespect international humanitarian law, stop any act of hostility, incitementand violence, to ensure unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance. 

“In this regard, my delegation reaffirms ourunwavering support to the indispensable role and tireless efforts of the UnitedNations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)to ease the sufferings of the Palestinians,” the diplomat added.

At the debate, Nikolay Mladenov, UN SpecialCoordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said since late March, tens ofthousands of Palestinians in Gaza have converged to the Gaza fence toprotest the long-standing blockade of the enclave. During these demonstrations,35 Palestinians have been killed.

He urged stepped-up efforts to support theparties in advancing a sustainable Israeli-Palestinian peace on the basis ofthe two-State solution.

Representatives of many countries at the debatealso criticized Israel’s excessive use of force and requested Israel toimmediately stop building settlement housing in the occupied land andactivities violating international human rights and humanitarian law. 

They called on Israel to fully implement the UNSecurity Council’s Resolution 2334, urging the two sides to exerciseself-restraint, end violence, soon resume peace talks and realise the two-statesolution with Palestine co-existing peacefully as an independent country withIsrael and having the borders that existed before 1967 and its capital EastJerusalem.-VNA