Palestine Partition Day, observed today as a day of solidarity

On this day in 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab part, with Jerusalem under the control of the world organization, which enabled the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, writes the BiH news agency Patria.

Today, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is being observed. On this occasion, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, Zlako Lagumdžija, the UN Resident Coordinator in BiH, Yuri Afanasiev, the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to BiH, Riziq N.M. Nammourah, and the president of the association "Palestinian Community in BiH", Majed Maarouf, addressed the audience at the UN building in Sarajevo.

Lagumdžija once again expressed solidarity and support for the Palestinian people and satisfaction that the International Day of Solidarity is being observed in Sarajevo, precisely at the United Nations building, which declared 2014 the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

At the same time, he expressed regret that, precisely in the year of International Solidarity, half a million people were displaced from their homes, and the number of destroyed homes, public institutions, hospitals, schools, religious buildings, and factories is enormous.

In his address, Lagumdžija also recalled being part of an international peace group 15 years ago that met in Ramallah with the then presidents of Palestine and Israel, Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres, and their attempts to reach a peaceful solution to the Palestinian issue. He also recalled the presidential elections in Palestine in 2005, when, as a member of the international monitoring team, he personally had the opportunity to see with what optimism and hope the Palestinian people chose their president through a democratic procedure.

He assessed that the continuation of peace talks with an open mind, in a positive spirit, and in good faith is indispensable and inevitable, and that the Palestinian people should find the strength to build the foundations of a sovereign and independent state they deserve, to live and develop in peace like all countries of the world, to build bridges of mutual cooperation with their neighbors, to build a state that strengthens the values of modern states of the world, equality, tolerance, non-discrimination, the rule of law, to promote the role of women in society, to establish an effective administration committed to good governance standards, and to care for the needs and interests of its people.

- The Palestinian people have the right to a normal life, with a stable future, days where people wake up and look forward to a completely ordinary everyday tomorrow, they have the right to plan a future for their children, they have the right to peace and freedom like all other peoples of the world - emphasized Lagumdžija and welcomed the efforts and dedication that the Palestinian authorities are investing in achieving a just peace through negotiated solutions and diplomatic efforts through UN bodies.