Palestine commends Ghana as it celebrates 13th Anniversary

The State of Palestine on Wednesday commended President John Agyekum Kufuor and Ghanaians for supporting its struggle for justice and peace and for sending a peacekeeping mission to guarantee a meaningful ceasefire between Israel and Palestine.

A release issued in Accra by the Embassy on the occasion of the 13th anniversary of the declaration of independence, said the step taken by Ghana "will undoubtedly contribute significantly to the achievement of stability in the Middle East". #

It said as Palestine celebrated its anniversary it was imperative to draw the world's attention to acts of genocide being committed against the Palestinian people daily.

"Since the beginning of the Intifada (Uprising) just over a year ago, more than 800 Palestinians have been killed. Amongst the dead have been 200 children, four physicians, six paramedics, three journalists and 32 women.

"Twenty-five persons were killed by Israeli settlers while 93 people were assassinated. Of the 37,000 people who have been injured, 7,500 are children and 1,400 are women."

The release said there were several other human rights abuses of the Palestinian people and reiterated its call for the respect for resolutions passed by the United Nations, including resolutions 242, 338, 425 and 194 on the Palestinian issue.

"All these resolutions affirm the rights of Palestinians to self-determination, a separate state, peace and security and the safe return and integration of refugees."

It called on the international community to live up to its responsibility to protect life and property wherever they may be threatened. "To this end we repeat our call for international observers to protect our people against terror, occupation and ethnic cleansing and to supervise the implementation of a ceasefire."