Palestinians count on Asian-African conference to internationalize their cause

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT

Three years ago, the Palestinians launched a diplomatic campaign, which aimed at gaining the largest international support for the Palestinian cause. The first step was to promote the Palestinian diplomatic representation in the UN to a non-member observer state in 2012.

Signing on joining international treaties and agencies in late December last year, mainly the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), was the second step. The Palestinians say that the campaign was the alternative to the failure of the Middle East peace process.

However, the Security Council failed to pass a draft resolution backed by Arab states, which called on setting a timetable to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories within three years.

Ahmed Rafiq Awad, political science professor at al-Quds University in the West bank, told Xinhua that the summit in Jakarta "is an important international event that may serve the just Palestinian cause, which always needs the support of the international community."

"The Palestinians' fair demand of gaining independence and establishing a Palestinian state should gain the largest ever support in the world," said Awad, adding that "the Palestinians are also in need for creating political and economical coalitions in Asia and Africa to create the needed balance for the Palestinians."

Samer Anabtawi, political analyst in the West Bank, said that Jakarta summit "is held amid crucial circumstances the Palestinian cause is passing through and amid the current Arab retreat of backing the Palestinian cause, besides Israel's stubbornness towards peace and the two-state principle."

"Certainly the Asian and African efforts to support the Palestinian cause will also back the other progressed international positions that back the honest implementation of the international resolutions that lead to establishing the Palestinian state on the 1967 territories."

Delegates from 109 Asian and African countries, 16 observer countries, and 25 international organizations are invited to participate.

The conference is aimed to bridge Asian and African nations to stronger partnership and to share experiences in enhancing both regions' economic development.

It is also an opportunity to discuss solutions to overcome common challenges through strengthening South-South cooperation.