Mr. President,

It is a pleasure for my delegation in its national capacity to deliver this statement before the Economic and Social Council on this item.

Allow me at the outset to express our appreciation for the comprehensive report on this item, prepared by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) which we believe provides a firm basis for our deliberations during this session. My delegation also wish to thank Mr. Charles Kassangana for introducing the said report to the ECOSOC this morning.

Mr. President,

The Economic and Social Council is considering this item at a critical juncture in the history of the Middle East region. For the peace process which had unfolded in 1991 and which had generated great hopes and expectations that a durable and lasting peace was within reach, especially the exercise of the Palestinian people to self-determination and independence, has been jeopardized. The region now stands ominously close to becoming embroiled in tension and turmoil. The continuing ordeal of the Palestinian people as well as the deteriorating situation on the ground is well chronicled in the aforementioned report.

The past year has been one marked with increasing hardships on a whole people under Israeli occupation. Indeed, this situation is exacerbated even more by the stalemate in the peace process. In this context, it is with deep concern that we note that the daily lives of the Palestinian people have been overwhelmed with despair and frustration as they bear the full brunt of untenable Israeli measures, in particular, policies of pressure, economic strangulation, closures and confiscations. Such acts cannot but have dire economic and social repercussions on the people living in the occupied territories.

It cannot be denied that aggressive Israeli settlement expansions are a major obstacle to Palestinian socio-economic development, thus undermining the viability of a future Palestinian state. It was in this overriding context that the international community, through the Tenth Emergency Special Session, expressed its unequivocal condemnation of Israel's settlement activities in the south of East Jerusalem, as a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, international law and other relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. In this regard, it is pertinent to note that the report of the ESCWA has aptly stated that "the _urban sprawl' evident in the new Israeli neighborhood and settlements built within the municipal boundary of East Jerusalem since 1967 provides a yardstick to measure Israel's intention to maintain its exclusive sovereign hold over Jerusalem."

Furthermore, these illegal settlements have caused a severe reduction in Palestinian agricultural lands resulting in loss of agricultural income as well as growing unemployment. Another impediment is the territories' limited access to water. The fact that Israel is exploiting water in the occupied territories for its own population while restricting the consumption of this very basic necessity to the Palestinians, is a denial of the inherent sovereign right of the Palestinians to use their natural resources.

Equally disturbing is the environmental hazards caused to the Palestinian people by the pollution of Israeli-owned factories which are subject to far less stringent regulations as compared to those rules that are implemented in the State of Israel. The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment has documented the high ratio of health-related problems, especially those living in the vicinity of these industrial sites.

Likewise the employment situation has reached a critical stage due to frequent closures. This has resulted in delays to the flow of goods into the territory as well as affecting production of goods, income generation, marketing and employment. Undeniably, closures have been a major factor in the dismal figures contained in ESCWA's report, that is, a drop of 18 percent in gross national product (GNP) in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and a drop of 35 percent in per capita GNP between 1992 and 1996.

Mr. President,

In light of the severe repercussions in field of economic and social spheres of Palestinian society, there can be no doubt that the United Nations and its agencies need to continue to play its significant role in alleviating the plight of the Palestinian people and also to assist in the formidable and challenging task of nation-building. Likewise, the ECOSOC should continue its endeavors to assist the Palestinian people even more than it has done in the past.

It is an undeniable fact that peace and development are interrelated and therefore it is crucial for the entire international community to extend every assistance in promoting development that lies at the edifice of an enduring and stable peace. On its part, Indonesia should like to reaffirm its unwavering support to the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and for them to live in a secure and flourishing independent homeland.

Thank you, Mr. President.