The frustration on the ground in Palestine and the divisions this has created between its people can only ever be healed by implementing the peace process, in turn bringing tangible benefits to the general population, said Palestine’s permanent observer to the UN yesterday.

Riyad Mansour, taking questions from this newspaper in question time after the UN International Meeting on the Question of Palestine at the Dolmen Hotel in Qawra, said: “The fastest route to securing peace and stability is to start offering tangible benefits under the peace process to the Palestinian people and this includes freezing the proliferation of Jewish settlements, dismantling checkpoints, doing away with incursions into Gaza and simply allowing people to live in dignity,” said Mr Mansour.

Palestine’s representative to the UN, clearly besotted with Malta, said his people were thankful and grateful that Malta chose to host the international meeting. “But why Malta? Why now? And, what do we want from this meeting?” he asked rhetorically.

Mr Mansour said that European Malta was a bridge between the Arab and European worlds and more importantly, a bridge between Europe and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

He continued: “For Palestine, the whole of Europe is important. The big countries are important. But small countries with a very big political will and commitment, such as Malta, are also very important.”

He said that all parties concerned had a real chance of resolving the conflict and allowing the birth of Palestine at this time, the 60th anniversary of the nahkba (catastrophe). “But we need a conducive atmosphere to reach this historic agreement and that means settling the borders, removing the settlements, finding a solution for the refugee crisis and the situation in Jerusalem,” he said.

Mr Mansour said that Palestine will not give up its struggle. “That’s why we are asking our friends for help whether they are big or small. Europe is top of our list and we ask you to help us and double your efforts to help in finding a two-state solution,” he said.

He also delivered a message to Israel; “The more they encroach on us, the more stubborn we get. We want peace based on a sense of justice and conformity with international law. We are ready for peace. We need you to help us make Israel ready for peace,” he said.

He appealed for all the parties that met at the Annapolis and Paris summits to come together to work for peace in the Middle East. Again prompted by this newspaper, Mr Mansour said he believed that the Palestinian people needed some form of signs, tangible benefits to be more amenable.

“They have seen no results of the peace process and our people will not build hope on mirages,” he said.

TMID also asked about remarks made by British MP Clare Short during a panel discussion earlier in the day when she said: “We had almost had it.

“We need a new route or we will not see a Palestinian state, we will lose the clout of international law and the UN will be undermined massively.”

Mr Mansour replied: “It reflects the feeling of frustration that people have across the board about this 60-year-old dispute. The situation on the ground is beyond hell for the Palestinian people. Anyone can speculate that the two-state solution is not possible, but we will not yield on the upholding of international law.”

He continued by saying that in her way, Ms Short was working for a solution and that everyone needed to do so. “One day we will have our victory. No one thought that the South Africans could reach the lofty goal of deposing the Apartheid regime, but they managed and that is what we look towards,” he said. He added that while all partners needed to work hard to find a solution, the onus was on the Palestinian people themselves to “do their thing”.

He said that if Palestine ever changed its mind about the two-state solution, Europe would be the first to know. “If people start to see results on the ground in Palestine, they will say that the current plan is the right way forward and from there, we would be able to regain our national unity,” he said.

Mr Mansour said he believed that a solution was not too far away.

“If we do not find a solution, we will be pleasing the extremists on all sides who want death and destruction.

“If things carry on as they are, thousands of people will be killed and in 10 years, we will ask why we did not do something now (2008).”

The Rapporteur of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Saviour Borg, who is also Malta’s ambassador to the UN, also spoke during question time.

He said that there was wide political consensus on Palestine.

He pointed out that Malta has always lent its support to the Palestinian people and their cause, adding that Malta also supports and sponsors resolutions on the occupied territory within the United Nations.

“It has been 60 years since this issue surfaced and it’s high time that a Palestinian state is created.

“The indications are that we will be celebrating its creation in the near future,” he said.

Also present for the press conference was Paul Badji, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian people.

He said that the committee had been, since 1975, working to fulfil its obligations to allow self-determination of the Palestinian people, independence and sovereignty of state.