Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has called for a new international initiative on the Middle East.
Adams was speaking after he met with the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland, Dr Ali Halimeh, on Thursday 21 February, in West Belfast. Adams appealed to the international community to "grasp this issue and establish a new and powerful political initiative to end this conflict now".
He called on the US government, the European Union and all Arab and Islamic states to unite under the auspices of the UN in recognising the legitimacy and integrity of both the Israeli state and the Palestinian state. He said: "The peoples of Palestine and of Israel have the right to self-determination. Such a clear expression of endorsement of both states would create a better atmosphere in which the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government could negotiate and implement a durable peace."
The meeting between Adams and Halimeh took place on the second day of a visit to Belfast by the ambassador, organised jointly by the Belfast branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Committee, The Falls Community Council and Ógra Shinn Féin.
On the first day of his visit, Wednesday 20 February, the ambassador was welcomed to West Belfast by members of the Irish language community. In an informal gathering at An Cultúrlann MacAdaim Ó Fiaich on the Falls Road hosted by the Falls Community Council, the ambassador was greeted by Sinn Féin Health Minister Bairbre de Brún. In a short welcoming ceremony chaired by veteran civil rights activist and stalwart of the struggle around Irish language, Fergus O'Hare, the ambassador was presented with a wood carving made by Conway Mill-based sculptor Raymond Watson.
Dr Halimeh told the gathering that the Irish peace process could be a model for the Middle East. "You people have done the impossible," he said. "This process is a model and hopefully we can learn from your experience because if it can apply here, then why not in Palestine?"
That afternoon, spoke to students at an event organised by Queen's University Sinn Féin cumann. He also addressed a crowd of up to 60 people in St Mary's teacher training college on the Falls Road on Wednesday evening.
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