Guyana welcomes "renewed diplomatic efforts" between Israel and Palestine

Guyana was the first Caribbean country recognise Palestine as a state in January 13, 2011.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Friday November 23, 2012 – The Guyana government has welcomed the ceasefire ending the conflict between Israel and Palestine that killed more than 160 people.

Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett said negotiations were the only viable means to bring a mutually satisfying end to the conflict between the two countries that had been trading bombs with each other.

The ceasefire came into effect on November 21 and Rodrigues-Birkett that negotiation is crucial in achieving a “two – state resolution necessary for achieving the goal of a secure Israel at peace with an independent Palestine free from occupation”.

She said that it is against this backdrop that Guyana “welcomes the cease fire...and hopes that this will provide a window of opportunity for renewed diplomatic efforts aimed at finding mutually satisfactory and sustainable solutions for peace in the Middle East.

“Guyana will continue to support the efforts of the United Nations Secretary General and the international community towards this end,” she said, urging local legislators to join in the “renewal of Guyana solidarity with the Palestine people in their just and legitimate struggle for self determination and statehood and in the expression of the hope that the peoples of Palestine and Israel will soon be able to live in peace and dignity in a secure and international recognised order.”

Rodrigues-Birkett said she hoped the cease fire would last and expressed the hope that “it will be maintained in the interest of safeguarding the lives of the people of Palestine and Israel”.

Guyana was the first Caribbean country to recognise Palestine as a state in January 13, 2011. (CMC) Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)