KHARKIV, Ukraine -- Some 300 members of the Palestinian diaspora in Ukraine have gathered in the eastern city of Kharkiv to support Palestine's bid for UN membership, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports.
A Palestinian activist in Kharkiv, Hamza Samir, told RFE/RL on September 23 at the rally that the even was held in support of Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas's speech at the UN General Assembly, where he requested UN membership for Palestine.
"We demand from the international community to recognize us as the nation of Palestine," Samir said. "We have a right to live in our own land, which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967, to establish our own independent state and our government."
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Dikusarov told journalists in Kyiv on September 23 that Ukraine has not defined its position regarding Palestine's desire for UN membership, but added that "Ukraine supports Palestine's efforts for self-determination and independence."
Read more in Ukrainian here
A Palestinian activist in Kharkiv, Hamza Samir, told RFE/RL on September 23 at the rally that the even was held in support of Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas's speech at the UN General Assembly, where he requested UN membership for Palestine.
"We demand from the international community to recognize us as the nation of Palestine," Samir said. "We have a right to live in our own land, which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967, to establish our own independent state and our government."
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Dikusarov told journalists in Kyiv on September 23 that Ukraine has not defined its position regarding Palestine's desire for UN membership, but added that "Ukraine supports Palestine's efforts for self-determination and independence."
Read more in Ukrainian here