Geneva, Media & Communication Dept., February 16
The State of Qatar renewed its strong condemnation of the Israeli threats to storm the city of Rafah in Gaza Strip, warning that such attack will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe in the city which has become the last refuge for more than 1.5 million displaced people inside the besieged Strip. It called on the international community to take urgent measures and exert all pressure on Israel to stop its plans to storm the city of Rafah, commit genocide there, and forcibly displace the Palestinian people.
This came in the statement of the State of Qatar, made by HE Qatar's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva Dr. Hind Abdulrahman Al Muftah during a briefing on the latest developments of the situation in the Gaza Strip, organized by the Permanent Mission of the Arab Republic of Egypt in its capacity as Chairman of the Arab Group in Geneva.
Her Excellency underlined the need for the international community to take all necessary measures to ensure the implementation of the resolutions issued by the United Nations and the International Court of Justice, work seriously to end the war on the Gaza Strip, achieve an immediate and complete ceasefire, ensure the protection of civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law, lift all restrictions that hinder the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip, and support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to enable it to carry out its humanitarian duties towards the Palestinian refugees.
Speaking about the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, Her Excellency said that the residents of the Strip are still suffering from the continued Israeli attacks and bombing, and the difficult humanitarian conditions resulting from the destruction and interruption of basic services including electricity, water, sanitation and food, as well as the exhaustion of fuel and medicines.
She added that Israel and the international community must realize that, after more than seven decades of the occupation, crimes and grave violations committed against the Palestinian people, the only solution to this crisis is to take irreversible steps to implement the two-state solution, and to recognize the State of Palestine on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the relevant international resolutions.