Qatar Reiterates Support for International Efforts to Achieve Peace in Middle East and Resolve Palestinian Cause

Qatar Reiterates Support for International Efforts to Achieve Peace in Middle East and Resolve Palestinian Cause

New York – Information Office – 01 December

The State of Qatar reiterated its support for international efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East and resolve the Palestinian cause on the basis of agreed references, resolutions of international legitimacy, the Arab peace initiative and the solution of two States, Israel and Palestine, on the basis of the 1967 borders. It called for an end to the Israeli occupation of the occupied Arab territories, including the Syrian Golan, stressing the need to ensure the rights of the Palestinian people and a just solution to the refugee problem in accordance with General Assembly Resolution 194.

This came in a statement delivered by HE Ambassador Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, the Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, at the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly on the "Question of Palestine" item.

Her Excellency noted that in the midst of the serious crises affecting the Middle East and attracting the attention of the United Nations, the Palestinian issue remains the central and oldest cause among issues considered by the General Assembly. This year marks the passage of seven decades after the Palestinian Nakba, which followed by tragic consequences inflicted and continue to be inflicted on the Palestinian people.

She added over the course of these seven decades, this cause has had a distinguishing mark at the international level, which is the total rejection by the international community of the Israeli occupation, illegal settlement, violations of international law, and violations of Palestinian rights, and full solidarity with the Palestinian people in their quest for their inalienable rights.

Her Excellency appealed to the international community to shoulder its responsibilities towards this issue until a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement is achieved, which would have a positive impact on the state of regional and international peace and security.

HE the Ambassador also referred to the numerous resolutions adopted annually by the General Assembly on the question of Palestine and the Middle East, stressing that they represented a long-standing international consensus on various aspects of this issue.

She stressed that this consensus underscored the need to abide by the principles of international law and the purposes enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, and called for the complete cessation of all Israeli settlement activities and the cessation of unilateral actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, which were contrary to international law, as well as the cessation of actions aimed to alter the character, legal status and demographic composition of Jerusalem.

On the Gaza Strip, HE the Ambassador said the situation in the Gaza Strip is a cause for concern as the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip continues to worsen as a result of the ongoing siege that enters its eleventh year.

In this context, HE the Ambassador reiterated Qatar's firm commitment to providing humanitarian support, pointing out that HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani has provided $150 million in emergency aid to tackle the difficult situation in the Gaza Strip and to secure the fuel needed to generate electricity.

Her Excellency said that these efforts came within the framework of the State of Qatar's efforts to play a positive role in the interest of stability that is necessary for achieving peace, adding that with the continuation of the Middle East cause, efforts continue to be made by various United Nations bodies, agencies and programs, especially the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) which is one of the oldest and largest United Nations agencies and plays an indispensable role in supporting millions of Palestinian refugees.

In this context, she drew attention to the State of Qatar's material support for the Agency which included its contribution of $50 million this year that enabled the UNRWA to open its schools at the beginning of the school year without delay.

Concluding her statement, HE Ambassador Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, expressed Qatar's full solidarity with the Palestinian brothers on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

She also reaffirmed that the State of Qatar would continue its commitment to support the enjoyment by the Palestinian people of their legitimate rights, to advance efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East based on international references, settlement of disputes through peaceful means and putting an end to all crises affecting the peoples of the region.