RIYADH: GCC ministers on Thursday affirmed their position for the establishment of an independent Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, amid the increasing illegal occupation by Israeli settlers of Palestinian territories.
In a statement issued at the close of its 57th session in the Saudi capital, the GCC Ministerial Council condemned Israel’s continued construction of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories which was “in clear violation of international legitimacy resolutions, including UN Security Council Resolution No. 2334.”
The ministerial council welcomed the Australian government’s announcement that it would use the term “occupied Palestinian territories.” In addition, the ministers called on the international community to pressure Tel Aviv to reverse their settlement decisions and “to resolve the conflict, in a way that fulfills all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.”
The council also denounced the “repeated incursions by Israeli officials and settlers into the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Such incursions were not only “a violation of the sanctity of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and a provocation of the feelings of Muslims” but also a “serious violation of international law and the historical and legal status quo in Al-Quds and its sanctities,” said the statement.
The council commended Saudi Arabia’s decision to appoint a non-resident ambassador to the State of Palestine and consul-general in Al-Quds.
It also welcomed the final statement of the Egypt-Jordan-Palestine Tripartite Summit, which was held in the city of El-Alamein on Aug. 14, 2023, and the participants’ discussion of the Palestinian cause in light of the current developments in the occupied territories.
It called on the GCC countries and international community to continue supporting the activities of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to ensure all those displaced return to their homes.
