Qatar backs Palestine's request for full UN membership

Qatar has stressed its support for the request of the State of Palestine to obtain full membership as a sovereign state in the UN, urging all member states to support this legitimate and deserved request.

This came in the statement delivered by Qatar's Permanent Representative to the UN HE Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif al-Thani before the UN General Assembly regarding item (63): (using the veto against the American draft resolution on Gaza in the Security Council) at the UN office in New York.

HE Sheikha Alya pointed out that holding this session highlights once again the inability of the Security Council to carry out its responsibilities and role within the framework of maintaining international peace and security, especially in light of the worst humanitarian disaster the world has witnessed in the 21st century, which was caused by the ongoing war waged by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinians in Gaza Strip six months ago. She noted that the number of victims reached more than 33,000, and tens of thousands of wounded and missing under the rubble, the majority of whom were women and children, in addition to the forced displacement of around 2mn civilians.

She indicated that Qatar strongly condemns the Israeli airstrike that targeted the relief convoy of the World Central Kitchen organisation in the central Gaza Strip, which led to the killing of seven relief workers.

HE Sheikha Alya said that this horrific incident once again proves the systematic targeting practices against humanitarian and relief workers in the Gaza Strip, stressing that Qatar rejects the use of food as a weapon against civilians and calls for the need for humanitarian aid to reach all areas of the Strip without obstacles under international humanitarian law.

She added that Qatar renews its condemnation in the strongest terms of the ongoing Israeli threats related to launching a military operation on the city of Rafah, categorically rejects any military operation on the city, and calls on the Security Council to assume its responsibilities within the framework of the immediate cessation of Israeli aggression. It also condemns in the strongest terms the procedures and practices of forced displacement against the civilian population by the occupying power, warning of its humanitarian and security repercussions on the region.

HE Sheikha Alya added that Qatar condemns the systematic Israeli targeting campaign against the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which plays a vital and irreplaceable role in providing aid to the Palestinian people. In this regard, she praised the donor countries that announced the resumption of payment of their financial contributions to UNRWA and urged the donor countries that suspended their funding to review their decisions to bridge the current funding gap.

HE Sheikha Alya stressed the need for the Israeli occupation to implement the orders of the International Court of Justice related to preventing the commission of genocide in Gaza, stressing that any serious efforts to respond to the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip cannot be achieved without an immediate cessation of the Israeli aggression through immediate, permanent, and sustainable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

She said that Qatar confirms the continuation of its efforts related to facilitating the ongoing negotiating process to reach a framework agreement that guarantees a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, in partnership with Egypt and the US, to release prisoners and hostages, ensure that more humanitarian and relief aid reaches the Gaza Strip, and protect civilians to spare the blood of our Palestinian brethren in the Strip, which paves the way for the launch of a serious political process that leads to a just and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian cause per the resolutions of international legitimacy.
HE Sheikha Alya reiterated the firm and historic stance of Qatar in support of the steadfastness of the fraternal Palestinian people and their just cause following international legitimacy resolutions and within the framework of the Arab Peace Initiative, which guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.