Security Council urged to implement resolutions on Palestinian issue

QNA/New YorkQatar has reiterated its call for the UN Security Council to implement its resolutions by adopting a binding decision that obliges Israel to end the occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories, stop all settlement activities and practices that constitute a violation of international law, and take action to move according to a clear and time-bound political plan towards achieving the two-state solution. Addressing the session of the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue, Qatar’s permanent representative to the United Nations Ambassador HE Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Seif al-Thani said Qatar has always strived to play a positive and active role in achieving a permanent, just and sustainable settlement for the Palestinian issue and was among the first countries to take steps towards enhancing the chances of reaching a peaceful settlement for the issue. She added that Doha is part of the international consensus on backing the rights of the Palestinian people, especially their right to self-determination, a consensus that, Sheikha Alia added, was obvious in the UN General Assembly’s decisions in this regard and the recognition by the majority of countries of a Palestinian state. The Qatari diplomat said Arabs and Palestinians took steps that go in line with the basic rights of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state, but such steps require support and encouragement from the international community.These steps include ending the Israeli occupation of all Arab lands, supporting the building of Palestinian state institutions, ending the unjust siege on the Gaza Strip, reconstructing it, and providing opportunities for a decent life for its residents. She noted that regional security, stability and peace, including that of Israel, necessitates the genuine steps of establishing a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital that lives peacefully side by side with Israel, ensuring Palestinian rights, and withdrawing from all occupied Arab territories. Sheikha Alia called for putting an end to violations against sacred sites and freedom of worship in Palestine by Israeli authorities who try to break into Al Aqsa Mosque and prevent worshippers from entering it, stressing that Qatar condemns such violations that threaten chances of achieving peace in the Middle East. A few months after the donors’ conference on Gaza reconstruction in Cairo, she added, the Strip still awaits reconstruction efforts. She noted that Qatar addressed the huge humanitarian needs in Gaza by pledging $1bn during the conference to reconstruction efforts there.