Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah participated today in the extraordinary session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Jeddah to discuss Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.
During the session, the foreign minister emphasized the need to demand that the international community and the UN Security Council stop Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people by ensuring the protection of civilians, lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip, and allowing the permanent access of humanitarian relief aid.
The minister expressed concerns over the dire consequences of targeting and storming the city of Rafah. “The plans to expand military operations towards Rafah will only bring more suffering to the targeted and defenseless civilians in the Gaza Strip,” he said.
The foreign minister reiterated the Islamic countries’ rejection of the forced displacement of the Palestinian people from the Palestinian territories and stressed the importance of allowing the immediate and safe return of displaced civilians.
The minister indicated that the Kingdom—through its direct bilateral communications with most countries worldwide, and through its role within the ministerial committee emanating from the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit—has called on all international parties and the international community to assume their responsibilities in stopping the war and irresponsible escalation, protecting innocent civilians, and preventing forced displacement.
“We have noticed a positive development in the positions of some countries and an understanding of the magnitude of the disaster. We have also seen an increase in the number of countries calling for an immediate ceasefire. Additionally, we have heard from several countries about their willingness in principle to recognize the State of Palestine,” the minister said.
In this regard, he added, the Kingdom directs its message to those countries that the time has come for them to make their decision to recognize the State of Palestine and continue to pressure Israel to stop the war in Gaza and accept the two-state solution.
The foreign minister stated that withholding funding from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) at this time would harm innocent civilians in Gaza and exacerbate the suffering of the Palestinian people.
“The Kingdom will continue its support for … UNRWA and urges all supporters to fulfill their supportive role in humanitarian missions towards Palestinian refugees inside the besieged Gaza Strip,” the minister said.
Moreover, the minister called on countries that suspended their support to UNRWA to reconsider their decisions due to the importance of the agency’s continued performance of its duties in ensuring the provision of basic necessities for Palestinians to alleviate the effects of the humanitarian crisis.
At the end of his speech, the foreign minister reiterated the necessity of ending the suffering and providing hope for the Palestinian people, enabling them to secure their rights to live in safety and determine their destiny. He added that this could happen through a credible path towards the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant international resolutions.
On the Saudi side, the OIC meeting was attended by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Eng. Waleed bin AbdulKarim El-Khereiji and Permanent Representative to the OIC Dr. Saleh bin Hamad Al-Suhaibani.
BY: MMD