FM: Qatar will continue to support Palestinian people

QNA – Doha:

HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani affirmed that Qatar will continue to support the brotherly Palestinian people, noting that it has contributed in this regard more than $1.2bn in the past eight years.

In a speech during the virtual ministerial meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee to co-ordinate international assistance to the Palestinian people yesterday, the Foreign Minister pointed out that Qatar has recently contributed more than $150mn in support to the brotherly Palestinian people, part of which has been allocated to deal with the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis.

He added that this meeting comes at a very important time, as the Palestinian brothers suffer economically, socially, and from security troubles as a result of the occupation and the additional pressure of the Covid-19 crisis.

He underlined the importance of continuing to support the Palestinian people during this crisis, which represents a major challenge for all of the world, noting that this challenge has become more difficult for the Palestinians because of the measures taken by the Israeli occupation.

He pointed to the failure of the international community during the past 70 years to end the current occupation and find a just solution to this crisis.

HE Sheikh Mohamed added that the measures taken by the Israelis added additional burden, which will cause a deterioration of the security situation and can get things out of control, therefore, the whole world should view these developments with great concern.

HE the Foreign Minister stressed that Qatar rejects any attempt to annex the occupied Palestinian territories, expecting logistical challenges, especially with what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank.

He warning that this would cause delays in the projects of donor countries in those areas.

He stressed that Israel’s attempts to forcibly annex the occupied territories would dash any hopes about a just peace process between the two parties, noting that the Arab countries took a courageous step in 2002 by adopting the Arab Peace Initiative, which stipulated building bilateral relations between Israel and the Arab countries in exchange for withdrawal from the territories of 1967, the return of refugees, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

He pointed out that there have been no negotiations since 2014 between the Israelis and the Palestinians, stressing the need to see a serious step towards this and a serious position on the international community.

HE Sheikh Mohamed expressed Qatar’s encouragement to donor countries to continue their support to UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority to respond to these challenges.

He explained that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not an economic struggle, but a political one that creates many economic challenges.

He expressed concern that the donor countries would lower this contribution to the Palestinian people in light of the economic challenges due to the pandemic, warning that this poses an additional challenge.

The Foreign Minister urged donor countries to continue their support to the Palestinian people, saying that this would help in turn to enhance opportunities for peace and stability.