Doha, November 20 (QNA) - The State of Qatar affirmed that the decades-long Israeli occupation constitutes a blatant violation of the principles of international law, the UN Charter, and relevant UN resolutions. It also reiterated its welcome of the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in July 2024, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in Dec. 2024.

This came in the statement delivered by Second Secretary of the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Sheikh Jassim bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani, before the Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly during its 80th session under item (50) on the “Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories,” at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Sheikh Jassim bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani noted that the Court affirmed that Israel is obligated to end its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory and East Jerusalem, and clarified that the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza constitute a single territorial unit whose unity, continuity, integrity, and respect must be preserved.

He added that the reports submitted to the General Assembly under this item document Israel’s ongoing actions in the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories that violate international law and infringe upon the rights of the Palestinian people and other Arab populations under occupation, including settlement expansion, forced displacement, confiscation of civilian property, home demolitions, and other practices that violate international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

He further noted Qatar’s condemnation of settlers’ storming of the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the attack on the Hajjeh Hamida Mosque in the Palestinian village of Kifl Hares last week, considering both acts blatant violations of international law and relevant UN resolutions.

He noted that, as part of the State of Qatar’s intensive efforts to spare the blood of the Palestinian people, alleviate their humanitarian suffering, and secure the release of prisoners and detainees, Qatar has continued over the past two years of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip its mediation efforts in partnership with the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States of America. He affirmed that despite challenges and obstacles, Qatar succeeded in achieving tangible progress in reaching humanitarian truces that helped ease part of the suffering by enabling the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people and facilitating the release of prisoners and hostages.

He pointed out that Qatari efforts, jointly with the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Turkiye, and the United States, recently succeeded in reaching a ceasefire agreement signed on Oct. 13 in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh, aimed at ending the bloodshed and humanitarian suffering in the Gaza Strip.

He stressed that the only guarantee for achieving sustainable peace in the region is reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions, as well as the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State solution.

The conference, held last July under the chairmanship of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the French Republic, was adopted by the UN General Assembly on Sept. 12. Such a solution would restore the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the right to self-determination, return, and the establishment of their independent, sovereign state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. (QNA)