New York, October 17 (QNA) - The State of Qatar affirmed that the continued exploitation of natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the occupied Syrian Golan, coupled with restrictions on the local population's access to and use of those resources, poses a major obstacle to sustainable development and the realization of the economic and social rights of people living under occupation, while stressing that the Palestinian people cannot exercise permanent sovereignty over their natural resources while being denied control over their land and resources.

This came in a statement delivered by Third Secretary at the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Mohammed Hassan Al Emadi before the Second Committee of the United Nations General Assembly during its 81st session, under agenda item 58 on "Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources" at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

On the situation in the Gaza Strip, Al Emadi reiterated that the State of Qatar's immediate priority is to consolidate the ceasefire, ensure the full implementation of its terms, and secure the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid, as well as the need to restore essential services and civilian infrastructure and to create the conditions for early recovery and reconstruction, enabling the Palestinian people to rebuild the foundations of their economic and social life and laying a sustainable basis for development.

He added that Qatar's mediation efforts, undertaken in cooperation with the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States of America, were rooted in a firm commitment to ending human suffering and creating the conditions for a political process leading to a just and lasting peace.

He underscored the importance of supporting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as a key partner in delivering essential humanitarian, educational, health, and development services in accordance with its mandate.

He further reaffirmed the State of Qatar's support for the right of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan to their natural resources. He reiterated Qatar's rejection of any measures aimed at altering the Golan's legal or demographic status, and its call for an end to the occupation and Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June 1967 in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions.

Al Emadi also reaffirmed the State of Qatar's support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the right to self-determination and to establish an independent state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. (QNA)