Their Highnesses, Excellencies, and Excellencies, the Foreign Ministers of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf sent a joint message to Anthony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States of America, condemning the statements of Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli Minister of Finance, which calls for the removal of the Palestinian town of Hawara from existence, and his statements that deny the reality of the existence of the Palestinian people.
Mr. Jassim Muhammad Al-Budaiwi, Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, stated that the letter embodies the position of their Majesties and Highnesses, the leaders of the GCC countries – may God protect and preserve them – regarding the issue of Palestine, as it is the first issue of Arabs and Muslims, stressing what was stated in the closing statement of the 155th session of the Council. The Ministerial Council of the Cooperation Council, which was held on March 22, 2023 AD, regarding the Cooperation Council’s support for the sovereignty of the Palestinian people over all Palestinian territories occupied since June 1967 AD, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, guaranteeing all the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, and rejecting settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories.
He said that the letter included praise for the American position rejecting these statements, and a call for the United States of America to assume its responsibilities in responding to all measures and statements targeting the Palestinian people, and also urged the American administration to play its role in reaching a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the conflict based on the principles of international law and the initiative of Arab peace, including the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to establish an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Secretary-General stressed the GCC’s condemnation of the escalating Israeli statements and violations against the Palestinian people, including the crimes committed recently in the city and camp of Jenin, and in the towns of Hawara, Burin, Asira al-Qibliya, and others, which claimed the lives of a number of martyrs and dozens of wounded, the demolition of homes and the destruction of property, and the violation of sanctity. The blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, targeting the Palestinian presence in the city of Jerusalem, and attempts to change its legal character, demographic composition, and arrangements for Islamic holy places.
