Vienna: Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani stressed the importance of achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the long-standing Palestinian cause through negotiations and on the basis of ending the Israeli occupation of the Arab territories within a specific time frame, abiding by the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy and the principle of a two-state solution agreed upon by the international community, and establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
This came in a speech delivered on behalf of H H the Amir by Acting Charge d’Affaires at the State of Qatar’s Embassy in Vienna, Abdullah bin Nasser Al Fahid at a ceremony in the United Nations in Vienna to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which falls on November 29 each year.
H H the Amir stressed that Israel’s continued rejection of the peace option, escalation of its aggressive practices and its violation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, as well as its continued settlement operations, confiscation of Palestinian land, use of excessive force in the face of unarmed Palestinian civilians and the unjust siege on the Gaza Strip, in addition to depriving the Palestinian people of their natural resources and restricting their freedom and desecrating Muslim and Christian sanctities, especially the Al Aqsa Mosque, all these practices and illegal policies do not serve the chances of achieving lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East and the world, but only serve to raise tension in the region and threaten international security and stability.
H H the Amir noted that Qatar will continue to provide various forms of material and political support to the brotherly Palestinian people, pointing to pledges announced by Qatar this year to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, which has been besieged for years, and to provide the Gaza Strip with the necessary fuel to secure electricity and to cover basic needs.
H H the Amir pointed out that the State of Qatar has increased its financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), in view of the vital role undertaken by the Agency since its establishment to secure the basic needs of millions of these refugees, a matter which allowed the Agency this year to open its schools in the Palestinian territories on time at the beginning of the current school year, after the large funding deficit threatens the reopening of schools.
His Highness also extended his greetings to all participants in the celebration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which reflects the right of this people to the realization of all their legitimate national rights and to reject the injustices against them.
“On this occasion, I wish to reiterate on my behalf and on behalf of the Government and people of the State of Qatar our firm solidarity with the brotherly Palestinian people in their struggle to achieve those rights that have been violated,” His Highness said. H H the Amir added that this celebration affirms that the Palestinian question is a priority for the international community, adding that just national issues cannot be solved by being subjected to the balance of power between the occupier and the occupied, but can only be solved in accordance with principles such as the right to self-determination and inadmissibility of annexation of territories of others by force, which have become part of the international legitimacy.
In his speech, H H the Amir saluted the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their legitimate struggle against the brutal occupation and saluted the Palestinian people’s insistence on the restoration of their land, holy sites and rights guaranteed by all laws and international norms.
H H the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani concluded his speech by reiterating his thanks to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, the UN Secretariat General and the UNRWA for their efforts to assist the Palestinian people and to assert their legitimate rights.
