Foreign Ministers of Arab and Islamic Countries Express Deep Concern Over Continued Humanitarian Suffering in Gaza

Doha, September 22 (KUNA) -- Foreign ministers of eight Arab and Islamic countries expressed deep concern on Tuesday over the ongoing humanitarian suffering in Gaza, calling on the Israeli occupation to immediately fulfill its obligations under the first phase of the comprehensive plan. The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that this came during a meeting of the foreign ministers of Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia in New York, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The ministers emphasized the necessity of adhering to the ceasefire and ending all violations, including ensuring the immediate, safe, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid and early recovery supplies, as well as facilitating the rehabilitation of vital infrastructure. They stressed that the roadmap constitutes an integral part of the comprehensive plan and provides a framework for implementing its second phase, including the disarmament process, concurrent with the complete withdrawal of the Israeli occupation, the deployment of an international stabilization force, the assumption of responsibilities by the National Authority for the Governance of the Gaza Strip, and the commencement of early recovery and reconstruction operations across the Strip.

The ministers reiterated their categorical rejection of any measures aimed at displacing or forcibly expelling the Palestinian people from their homeland, or any attempts to alter the geographic or demographic character of the occupied Palestinian territory. In this context, they condemned illegal measures aimed at entrenching occupation control and annexation, including the acceleration of settlement expansion, land confiscation, demolition of Palestinian homes, settler violence and intimidation, and forced displacement, calling for an immediate halt to and reversal of these measures.

The ministers also expressed deep concern over measures undermining the historic and legal status quo of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. In the same vein, they welcomed recent measures taken by the United Kingdom, as well as broader national and European efforts in response to illegal Israeli settlement activities, and called for further effective measures to halt settlement expansion and ensure accountability for settler violence.

They further affirmed that the Gaza Strip must remain an inseparable part of the Palestinian territory, and reaffirmed that the implementation of the comprehensive plan should contribute to the reunification of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, and lead to a credible and irreversible path toward peace.

The ministers renewed their readiness to continue working collectively with the United States, the Peace and Reconciliation Council, the Palestinian Authority, and all concerned parties to advance the full implementation of the comprehensive plan and its roadmap, alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people, and fulfill their right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state, thereby achieving a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in the region. (End) S.S.S / N.A.A