Kuwait Reaffirms Palestinian People's Sovereignty Over Natural Resources

Kuwait reaffirmed on Friday the permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people over their natural resources, stressing the necessity for the Israeli occupation to comply with its obligations under international law, end the occupation, and establish an independent Palestinian state with sovereignty within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. This was stated in Kuwait’s statement delivered by Diplomatic Attaché Dalal Sharar to the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) of the United Nations General Assembly during the discussion of Agenda Item 58, titled “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.”

Sharar emphasized that reconstructing the Gaza Strip, however important, cannot substitute for ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state. She called for consolidating the ceasefire in the Strip and ensuring the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid. She also urged enabling the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to carry out its mandate and supporting recovery and reconstruction under Palestinian leadership and ownership, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2803 (2025).

She condemned the continued settlement expansion, land and resource confiscation, and settler violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, noting that these illegal practices undermine the foundations of the Palestinian economy and the prospects for establishing a viable independent state, in violation of Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016). Sharar called for the release of withheld Palestinian revenues to ensure the continuity of essential services, pointing out that a report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) reflects a systematic undermining of development foundations and the denial of the Palestinian people’s legitimate right to self-determination and sovereignty over their natural resources.

She addressed UN estimates indicating that human development in Gaza has regressed by the equivalent of 77 years, unemployment has risen to 78 percent, and per capita gross domestic product has fallen to 58 cents per day, while recovery and reconstruction needs amount to $71.5 billion.

Highlighting Kuwait’s commitment to supporting the Palestinian people, Sharar noted that Kuwait had contributed its annual donation of $2 million to UNRWA and joined Jordan and Slovenia in launching a joint commitments initiative for the Agency to support the continuity of its vital services.

Regarding the occupied Syrian Golan, she affirmed the sovereignty of its Arab population over their natural resources and reiterated Kuwait’s opposition to settlement and the depletion of those resources, calling for compliance with Security Council Resolution 497 (1981) and respect for the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, as well as Syrian sovereignty, territorial integrity, and unity. She stressed the necessity for the Israeli occupation to comply with relevant obligations affirmed by the International Court of Justice in its advisory opinions of 2024 and 2025.

The Diplomatic Attaché expressed Kuwait’s appreciation for ESCWA’s efforts in documenting the economic and social impacts of the Israeli occupation on the Palestinian people and the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan, reaffirming her country’s support for the Commission’s work in this regard.