Middle East Monitor / October 20, 2021
Saudi Arabia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Abdullah Bin Yahya al-Mouallimi, yesterday slammed Israel, saying that it has “robbed the Palestinian people of their most basic rights”.
Speaking at the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) meeting on the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan, Al-Mouallimi said the right to development, self-determination, and life are among the most basic rights guaranteed under international law to all peoples, yet Palestinians are still deprived of these.
“The Israeli authorities not only robbed the Palestinian people of their rights to development but also robbed them of their right to build an independent, viable state that embraces their hopes and aspirations,” he said, adding that “the United Nations reports indicate the extent of violations and the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on the living conditions of the Palestinian people and the residents of the occupied Syrian Golan.”
He pointed out that Israel’s disregard for international resolutions reflects its tendency to abort all efforts aimed at achieving a just and comprehensive peace and to continue its violations against the Palestinian people and the construction of settlements.
The Saudi ambassador stressed that achieving development in the Palestinian territories and the occupied Syrian Golan is closely linked to achieving peace, security, and justice, therefore development cannot be achieved without finding a permanent, just, and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue.
Al-Mouallimi called on the Security Council to assume its political and moral responsibilities by obligating Israel to comply with international resolutions and laws that call for ending its occupation and the complete withdrawal from the occupied Arab lands, including the Syrian Golan Heights.
The Saudi diplomat reiterated the kingdom’s firm support for the Palestinian cause.
