Media Center

Vienna, Media & Communication Dept., December 05

HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani has affirmed the State of Qatar's support for the brotherly Palestinian people in their plight, and solidarity with them in their just struggle to restore their land, sanctities and rights.
This came in His Highness' message on the occasion of the annual celebration held by the United Nations Office in Vienna on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. HE Acting Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to international organizations in Vienna Jamal Abdul Rahman Al Jaber delivered the message during the event.
HH the Amir said in the message that the population of the Gaza Strip was facing unprecedented suffering, which is being further complicated by Israel's persistence in its blatant aggression against defenseless civilians, and exacerbated by the silence of the international community and the active powers' ignorance of the humanitarian catastrophe they are experiencing.
The Israeli occupation forces did not hesitate to target civilians and protected civilian facilities including hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, refugee shelters, and UN facilities, as well as cutting off basic means of life including water, food, medicine, and fuel for all residents of the Strip, His Highness said.
All these illegal acts that constitute a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law are strongly condemned as war crimes whose perpetrators must be held accountable, His Highness added, stressing that any attempt to justify such war crimes must be rejected.
His Highness added that wars have rules that no one may ignore and that any attempt to displace the Palestinian people from their land must also be rejected, as a grave violation of international law that amounts to ethnic cleansing, especially given the Israeli officials' statements that disdain the Palestinians' life and human dignity.
His Highness stressed that Israel's war and barbaric attacks on the Gaza Strip residents led to tens of thousands of innocent victims, including those killed, wounded and missing under the rubble, more than two-thirds of whom were children and women.
This is what prompted the UN to warn against the Gaza Strip turning into a cemetery for children, and prompted the Security Council to adopt, after a long wait, its Resolution No. 2712, which called for urgent and extended humanitarian truces, His Highness added.
HH the Amir demanded the full implementation of the resolution and all provisions of the recent resolution of the 10th UNGA emergency special session, including the implementation of an immediate and permanent humanitarian pause, the protection of civilians, the provision of basic goods and services to civilians, and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid and freedom of movement for humanitarian and medical workers and for the injured.
His Highness also called on the international community to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities and work to remove the injustice imposed on the Palestinian people and provide them with international protection, while not being selective in dealing with civilian victims in order to preserve the credibility of international law and the international system.
The State of Qatar affirmed its condemnation of targeting all civilians without discrimination, based on its belief in resolving conflicts peacefully, His Highness added, highlighting Doha's tireless diplomatic efforts with regional and international partners, since the current escalation erupted, to reduce the escalation, spare civilians the consequences of military confrontations, prevent the expansion of the circle of conflict and address humanitarian issues, including the release of prisoners and the urgent aid delivery.
The Qatari-Egyptian-American mediation managed to reach a pause and release a number of prisoners and detainees from both sides, His Highness said, stressing that the State of Qatar would continue its diplomatic efforts and do everything in its power to renew the pause, stop this war, and achieve lasting peace in the region.

In the Humanitarian field, HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani pointed out that the State of Qatar has been scrambling over the past weeks to provide emergency humanitarian assistance by pursuing its unwavering approach to providing humanitarian and development assistance to the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip, in coordination with the United Nations.
In His Highness's message to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People held by the UN office in Vienna, HH the Amir stressed that the ongoing incidents cannot be separated from the reality of the persistent occupation and settlement that has been continuing for long decades, along with the siege of Gaza that has been continuing for 17 years, as well as the policy of Judaizing Jerusalem and attempts to undermine the existing historical and legal status of the holy places, the recurrent assaults on the Islamic and Christian holy places, freedom of worship, the violence unleashed by settlers against the defenseless Palestinians, demolition of property, arbitrary arrests, restricting the freedom of movement and other illegitimate practices carried out by the existing occupation authority which is now taking the form of apartheid.
His Highness noted that prior to the current escalation, the number of Palestinian civilians victimized by the Israeli violence this year has exceeded any previous year, as the measures of the occupation authority and Israeli settlers have taken a dangerous escalation and provocative aspect, especially the recurrent assaults on the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque which are condemned once again as a gross violation of international law and a provocation to the feelings of Muslims around the world.
The State of Qatar has persistently supported the Arab initiative to settle the Palestinian cause and warned of the consequences of rejecting any just peaceful solution by the successive Israeli governments, in accordance with the international legitimacy principles, and warned of the dangers of the international communitys failure to uphold the responsibility of confronting the illegitimate occupation, which has become a form of an apartheid regime, His Highness pointed out, emphasizing that the collective punishment Israel pursues against all population of Gaza Strip can never be the way for achieving peace.
His Highness pointed out that just, comprehensive and enduring peace can only be achieved through applying the international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab peace initiative based on the two-state solution principle, with the establishment of the independent Palestinian State on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, ensure the Palestinian people regain their all-inalienable rights.
HH the Amir praised the efforts made by the United Nations, its agencies and partners in providing help for the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip, adding that he specifically appreciates the good sacrifices offered by those operating in the humanitarian and health fields, including the UN staff, particularly the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), especially those who have sacrificed with the best means they have to perform their duty, expressing his thanks to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP), and the United Nations Division for Palestinian Rights (UNDPR) for the efforts made to assist the Palestinian people and help them regain their legitimate rights.