Qatar Renews Call to Expedite Implementing UN Resolutions on Ensuring Israel's Respect for Geneva Convention
New York – Information Office – 08 November
The State of Qatar renewed its call for expediting the implementation of the resolutions of the General Assembly at its tenth extra-ordinary session with respect to ensuring Israel's respect for the provisions of the 1949 Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, underlining the need to implement Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and to other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967.
The State of Qatar also reiterated the rejection of illegal Israeli practices in the occupied Syrian Arab Golan, which violate international law and Security Council resolutions, in particular the UN Security Council's resolution 497 and General Assembly resolutions, most recent of which is resolution 71/99, pointing out that Israel's decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Golan is null, void and has no international legal effect.
This came Tuesday in the State of Qatar's Statement delivered by Deputy Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Abdulrahman Yaaqob Al Hammadi before the fourth committee of the UN General assembly on the Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories.
"It is clear from the reports presented under this topic that violations against Palestinians and other Arabs in the occupied Arab territories continue to occur," the statement said, pointing that such violations include excessive use of force, extrajudicial executions, detention (including of children in violation of international humanitarian law) and collective punishment measures, while Palestinian resources are subject to illegal exploitation in violation of Palestinian sovereignty over those resources.
The statement pointed that it is impossible to talk about unjust practices without talking about the clearest of all, the Israeli occupation itself, as the year 2017 marks the passage of half a century of this occupation. The statement underlined the necessity of putting an end to it through efforts to create conditions conducive to reopening the horizons of political action to advance meaningful negotiations for a settlement of the Palestinian cause and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace on basis of the Two-State solution, and in accordance with Security Council resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative. It further stressed the need for the establishment of an independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian State on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital.
The statement pointed to the emphasis of the report of the Secretary-General on Israeli settlements that the establishment and expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, constitutes a flagrant violation of international law, being detrimental to the human rights of Palestinians, for involving forced evictions, seizure of property and restricted access to services.
It added that the settlement activity has escalated in various ways this year, which leads to the fragmentation of the West Bank, pointing out in this regard to the recommendation contained in the report to stop the construction and expansion of settlements and the implementation of relevant UN resolutions.
The statement pointed out that among the most dangerous Israeli illegal practices, are the attempt to distort the Arab identity of the city of Jerusalem, changing the demographic structure, and desecration of religious sanctities, especially AL Aqsa Mosque. It stressed that any attempt to target the freedom of worship in Al-Aqsa Mosque by closing it, preventing worshipers from entering it, attempting to Judaize it or divide it temporarily or spatially constitutes a grave violation of the Islamic sanctities and a provocation to the feelings of millions of Muslims in the world.
It further pointed that the Secretary-General's report on Israeli practices reiterated the concern about the impact of the blockade of the Gaza Strip on the lives of the civilian population, which could amount to collective punishment, as the humanitarian and economic situation of the population of the Gaza Strip remained precarious and unsustainable.
The statement also renewed the State of Qatar's welcoming to the signing of a reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas as well as to the Palestinian national reconciliation government assumption of power in Gaza , expressing hope for a new phase of unity and harmony for the Palestinian people.
Deputy Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Abdulrahman Yaaqob Al Hamadi concluded the Statement by reiterating the State of Qatar's solidarity with the Palestinian brothers and other Arab brothers in the occupied Arab territories in the face of the illegal practices committed against them.