UAE congratulates Palestine

The UAE also declared its support to the Palestinian State in all possible fields, and urged all states to increase their financial and economic assistance to the Palestinian National Authority.

In a statement issued before the 67^th Session of the UN General Assembly on item 37 entitled The Question of Palestine, the Permanent Representative of the UAE to the United Nations, Ahmed Al-Jarman said: “At the outset, on behalf of the Government and the people of the United Arab Emirates, I would like to congratulate Palestine today for being accorded the non-member observer State status in the United Nations. Our co-sponsoring and support of this historical resolution which has been adopted today represents the UAE’s firm conviction that international recognition of the Palestinian State is an essential element of the responsibility upon the United Nations towards the Palestinian question, which remained without solution for 65 years”.

Today’s resolution is fully consistent with the other resolutions of the United Nations that specified the principles of a just solution to this question, particularly resolution 181 (II) that divided Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab, and unleashed a series of events which radically changed the geographical and political situation of the entire Middle East. These events, which included the establishment of an Israeli state since more than six decades, and the obstruction by Israel of all efforts aimed at establishing an independent Palestinian state due to the continued Israeli occupation and its dangerous policies in the Palestinian and other Arab occupied territories since 1967, have resulted in prolonging the suffering of the Palestinian people on one hand, and impacting negatively on all efforts aimed at consolidating regional and international peace and security, on the other hand, he added.

The statement continued:

We consider this historical United Nations recognition of the State of Palestine an important step towards the settlement of the Palestinian question, and consolidating the right of the Palestinians to self-determination. It represents a historical opportunity to overcome the present political crisis that has resulted from Israel’s continued occupation of the Palestinian lands, and should also be an exit out of the no-peace situation in the Middle East. We hope that this will soon be followed by an international move towards the formal acceptance to full membership of the independent State of Palestine in the United Nations, like all other states, since the Palestinian State now enjoys the recognition of the overwhelming majority of the Member States of the United Nations.

The UAE, which strongly condemns all hostile policies and serious acts of aggression committed by Israel until this day, including its recent aggression on Gaza Strip and its deliberate targeting of unarmed civilians, including children, emphasizes that achieving security for Israel and a permanent cessation of violence in the region cannot be achieved without imposing a just solution on the ground based on the principles of international law and international legality.

We also express our deep concern over the current deadlock in peace negotiations, whose credibility is at stake due to the breaches by the Israeli government of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and the principles of the terms of the peace process. In this context, we call upon the international community, particularly the Quartet on the Middle East, to reinvigorate their efforts in this regard and use their influence on Israel to compel it to immediately stop all its unilateral policies which resulted in the freezing of peace negotiations, and to suspend and dismantle all its settlement projects, including the illegal separation wall, which are intended by Israel to changing facts on the ground before the outcome of the final status negotiations. Israel must stop all provocative illegal actions taken in East Jerusalem, which included the demolition of Palestinian homes and property, expropriation of their lands and water resources, expulsion of original Arab inhabitants from their lands and homes, and endangering sacred sites.

Taking these essential measures will demonstrate Israel’s good and serious intentions for peace, and will provide the right conditions for resuming peace negotiations on the final status that can guarantee reaching a just, comprehensive and lasting solution of the Palestinian question based on the two-state solution and with a set timetable.

The United Arab Emirates, which will continue its political support and developmental aid to the Palestinian Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, and its support to all other efforts aimed at achieving Palestinian reconciliation, affirms that containing tensions and strengthening security and stability in the Middle East cannot be realized without achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

This requires that Israel immediately end all its aggressive policies against the Palestinian people, its full withdrawal from all Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, the Syrian Golan Heights and the remaining occupied Lebanese territories, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State on the basis of June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the principles of the Madrid Peace Process, the relevant resolutions of international legality, particularly resolutions 181, 242 and 338, the two-state solution set out in the Road Map, and the Arab Peace Initiative.

In conclusion, I would like to declare the support of the United Arab Emirates to the Palestinian State in all possible fields, and urge all states to increase their financial and economic assistance to the Palestinian National Authority. I also reiterate my country’s commitment to continue working with the international community to ensure the success of all efforts and initiatives aimed at consolidating security, stability and peace in the Middle East.