RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister for International Multilateral Affairs and General Supervisor of the Public Diplomacy Deputyship Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Rassi, has underscored the need to foster a multilateral political path to achieve the two-state solution and an end to the Israeli occupation, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday.
He was addressing the first meeting of the Global Alliance for Implementation of the Two-State Solution which continued in Riyadh, with the participation of senior officials from different countries and international organizations.
Dr. Al-Rassi emphasized the significance of this first meeting of the Global Alliance for the implementation of the two-state solution, convened at a time when the Palestinian people are enduring ongoing suffering due to Israeli aggression and the widespread destruction inflicted by Israeli war machine upon people and places alike.
He highlighted the audacity of the occupying state in violating international law and international humanitarian law, as well as the international community’s failure to halt and deter Israeli aggression.
Dr. Al-Rassi underscored the importance of engaging participating countries in fostering a multilateral political path to achieve peace based on the two-state solution and an end to the Israeli occupation.
He said that guaranteed in the principles of international law, UN resolutions, the peace process frameworks, and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative the suffering of the Palestinian people must be ended.
The minister said the people of Palestine have a right to live in freedom and dignity in their independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He renewed the Kingdom’s call for all peace-loving countries to join this Alliance while also appreciating recent decisions by several friendly countries to recognize the State of Palestine. He urged other countries to expedite this decision, as it bolsters Palestinian rights and accelerates the realization of the two-state solution and peace.
Dr. Al-Rassi stated: “The continuation of the occupying power’s crimes against the Palestinian people will only widen the conflict and further endanger regional and global security and stability.” He called on the international community, particularly the permanent members of the Security Council, to use their powers to uphold security and peace, compelling Israel to halt its aggression and allow immediate and unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid.
He also strongly condemned the Israeli Knesset’s decision to ban the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), considering it a violation of international law and a dangerous precedent that contravenes member states’ obligations under the UN Charter, undermining the multilateral international system. He added that this latest move by Israel, the occupying state, seeks to dismantle the resilience of the Palestinian people on their land, representing a desperate attempt at forced displacement.
Dr. Al-Rassi reiterated the Kingdom’s absolute rejection of the continued systematic political and military targeting by Israeli occupation authorities of UN agencies and humanitarian organizations, which continuously endangers the lives of their workers. He reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s support for UNRWA’s humanitarian mission to assist Palestinian refugees.
