Foreign Minister participates in Arab League’s extraordinary ministerial-level session

Manama, Apr. 30 (BNA): Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, today participated, through video conference, in the extraordinary session of the Council of the Arab League at the ministerial level, hosted by the Sultanate of Oman, at the request of the sisterly State of Palestine to discuss the steps and procedures the Arab countries could take to counter the Israeli plan to annex the West Bank or parts of it to the Israeli entity. The Arab League discussed the aggressive plans of the Israeli occupation to annex parts of the occupied Palestinian territories in 1967, flagrantly violating international law and international legitimacy, taking advantage of the world's preoccupation with the confrontation of the Coronavirus pandemic. It said that Israel had unveiled its plans ignoring the humanitarian and global trend to stop aggression, war and siege in these difficult humanitarian conditions that threaten all humanity, stressing the centrality of the Palestinian cause for the entire Arab Nation along with the Arab identity of the occupied East Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine. In the speech of the Kingdom of Bahrain, which was distributed during the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, affirmed the Kingdom's steadfast stance towards the Palestinian issue and its support for the Palestinian stance towards the Israeli plan to annex the West Bank or parts of it and impose Israeli sovereignty over it and over the illegal settlements which were established on the occupied Palestinian state after 1967, in particular the annexation of the Jordan Valley, and Area C of the West Bank. He said that the Israeli plan is a flagrant violation of the relevant UN resolutions and principles of international law, and all previous agreements signed between the Palestinian brothers and Israel. Dr. Al-Zayani explained that that this Israeli plan threatens international peace and security and endangers the region, especially in light of the current circumstances in which the entire world is busy cooperating to Fight the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic and the global threat it poses. He affirmed anew the unflinching position of the Kingdom of Bahrain in support of the Palestinian cause and the rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy and international law. He added that a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East region can only be achieved with the complete withdrawal of Israel from all the Arab lands occupied in 1967, establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, return of all the Palestinian refugees to their lands and the implementation of all relevant UN resolutions. He stressed the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, which calls for the complete withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territories, particularly East Jerusalem, and the rest of the occupied Arab territories. He called on the international community to shoulder their full responsibilities towards Israel’s arrogance and complete ignorance of the international community’s positions that have been expressed on many occasions by the Security Council, the General Assembly, and other major organs of the United Nations. In his speech, the Minister condemned the Israeli measures as hindering the efforts to combat Coronavirus, including Israel’s insistence to keep the Palestinian prisoners in prisons. He stressed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s support of the measures taken by the Palestinian government to combat the pandemic and expressed its full preparedness to assist the Palestinian brothers in this regard, with exchange of information, experiences and the followed treatment protocol which achieved the highest recovery level in the Arab countries. The Council of the League of Arab States issued a resolution in which it affirmed that the Israeli’s implementation of its plans to annex parts of the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967, including the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea, and the lands on which the Israeli settlements are built and their surroundings, represents a new war crime to be added to the Israeli record that is full of brutal crimes against the Palestinian people and flagrant violations of the Charter and resolutions of the United Nations and international law. The Council affirmed that the Arab states would support all political, diplomatic, legal and financial means and any decisions or steps taken by the State of Palestine to confront the Israeli plans in its commitment of the annexation and colonial settlement expansion crime. It affirmed that a comprehensive and just peace based on international law, international legitimacy’s decisions, Arab Peace Initiative and a two-state solution leading to the establishment of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine on the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, is the Arab countries’ strategic choice and a necessity for regional and international security and peace. The Council stressed the need to launch serious and effective negotiations within a specific time frame under international sponsorship, based on international legitimacy decisions, credible references, and signed agreements, to resolve the conflict and achieve acceptable peace to the peoples. The council called on the International Quartet to convene an urgent meeting to save the chances of peace and the two-state solution, and to take an international position consistent with international resolutions and the terms of reference of the peace process, including the road map and the Arab peace initiative in order to compel the Israeli occupation to stop implementing their colonial plans, including annexation and settlement expansion, and to put an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967. The council called on the international community and the United Nations, including the Security Council, to assume their responsibilities of maintaining international peace and security, ensuring the enforcement of international law and international legitimacy decisions in the occupied Palestinian territory, and preventing the Israeli occupation government from implementing the aforementioned plans. It also urged the European countries to exert pressure on the Israeli occupation government to stop its plans and to urgently recognize the state of Palestine on the 1967 border lines, to save peace and the two-state solution. The Council strongly condemned the Israeli policies and practices against the Palestinian people and their sanctities, including what is taking place in the occupied East Jerusalem, the recent Israeli aggression aimed at controlling Islamic Endowment lands around the Al Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied city of Hebron, and the blockade of the Gaza Strip. It called on the international community and the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross to put pressure on the Israeli occupation authorities to release the Palestinian prisoners from its prisons, especially the sick and the elderly, to protect them from Coronavirus, and warned to hold the Israeli authorities fully responsible for any health consequences.