UAE demands implementation of UN resolutions that call on Israel to stop its settlement expansion

GENEVA, 3rd July, 2018 (WAM) -- The UAE demanded the implementation of all United Nations, UN, resolutions that call on Israel to stop its settlement expansion in occupied Palestinian areas, including in East Jerusalem. It also called on the international community to end Israel’s occupation and guarantee the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination and establish an independent country, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The country’s statement was made during a speech by Obaid Salem Al Zaabi, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN in Geneva, at the 38th session of the Human Rights Council, which witnessed a general discussion on the state of human rights in Palestine and other occupied Arab lands. Al Zaabi highlighted Security Council Resolution No. 2334 for 2016, which asserts that Israel’s policy of settlement expansion in occupied Palestinian areas since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal basis, is a stark violation of international law, and is a major obstacle to creating two states that can live together in peace and security. Two years after the resolution was issued, the wall is still continuing to be built and the number of settlements is increasing while the two-state solution has disappeared, even before it was discussed, he added. Al Zaabi called on the council to face its responsibilities to uphold resolutions and the reports of special rapporteurs and investigation committees, as well as to enforce its mandate to end Israel’s injustices and its construction of settlements, which are the symbol of Israel’s continuing occupation and hinders the efforts of peace initiatives. He also noted the latest report of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, which points out that since 1967, around 250 Israeli settlements and outposts were established in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which led to the loss of properties and sources of income while the attacks of Israeli settlers against Palestinians were encouraged by the lack of any international accountability. The UAE announced, during the Jerusalem Summit in Dhahran in April 2018, that it is offering two bundles of assistance to support the Palestinian people, with the first being valued at US$20 million, which will be allocated to programmes that support Islamic endowments in Jerusalem while the second, which is valued at $50 million, will be given to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, Al Zaabi said in conclusion.