GCC criticizes Israel on Palestine issue

Foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have criticized Israel for continuing to build settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The GCC has opposed Israeli efforts to consolidate and expand settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem - Photo: A meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in March 2023. (Source: Anadolu)

On June 11, at the 156th GCC Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, member countries opposed Israel's attempts to annex settlements or impose sovereignty over the areas it controls in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, contrary to international resolutions, most notably Resolution 2334 of the United Nations Security Council.

The GCC foreign ministers also called on the international community to put pressure on the Jewish state to reverse its settlement policies, while criticizing Israel's incursions into the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and efforts to Judaize the city of Jerusalem.

The Council also commended Saudi Arabia’s efforts, in cooperation with the Arab League (AL) and the European Union (EU), to revive the Arab Peace Initiative and challenge Israel’s violations. The GCC appreciated its members’ support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The Council reaffirmed its support for the sovereignty of the Palestinian people over all territories occupied since 1967 and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The GCC also appreciated Saudi Arabia’s success in hosting a number of important international and regional events, including the 32nd AL Summit in Jeddah, stressing the importance of Arab unity. The meeting also commended Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for their great achievements in space exploration, knowledge development and scientific research.

The GCC foreign ministers also discussed strengthening joint action in the Gulf as well as the latest developments related to Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan, Libya, Afghanistan and the crisis in Ukraine.

Previously, in an interview with Sky News (UK) on June 9, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that settlements in the West Bank do not hinder a peace agreement with the Palestinians: "The idea that Jews should not live in our homeland, which has been our homeland for the past 3,000 years,... I think that is an obstacle to peace."

According to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, there are now nearly 700,000 Jews living in 279 settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, an increase of 180,000 people since 2012.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/gcc-chi-trich-israel-ve-van-de-palestine-230649.html