Qatar condemns Israel’s policy of intimidation in Gaza Strip

QNA/New York

The State of Qatar expressed deep concern over Israel’s continued policy of intimidation and imposition of collective punishment on the residents of the Gaza Strip through the repeated aggression and the siege imposed on the Strip for more than six years.

Referring to the latest Israeli aggression against Gaza in August, Qatar renewed the call to create a platform for dialogue and reach a final solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the two-state solution. It said that the biggest concern is the strategy pursued by the Israeli government strangling the Palestinian economy and threatening the vital interests of the Palestinian communities by depriving them of water.

It also said that the exploitation of natural resources in the occupied Syrian Golan by Israel is illegal under international law.

This came in a statement delivered by Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad al-Thani, a member of Qatar’s delegation participating in the 69th session of the UN General Assembly before the UN Fourth Committee-the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee, which met to consider the report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories.

The statement said that the most dangerous and unlawful Israeli practices are the assaults on religious sites and the lack of respect for freedom of worship, including attempts to break into the Haram al-Sharif and prevention of worshippers from entering the site.

The statement expressed Qatar’s condemnation of the violation of the holy sites and freedom of worship in Palestine by the Israeli authorities.

Qatar also strongly condemned storming of Al Aqsa Mosque, preventing worshippers from entering the mosque, the repeated assaults  on the Holy Al Aqsa Mosque and settler groups’ provocative visits to Al Aqsa Mosque compound, saying the Israeli government is responsible for any damage to the Haram al-Sharif.

The statement stressed that such practices constitute a clear violation of international law and are inconsistent with the relevant Security Council resolutions, calling on Israel to immediately stop all illegal settlement activities.