HE the Speaker of the Shura Council Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud has stressed that Qatar, under the leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, stands firmly with the Palestinian cause and calls for the return of Al Quds and Al Aqsa Mosque to the Arab and Islamic World.
Qatar, he said, backs the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the borders of June 4 of 1967 with East Al Quds as its capital. While strongly condemning the Israeli aggression, Qatar has called on the international community to interfere and stop it.
HE al-Mahmoud said at an emergency meeting for Arab Parliaments' Speakers, organised by the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union, that the Arab Ummah is facing a decisive moment and a grave challenge represented in how to protect Al Quds, Al Aqsa Mosque, and the Palestinian people in the occupied territories from the racist, inhuman, settlement aggression exercised by Israel using its army, police, and settlers over the past days in a clear challenge to international law and disregard of the feelings of millions of Arabs, Muslims, and Christians.
HE the Speaker paid tributes to the Palestinian people who are standing up to protect Al Aqsa Mosque, the Damascus Gate, the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, and Gaza in the face of bullets. He called for participants in the meeting to make sure they conclude the meeting with a united position that would regain trust in joint Arab work that becomes the basis for a new way of working to face the arrogance and crimes of Israeli occupation, and support the Palestinian people beyond supportive words and statements.
He stressed that the first step is Arab solidarity and forming a united Arab position with strong influence on the international community and emphasised the importance of Arab parliamentary work in these difficult time, saying it will have a big impact on meeting the aspirations of the Arab people and honouring the struggle of the Palestinian people.
HE al-Mahmoud added that the time for condemnation and denunciation has passed, and that now is the time of honest and serious work that protects Al Quds and supports the struggle of the Palestinian people who are showing a heroic example of defending your rights, led by their right to establish an independent state on the borders of their territories that were occupied in 1967.
HE the Speaker of the Shura Council concluded his speech by expressing hope that Arab parliaments can reach a position that helps end the aggression against holy sites, and protects the Palestinian people in the occupied territories from being murdered, oppressed, terrorised and displaced in a genocide and war crimes. The Shura Council delegation included members of the council Hady bin Said al-Khayarain, and Saqr bin Fahd al-Muraikhi.
