Foreign officials denounced on Tuesday the continuing tragic conditions in the Gaza Strip, warning that practices of the Israeli occupation would eliminate any chance for peace in the region.
This came in speeches delivered by the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, before the 162nd session of Arab foreign ministers’ meeting held at the Cairo-based Arab League.
Borrell stressed that the Israeli occupation aims to transform the West Bank into a new Gaza by implementing a policy of displacing its residents, noting that the occupation government has made the internationally agreed-upon two-state solution “impossible.” He commended the Arab League for its achievements, most notably the Arab Peace Initiative, which established a consensual framework for resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict and seeks to build a better future for the re
gion.
For his part, Fidan stressed that peace cannot be achieved without a just solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, and that oppression “must end.” He warned of the occupation’s attempts to change the identity of Jerusalem and the situation in Al-Aqsa Mosque, especially the entry of extremist settlers into the Holy Mosque, noting that the Islamic world is making every effort to protect the identity of Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem.
He stressed the importance of Turkish cooperation with the Arab world to confront the same challenges and goals, calling for coordination of work in various fields.
In turn, Kaag said that all humanitarian workers in Gaza bear witness to the inhumane conditions and indescribable suffering to which women, youth and children are exposed to.
She added that what is seen on television cannot be compared to the reality in Gaza, as matters are more “horrific and tragic.” The 162nd session of the Arab League Council at
the level of Arab foreign ministers began on Tuesday in Cairo, headed by Yemen and with the participation of Kuwait.
Source: Kuwait News Agency