Kuwait underlines its commitment to continued aid to Palestinian people

KUWAIT, May 26 (KUNA) -- The State of Kuwait on Sunday stressed its commitment to continue aid and humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine, and also praised UNRWAآ’s vital role to serve and help the Palestinians.
"I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm Kuwaitآ’s commitment to humanitarian and relief aid to the Palestinian people," Kuwaitآ’s ambassador to Belgium and head of its missions to the European Union and NATO, Nawaf Al-Enezi, told an international meeting on Palestine in Brussels today.
He stressed that "UNRWA represents the backbone of the humanitarian response to Gaza, and plays a vital and indispensable role," and noted that Kuwait recently made a voluntary contribution in the amount of USD 30 million to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Al Anezei welcomed the recent decision by Norway, Spain, and Ireland to recognize the State of Palestine, and hoped that other countries will view similar decisions more favourably, He "strongly welcomed" the International Court of Justiceآ’s latest decision ordering Israel to immediately stop its military operation in Rafah.
The Kuwaiti ambassador underlined the necessity to implement Security Council Resolution 2720 and allow Immediate delivery of humanitarian aid in a safe and unhindered manner and to create the necessary conditions for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Todayآ’s Ministerial International Partners Meeting on Palestine was chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Espen Barth Eide, and hosted by EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, with the participation of Mohammad Mustafa, the new Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority.
In his statements to the press, Borrell said it is so important that we gather together to try to support the Palestinian Authority because these are extremely difficult times for the Palestinian people".
"The situation in Gaza is beyond words. The occupied West Bank is on a brink, risking to explode any time. And as we speak, Israeli military operations continue in and around Rafah," he said.
"And this happens against the verdict of the highest United Nations court - the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - that ordered Israel to halt the military operation in Rafah and to open the border crossing for humanitarian aid," said the EU foreign policy chief.
He stressed that "we must do everything in our powers: to reach an immediate end of the hostilities; to achieve the immediate release of all hostages; and to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza.
Referring to the West Bank, Borrell said "there, we see an intensified spiral of violence, indiscriminate attacks by extremist settlers, who are more and more targeting humanitarian aid heading to Gaza".
On his part, Mohammad Mustafa, told journalists that "this important meeting comes at a very critical time when three European countries (Ireland, Norway and Spain) made a very courageous decision to recognize the State of Palestine".
"We see the meeting today as a very important opportunity for us as a new government to present our international partners with the outlines for our priorities and plans for the coming period," he said.
Mustafa noted three priorities for his administration, support to people in Gaza and speed up the ceasefire, build better institutions and improve services on the ground in Gaza and to stabilize the economic and financial situation on the ground.
Kuwaitآ’ ambassador Al enezi expressed his appreciation "for the detailed presentation made by His Excellency Prime Minister Mustafa, of his governmentآ’s plans and substantial reform agenda in light of the economic, financial & security challenges facing the new Palestinian government".
Further, Norwegian foreign minister Espen Eide in his remarks to the press called for a ceasefire in Gaza and underlined that "there is no alternative in the long run to the two-state solution".
"We need to make sure that the Palestinian Authority will be able to survive and improve its service and plan for future return to Gaza," he said.
He called on the Israeli-occupation regime to transfer the Palestinian money which it collected on behalf of the PA and urged all donors to step up their financial support for Palestine.
Meanwhile, in a related development EU Foreign Affairs Ministers will have a discussion on the situation in the Middle East and will informally exchange with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, as well as the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, in Brussels on Monday, noted an EU statement. (end) si.aa