News report by Ahmad Abdelsattar
KUWAIT, Nov 29 (KUNA) -- This year's International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People comes at a time when the Palestinian cause is undergoing one of the most critical points, as Kuwait is throwing more weight behind the defenseless people.
The State of Kuwait has left no stones unturned at both diplomatic and humanitarian levels in a bid to find a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue, based on its diplomatic weight and relentless stances at international gatherings.
Kuwait has remarkably boosted its unwavering support for the Palestinian people, particularly since the Israeli occupying forces launched their atrocities in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
This Kuwaiti position was unequivocally reflected by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah's speech during a peace summit in the Egyptian capital, Cairo late last year.
Addressing the Cairo Summit for Peace, His Highness the Amir said that the State of Kuwait was deeply affected by Israeli occupation forces killing of innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip, and condemned the continuous air raids for having killed thousands of men, women and children, cut off electricity, water, food and fuel, and imposed forced displacement of the people of Gaza Strip.
His Highness stressed that the humanitarian crisis was caused by the lack of efforts by the international community to resolve the issue and bring violence to an end, and lashed out at the international community for having double-standards regarding Israeli occupation forces' violations.
He underlined that Kuwait and its people would continue to support Palestinians and their inalienable rights, including an independent state on the pre-June 1967 border.
Kuwait's participation in the high-level week of the 79th UN session in New York last September reflected this Gulf country's firm principled stance on the Palestinian cause.
Speaking at the event, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah's Representative, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah criticized the international community for failure to stop the genocidal war on the Palestinian people and to use double-standards in applying international law.
His speech also reflected Kuwait's unwavering belief that regional peace could not be achieved unless an independent Palestinian state was established on the pre-June 1967 border, with East Jerusalem being its capital, in line with relevant international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
The State of Kuwait has underlined at all gatherings that it would spare no effort to help the Palestinian people amid the Israeli occupation aggression, and to resolutely back just and comprehensive peace as the only solution to the Palestinian issue.
Based on close and historic relations over long decades, Kuwait has been in the forefront of the Arab countries that support the Palestinian cause and help the defenseless Palestinian people. Kuwait, for instance, hosted a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in 1967.
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is observed by the United Nations on or around 29 November each year. It traditionally provides an opportunity for the international community to focus its attention on the fact that the question of Palestine remains unresolved and that the Palestinian people have yet to attain their inalienable rights as defined by the UN General Assembly.
In response to the call of the United Nations, various activities are undertaken annually by Governments and civil society in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people.
These activities include, among other things, the issuance of special messages of solidarity with the Palestinian people, the organization of meetings, the dissemination of publications and other information material, and the screening of films.
The UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) has recently called on the international community to take decisive steps to put an end to the Israeli occupation and bring human rights violators to accountability.
During a recent meeting, the committee stressed that this year's commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People comes at a time when the Palestinian people have been suffering unprecedentedly, and that their continued deprivation of rights is considered to be a breach of principles of humanitarianism and justice.
This year's commemoration also comes amid fierce campaigns targeting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) as the Israeli occupation parliament (Knesset) had passed a draft law designating the agency as a "terrorist organization", marking a blatant violation of the international organization, and its agencies and charter.
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for the head of the Zionist regime Benjamin Netanyahu, and his defense minister Yoav Gallant.
ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan in a statement said he had "reasonable grounds to believe that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yoav GALLANT, the Minister of Defense of Israel, bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 8 October 2023." Furthermore, several world countries, including Slovenia, Spain, Ireland and Norway, have recognized Palestine as an independent and sovereign state on the pre-June 1967 border, while Arab countries have strongly backed the Palestinian cause as a completely central one.
In addition, Gulf interest in the Palestinian issue has notably mounted, particularly during Arab, regional, Islamic and international conferences and gatherings, with Gulf countries having stepped up efforts to put the bi-state solution in place as the sole way out of the current conflict.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had backed a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member by recognizing it as qualified to join and recommending the UN Security Council "reconsider the matter favorably".
The vote by the 193-member UNGA was a global survey of support for the Palestinian bid to become a full UN member - a move that would effectively recognize a Palestinian state - after the United States had vetoed it in the UN Security Council.
The UNGA resolution "determines that the State of Palestine" should therefore be admitted to membership" and it "recommends that the Security Council reconsider the matter favorably".
According to Palestinian official statistics, more than 134,000 Palestinians and Arabs have been killed since the beginning of the Palestinian Naqba (catastrophe), which refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
Out of this figure, over 35,000 Palestinian martyrs have been reported in the aggressive atrocities committed by Israeli occupation forces since October 7, 2023.
Marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, world countries have been providing mounting support for the Palestinian people, backing their right to live in peace and dignity, and calling for stemming the tide of the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip and delivering unrestricted humanitarian aid to the population of the besieged enclave. (end) star.mt