KUWAIT, Feb 21 (KUNA) -- Arab and Islamic countries and organizations on Saturday voiced emphatic condemnation and extreme worry over remarks made by the US ambassador to Israeli occupation, in which he accepted its control over Arab lands, including the occupied West Bank.
This came in a joint statement issued by the foreign ministries of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkiye, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Oman and Bahrain, along with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The ministries underlined their vehement opposition to such serious and provocative comments, which flagrantly break the principles of international law and the UN Charter and put regional security and stability in jeopardy.
These remarks directly run counter to US President Donald Trump's vision, as well as the all-out plan to end the Gaza conflict, which is based on de-escalating tensions and creating a political horizon for a comprehensive settlement that ensures the Palestinian people's right to an independent state, they said.
This vision is built on buttressing the values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence, and that any statement aiming at legitimizing control over others' territory undermines these goals, fuel tensions, and constitute incitement, rather than contributing to peace, they warned.
The ministries emphasized that the Israeli occupation has no sovereignty whatsoever over the occupied Palestinian territory or any other occupied Arab territories, while utterly rejecting any bids to annex the West Bank or separate it from the Gaza Strip.
Furthermore, they categorically rejected the expansion of settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, any threat to Arab countries' sovereignty.
They cautioned that the Israeli occupation's expansionist policies and unlawful measures would only inflame violence and conflict in the region and undermine peace prospects, while calling for an end to these provocative remarks.
Finally, the ministry underscored their countries' ironclad commitment to the Palestinian people's inalienable right to self-determination, an independent state along the lines of 4 June 1967, and the end of the occupation of all Arab lands. (end) ae.mt