Qatar supports Palestine’s bid for UN full membership, condemns the Security Council’s inaction on Gaza onslaught, urges humanitarian aid access, and calls for Israel’s compliance with international law amid its brutal war on the besieged enclave.
Qatar has supported the State of Palestine’s quest for full membership in the UN, urging member states to rally behind this legitimate and deserved bid.
The Permanent Representative of Qatar to the UN Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani delivered the statement, condemning the Security Council’s failure to address the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
On Monday, the United Nations Security Council directed its membership committee to assess the Palestinian Authority’s request for full membership status within the United Nations.
Currently, the PA holds the status of a non-member observer state.
This application, submitted during the sixth month of Israel’s war in Gaza, is part of a longstanding aspiration.
Vanessa Frazier, Malta’s ambassador to the UN and the current president of the UNSC, announced on Monday that a formal decision regarding this matter would be reached in April.
Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour said that all Palestine wants is to be treated as “equals to other nations and states”.
With over 33,200 Palestinians killed in the genocidal war – mostly women and children – and the displacement of nearly two million civilians, the ongoing genocide in Gaza has reached alarming proportions.
Highlighting a recent Israeli airstrike on a relief convoy, which claimed the lives of seven aid workers, Qatar’s representative decried the deliberate targeting of humanitarian efforts.
She emphasised Qatar’s staunch rejection of using food as a weapon and called for unimpeded humanitarian aid access to Gaza, in accordance with international law.
Qatar also vehemently opposed Israeli threats of military action in Rafah, urging the Security Council to intervene and halt further aggression.
The condemnation extended to Israel’s tactics of forced displacement against civilians, with warnings of dire humanitarian and security consequences for the region.
Qatar censured Israel’s systematic targeting of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), applauding donor countries that have resumed financial contributions.
Qatar urged those who suspended funding to reconsider, stressing the critical role of UNRWA in aiding Palestinians.
The statement reiterated Qatar’s appreciation for Security Council Resolution No. 2728, which calls for an immediate ceasefire, and urged its swift implementation.
Qatar also demanded Israeli compliance with International Court of Justice orders to prevent genocide in Gaza, asserting that a sustainable ceasefire is paramount to address the humanitarian crisis.
Qatar affirmed its commitment to facilitating negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza alongside Egypt and the United States, aimed at securing the release of prisoners, enhancing humanitarian aid delivery, and protecting civilians.
Echoing its longstanding support for Palestinian rights, Qatar reaffirmed its adherence to international resolutions, including the Arab Peace Initiative, which advocates for an independent Palestinian state based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Since Israel renewed its indiscriminate onslaught on the enclave on October 7, as many as 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza are battling the imminent risk of famine.
Six months on, the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 33,200 Palestinians while displacing more than 80 percent of the population.
More than 13,800 of those killed have been children.
