Cairo, Sept. 7 (Petra) -- The Council of the League of Arab States at the level of foreign ministers, meeting in its 166th session, called for immediate intervention to protect the Palestinian people from Israeli crimes and aggression and settler terrorism, stressing that the continued Israeli occupation and aggression against the Palestinian people and the territory of the State of Palestine constitute a threat to Arab national security.

The council called for political, financial, and legal support for the Arab-Islamic plan for the recovery and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and urged countries as well as international and regional financial institutions to expedite the provision of the funding needed to implement the plan.

The Arab foreign ministers firmly rejected any form of displacement of the Palestinian people from their land and condemned the acts of genocide, starvation, siege, and aggression, as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel and continuing to be committed in the Gaza Strip.

The council also condemned Israeli measures and decisions aimed at advancing plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and impose Israeli sovereignty over them, along with forced displacement and home demolitions. It stressed that implementing any plans to annex any part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 would constitute a war crime.

The council called on the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution under Chapter VII of the UN Charter obliging Israel to comply with council resolutions, halt its aggression against the Palestinian people in all its forms, and implement the orders and advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice.

The council stressed its rejection of all measures and plans aimed at fragmenting the geographic and demographic unity of the Palestinian people, including any attempts to separate the Gaza Strip from the occupied West Bank or impose different systems in the Strip. It affirmed that the Palestinian people are one people wherever they are located and that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the territory of the State of Palestine.

On the Palestinian internal front, the Arab foreign ministers affirmed their support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' ongoing reform efforts and his decision to call for elections as a national and democratic entitlement, based on adherence to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people, its political program and international commitments, and the principles of one system, one law, and one legitimate weapon.

The council firmly rejected any attempt to exclude the PLO from determining the present and future of the Palestinian people.

It called on the State of Palestine to submit a proposal for establishing a financial safety net to support the resilience of the Palestinian people, including mechanisms for its implementation, and urged urgent action to pressure Israel to immediately and unconditionally release all withheld Palestinian clearance revenues.

The council also condemned the Israeli occupation authorities' demolition and takeover of the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Jerusalem and its conversion into a museum and headquarters for what it described as Israel's Ministry of National Security. It urged Arab member states to pay their assessed contributions, amounting to 7.8% of UNRWA's general budget.

The Arab states were called upon to continue supporting the Palestinian economy and open their markets to the free flow of Palestinian-origin products. The council expressed its appreciation for Arab states that meet their commitments to supporting the Palestinian Authority's budget, particularly Algeria and Egypt, which pays part of its contribution by providing medical treatment to Palestinians in Egyptian hospitals.

The council also called on the Arab Parliament, parliaments, civil society organizations, and Arab communities to make greater efforts to strengthen the resources of the Al-Aqsa Fund and Jerusalem Fund in support of the Palestinian people's struggle.

The Arab foreign ministers strongly condemned the Israeli Knesset's passage of a racist law allowing the execution of prisoners, describing it as a grave violation of international human rights law.

The council reaffirmed its adoption and support for the State of Palestine's right to full membership in the United Nations, calling on the Security Council to admit Palestine as a full member. It also renewed its support for Palestine's right to join international organizations and treaties, in line with the principle of sovereign equality among states.

The council further condemned Israeli measures targeting Palestinian journalists and media institutions in Jerusalem and expressed its support for measures taken by the State of Palestine against any state that recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital and violates international agreements and laws in ways that undermine the city's legal status.

The Arab foreign ministers commended Egyptian and Qatari efforts to halt the Israeli aggression, affirming their support for all steps taken by Egypt to address the repercussions of Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and defend the rights of the Palestinian people and Egypt's national security, which they described as an essential component of Arab national security.

The ministers also stressed the importance of supporting Egyptian efforts to facilitate the immediate, sustained, and sufficient delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. They called on the United States to review its positions in accordance with international law and to pressure Israel to halt its aggression and crimes against the Palestinian people and end its illegal occupation.

//Petra// AF