CAIRO: Kuwait reiterated on Sunday its steadfast position in supporting the rights of the Palestinian people to establish an independent state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, along the borders of June 4, 1967. Kuwait’s Permanent Representative to the Arab League, Ambassador Talal Al-Mutairi, emphasized the importance of the Palestinian cause in a statement to KUNA during his participation in an event organized by the Arab League to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. November 29 was designated as this day by the UN General Assembly in 1977.

It also marks the anniversary of the assembly’s adoption of Resolution 181, which recommended the partition of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with an international zone covering Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The plan proposed establishing a Jewish state on more than half of Mandate Palestine, despite Jews comprising less than a third of the population and owning less than seven percent of the land. The passage of the UN Partition Plan, despite strong Arab opposition, remains one of the most significant events in modern Palestinian history, as it effectively granted international legitimacy to the Zionist movement’s territorial ambitions in Palestine through force.

UNRWA ‘irreplaceable’

Ambassador Al-Mutairi affirmed Arab support for the sovereignty of the Palestinian people over all the occupied Palestinian territories. He praised all international initiatives calling for a permanent and sustainable solution to the Palestinian cause, based on the principle of the two-state solution. He also referred to the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), describing it as “extremely important and irreplaceable.”

The ambassador highlighted the vital role played by the agency in assisting the Palestinian people over many generations. He also praised the Arab League’s recognition of individuals and institutions active in supporting the Palestinian cause, calling it a well-deserved acknowledgment for those who have fought to raise international awareness about the Palestinian issue and its just rights.

The event marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, organized by the Arab League, reaffirms complete solidarity with the Palestinian people in their just struggle to regain their legitimate rights to freedom, independence, and to end the Zionist occupation, as well as to establish their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The event was attended by the Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League and Head of Palestinian and Occupied Arab Territories Sector Saeed Abu Ali, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, and permanent representatives of Arab League member states. Several ambassadors and representatives from foreign countries, Arab and international organizations, and representatives of Al-Azhar and the Coptic Church were also present.

End the occupation

In Geneva, the United Nations marked the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on Friday with participation from Kuwait, representatives of UN member states, other international organizations and the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

During the event, Ibrahim Khreisheh, the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the UN and international organizations in Geneva, delivered a speech on behalf of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He called on the international community to take “bold steps” to hold the Zionist entity accountable, including suspending its membership in the UN General Assembly for its refusal to adhere to international law and UN resolutions.

Khreisheh emphasized that the Zionist entity’s 76-year disregard for Palestinian rights and the international community’s treatment of the occupying power as a state above the law — with financial and military support — have allowed the Zionist entity to continue defying international legitimacy. He also pointed out that the silence of the international community in the face of Zionist violations has enabled the Zionist entity to pursue policies such as banning the UNRWA and labeling it a “terrorist organization”.

Jerusalem off limits

The Palestinian envoy condemned Zionist policies aimed at “racial annexation”, expanding settlements, raiding Palestinian cities, killing and detaining civilians, demolishing homes and seizing land, all of which he said prolong the occupation and damage the credibility of the international system.

On behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Bader Al-Mutairi, acting head of the OIC’s permanent mission to the UN in Geneva, reaffirmed the organization’s position in supporting the Palestinian cause and the rights of the Palestinian people. He also emphasized that the Zionist entity has no sovereignty over Jerusalem and its holy sites, and that attempts to alter the legal and historical status of these sites, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque, represent an attack on the religious rights of Muslims worldwide. The event concluded with a collective call for the end of the Zionist occupation, the pursuit of justice for the Palestinian people, and demands for a global arms embargo on the Zionist entity, as well as accountability for its serious violations of international law. — KUNA