Geneva                                                                                                                                                                                                  18 May 2018

The State of Qatar has called on international organizations and the international community to conduct independent and credible investigations into the crimes and grave violations committed by the Israeli occupation forces against unarmed Palestinian demonstrators in the Gaza Strip and take the necessary measures to hold accountable all those involved. Qatar, at the same time, rejected any resolutions and measures aimed at changing the political and demographic identity of the city of East Jerusalem, including the transfer of the United States Embassy to the city.

The State of Qatar also affirmed that the US unilateral action of transferring its Embassy to Jerusalem, which has not received the support of the international community, clearly contravenes the relevant international laws, conventions and resolutions, as well as undermining international efforts aimed at finding a peaceful, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question and threaten the region’s and international peace and security, reaffirming the right of the Palestinians to return to their usurped lands.

This came in a statement delivered by Ali Khalfan Al Mansouri, Qatar’s Ambassador to the United Nations,  at the 28th extraordinary session of the UN Human Rights Council on “The deterioration of the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.”

HE the Ambassador said that the Palestinian demonstrators came out in full view of the peaceful demonstrations, including on the Gaza border, to express their positions against the Israeli occupation and the unjust siege imposed on more than 2 million people in the Gaza Strip 11 years ago.

He said the international community must fulfill its moral and legal responsibilities to protect the Palestinian people from the Israeli killing machine, warning that it is the indulgence and disregard of the crimes and violations committed by the Israeli entity, the occupying Power, which encourages its political and military leaders to commit more of them without any fear of accountability.

HE Ambassador Ali Khalfan Al Mansouri said that the State of Qatar strongly condemns the continuing series of crimes, massacres and grave violations committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinians and their use of excessive force and live ammunition, which are unjustified, including deliberately killing civilians, children, women, even those with special needs.

HE the Ambassador stressed that the State of Qatar calls for an end to the occupation of the Palestinian territories, lifting the illegal siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and allowing freedom of movement and access to humanitarian assistance.

concluding, HE Ambassador Al-Mansouri reiterated Qatar’s firm position to stand by the Palestinian people until they regain all their legitimate rights and establish their independent state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.