In its capacity as Chairman of the Group of Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the UAE urged the international community to solidify with the Palestinian people and take a set of measures to support it in dealing with the emerging epidemic of the Corona Virus (COFED-19), during the open quarterly session of the Security Council on the situation In the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.
In its statement - which it submitted to the Security Council on behalf of the group - the UAE stated that the Palestinian people in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, are working like other peoples of the world to contain the spread of the epidemic (Covid-19) that poses unprecedented health, economic, social and security threats and challenges.
She added, “Although the number of cases discovered so far is relatively low, the United Nations has warned that the occupied Palestinian territories are exceptionally vulnerable to the spread of infection and deaths due to the severe shortage of the health system and the high population density with widespread poverty, especially In the Gaza Strip. ”
The statement called on the international community to support the United Nations response plan to confront the virus (Covid-19) in the occupied Palestinian territories and to provide the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) with the necessary resources, so that it can take the necessary measures to prepare for and respond to the pandemic.
The UAE called on the OIC member states to provide humanitarian and financial assistance to the Palestinians through a bilateral framework, and to provide basic medical equipment and virus detection tools, and other types of support aimed at strengthening the capacity of health systems in the occupied Palestinian territories and refugee camps.
For its part, the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation confirmed that the deteriorating conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories are exacerbated daily, due to the illegal policies of the Israeli occupation, stressing the need for the Palestinians to obtain the humanitarian assistance and medical equipment needed to mitigate the impact of "Covid-19".
It called on states to end the blockade of Gaza and release all children, the elderly, the sick and the administrative detainees held in Israeli prisons, as they are at greater risk of contracting the virus.
While the OIC member states expressed concern about threats to annex or complete parts of the West Bank, the group stressed that the United Nations should continue to work to ensure the Palestinian people obtain their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the lands occupied in the year 1967, and its capital is East Jerusalem.
On the Syrian issue, the OIC member states called for the complete withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Syrian Golan to the borders of June 4, 1967, and affirmed its support for a political solution to the Syrian crisis in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2254.
In the context of the United Nations amending its working methods from the beginning of this month to ensure the continuity of its work during the period of the spread of the "Covid-19" epidemic, the members of the Security Council reached agreement on the interim measures that can be followed during this period, to allow the non-members of the Security Council to participate in Open discussion by providing written statements.
Members of the organization confirm that the deteriorating conditions in Palestine are exacerbated by the illegal policies of the occupation.