RAMALLAH _ Palestine News Network
The Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Cairo, Diab Al-louh, blamed the United Nations for the continued work of UNRWA and the provision of its services until the refugee issue was resolved fairly.
He stressed that the new US administration, led by Donald Trump, is trying to blackmail the Palestinian leadership and seeking to erase the right of return and abolish the agency´s role and functions.
The ambassador revealed an urgent diplomatic move in consultation with Jordan and Egypt against the US decision against the agency, and that Jordan has submitted a request to hold a special meeting of Arab foreign Ministers on the sidelines of the Council of the League of Arab States meeting on the 11th of this month, to discuss the file "UNRWA ", considering that the dam The agency´s inability is an Arab and international responsibility because it was created by an international decision, not an American.
The decision of the US administration to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to relocate its embassy is an anti-Palestinian decision that touches on the essence of the political process, losing Washington to the role of mediator and even taking it out of the political process, he said.
The ambassador said that Palestinian diplomacy, in full cooperation with Arab and friendly diplomacy, has been fully successful in isolating the US position, and Washington has become a single party with which there is only Israel and few countries with no weight.
The ambassador announced the success of this year´s pilgrimage season 1439, noting that the embassy and the Ministry of Awqaf will discuss resuming the conduct of Umrah trips from the southern governorates.
On the relationship with Egypt, he said that it is an old and renewed historical relationship, and we are keen to develop it at the level of exchange, bilateral cooperation and various issues regionally and internationally, especially since Cairo has the headquarters of the League of Arab States, Egypt
The Gaza Strip is a matter of strategic national security, and we consider this issue to be one indivisible issue, and Egypt´s security is linked to the security of Palestine and vice versa, and Egypt stands by us in all international forums and supports the Palestinian legal diplomatic action.
The Ambassador thanked and expressed gratitude to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the Egyptian security services, which cooperated intensively to alleviate the suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip and facilitate their travel to and from Gaza, which we clearly touched, and Egypt adheres to the Palestinian national vision to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, according Vision of the "two-state solution", and the establishment of a fully sovereign Palestinian State on the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
On the US decision that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel, he said
This illegal decision came at the beginning of the assumption of my duties as ambassador to Egypt, and it clearly and deeply touched the extent of the solidarity of public opinion, leadership and the Egyptian media, where Egypt rejected the decision in whole and in detail, including such responsible bodies as Al-Azhar al-Sharif, Sheikha Ahmed al-Tayeb, and the Coptic Orthodox Church, on the head Pope Twadros II.
This decision is contrary to the relevant Security Council resolutions, contradicts the resolutions of international legitimacy, and has brought America out of the circle of siding with Israel to the circle of anti-Palestinian people, and we affirm what the leadership has already said if "Jerusalem was not on the table, America as well."
On the main obstacles facing the leadership in its international moves to counter the US decision, he said: There was full support for the Palestinian position to reject the American decision package and the declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of the occupation, from Arab and Islamic countries, and at the European level there was a rejection, and this was evidenced by a session The Security Council, where 14 members voted in favour of the draft resolution submitted by Egypt, and only America objected to the draft.
Therefore, America is trying to stifle the people and leadership in all international forums, but we and our people have taken the decision to confront this American recklessness and the decisions of the Tarb, and we are working with clarity, firmness and seriousness, to strip the American position, and to gain more support and support from the Arab and Islamic and international support for the Palestinian cause.
As for the cut-off of America´s contribution to UNRWA, the Treb administration´s decision had been phased out, as it had reduced its contributions to UNRWA´s budget by half and then to a quarter until it had reached its full cut-off, and this arbitrary act of aggression was based on the purely political background of abolishing the agency´s work It was originally made by an international decision, not by the United States, and neither Washington nor others have the right to abolish its existence or curtail its tasks or budgets, he added:
We support what the leadership has said, by including the Agency within the United Nations, so that it is not affiliated with any political blackmail from a unique world like America, and in fact it is clear that there is an American-Israeli plan to write off UNRWA.
With the support of the United States, the occupation continues to be a criminal offence against the refugee issue, starting with new measures in Jerusalem to remove the agency and abolish its role in the Holy city, which is an integral part of the land that was conquered in 67 and is among the five areas in which UNRWA operates.
On the Arab and international situation, Ambassador Al-Lahad explained that
Identical and fully consistent with the Palestinian position on all the issues and challenges we are facing, especially with regard to the issue of Jerusalem and the decisions of the United States in general, and we as a people and leadership have taken different actions and distinct from the actions taken by the brotherly Arab countries, the leadership has cut Communication and relationship with the US administration and the withdrawal of the Palestinian ambassador from Washington, but the Arab countries saw that the door remain ajar in the hope of a change in the American position later, but
Regrettably, the US president wants to pass a solution and deal with Israeli standards, which is categorically rejected by the Palestinian leadership.
The ambassador spoke about Israel´s call for States to relocate their embassies to Jerusalem, explaining the existence of a full Arab commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative, which states that any normalization or establishment of normal relations with Israel must be preceded by an end to the full occupation of the Palestinian and Arab territories occupied in 67, and we have not touched any exit Arabic or Islamic about this initiative.
The Palestinian diplomatic relations with the Arab countries have succeeded in preventing the non-permanent membership of Israel in the Security Council in 2019 and 2020, which is a distinct success for Palestinian and Arab diplomacy, and there is movement worldwide to gain more international recognition for the Independent State of Palestine and the right of the people With the establishment of his state, the last country to admit it was Colombia, and Israel tried to fight the decision on the pretext that it was issued by the former president, and two days ago the new President declared that this decision was irreversible, and we met all the Colombian embassies in the world in order not to retreat from it.
I affirm that we are making continuous diplomatic efforts to cooperate fully with Arab diplomacy to counter any attempt by any non-Arab state to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem, and we are making efforts to target the Israeli tide in Africa.
The ambassador spoke about this year´s hajj season? And the file of Umrah, he said:
By virtue of our responsibility for the return of the pilgrims to Gaza, we made a prior effort with our brothers in Egypt to facilitate their exit and return, and to ease the suffering of the road, with the active follow-up of President Sisi and the Egyptian army.
We affirm that the exit from Gaza was easy and smooth, as all pilgrims arrived at the Hijazi home without delay, and for the first time the "peace" bridge and closed roads were opened to facilitate the travel and transit of pilgrims, and the Saudi Embassy in Cairo cooperated with US day and night for the success of the season, and we confirm that it has not been returned Any Hajj passport, everyone has left, no one has been returned from the crossing, and no pilgrim has been harassed or held accountable.
As for the Umrah season, I met in Makkah with some 65 owners of companies "Hajj and Umrah " and listened to them and reassured about the procedures for the return of pilgrims to the sector,
We discussed this subject with the Egyptian authorities, and it was agreed after the completion of the Hajj season that our embassy in Cairo and the Ministry of Awqaf to continue to discuss this issue with the concerned authorities in order to resume the Umrah from the southern governorates and we hope that we will be able to do so so that our people in Gaza can visit the father Yar Hijazi.
