KUWAIT CITY, Jan 22: Arab Parliament Member MP Khalid Al- Otaibi has stressed the need to unify Arab efforts to foil attempts to dissolve the Palestinian issue, displace Palestinians and commit ethnic cleansing against them in favor of the occupying entity — Israel. Al-Otaibi made the statement in the second session of the third year of the fourth term of the Arab Parliament held in the Secretariat General of the Arab League in Cairo, Egypt. He pointed out that the people of Gaza have been the subject of attacks over the last 100 days, calling on Arab countries to “take off the dress of weakness that some parties want the Arabs to wear.”

He said the global abuse of the resisting Palestinian people is part of the abovementioned plot. He wondered how the silence of the international community and failure to declare a ceasefire could be justified. He stated that the incessant Israeli attacks have transformed Gaza into a mass grave, leaving no option for the people there but to get killed or be displaced. He asserted the whole world is experiencing a historic turning point, which will leave traces on the peoples and regimes in the region.

He stressed that the evil power is trying to dissolve the Palestinian issue through an unprecedented crime against humanity. He added the suspicious silence and failure of the international community are considered a shameful mark on the forehead of humanity. He emphasized that attempts to end the issue in favor of Israel will not succeed, thanks to the heroic resistance of the Palestinians. He then criticized the leaders of countries supporting Israel for killing the women and children, while praising the position of the peoples of the free world, as they showed solidarity with the Palestinians in their fight for a righteous cause. He also lauded the action taken by South Africa, which filed a case at the International Court of Justice against the leaders of Israel; wondering why big countries failed to take a similar action. He explained that the case filed by South Africa is symbolic, because this is the first time that the Israeli leaders are charged by the international judiciary since the foundation of Israel. He wondered about the position of countries, which claimed to have adopted the democratic course and defend human rights; yet they support Israel in committing crimes against the innocent people of Gaza.

He said the bloody history of Israel requires the International Court of Justice to impose harsh penalties, citing the penalties imposed on the Nazi commanders involved in the holocaust, which included 12 death sentences and seven life imprisonments, in addition to punishing 90 leaders of Serbia including its former president in 2007. Kuwait on Monday called on the international community to take a solemn stance against the Israeli occupation war crimes against the Palestinian people and the continuous violation of international laws. This came during Kuwaiti ambassador to the Arab League Talal Al-Mutari speech at the Arab League emergency meeting on Gaza, held today in the league headquarters in Cairo under the chairmanship of Morocco, the current president of the Arab. Al-Mutari added that the Palestinian people are going through difficult times due to the Israeli occupation army’s constant violation of international laws which requires a unified stand by the international community.

Peace in the Middle East will not prevail until the Palestinian people are given their rights by forming an independent state according to the June 1967 borders, Al-Mutari added. Until such rights are given, then violence and hatred will continue for generations and from war to war, the Kuwaiti ambassador noted. Al-Matari called again for the international community to stand in unity in stipulating the two-state solution and giving the Palestinian people their legitimate rights. The Palestinian people have suffered for a very long time and were forced to abandon their homes leading to a life of despair and agony, the ambassador said. He pointed out the escalation of Israeli crimes in the occupied West Bank, the systematic destruction of Palestinian refugee camp infrastructure, the daily raids on dozens of Palestinian cities, villages, and camps, and the Israeli blockade of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Al-Mutair reaffirmed Kuwait’s supportive stance to the Palestinian people to gain their legitimate rights that are guaranteed by international laws. He reiterated that Kuwait would exert all efforts possible to aid the Palestinian people with humanitarian aid and provide a decent living condition. The ambassador welcomed South Africa’s move in its case against Israeli occupation authority at the International Court of Justice. The meeting comes after the Israeli military launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, and caused a humanitarian crisis. About 1.9 million people, or more than 85 percent of the population of Gaza, have been displaced, according to Palestinian authorities and the United Nations.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff and Agencies