Foreign minister attends Arab meeting

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa has affirmed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s total condemnation and absolute rejection of the illegal and inhuman procedures that Israel, the occupying force, has recently taken with regard to Al Aqsa Mosque, the first Kibla for Muslims and their third holy mosque.

He held Israel fully responsible of its violations of this holy place for Muslims as it is not acceptable to target the holy sanctum, shut its doors and try to bring it under its control under the excuse of the daily confrontations.

He stressed in his statement at the Ministerial-level Meeting of the Council of the Arab League in its Extraordinary Session, held today in Cairo, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the total and unyielding stand with the Palestinian brothers who face dangerous Israeli practices that encroach on the Arab and Islamic heritage, identity and sanctities.

He also called for countering the Israeli adamant rejection of all regional and international initiatives seeking regional peace and hailed the Palestinian people’s courage and resistance in defending the Al Aqsa Mosque and insisting on their rights to practicing religious rites without supervision or restraints.

“The sensitive and dangerous situation necessitates further effort to confront any attempt to change the status quo in the occupied Jerusalem, the target that Israel rapidly and illegally working to make it happen.

“ it is doing so in blatant provocation of Muslims’ sentiments and against the decisions of the International Community, UN General Assembly, Security Council, UNESCO, the principles of human rights and the relevant Geneva Conventions, which all affirm that Jerusalem is an occupied city and an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967.

“We call on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities and intervene immediately to provide protection for the Palestinian people on their land and Islamic and Christian sanctities as a major step towards ending the conflict and achieving a just and comprehensive peace, based on the two-state solution and leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital..

“We also call for Israel's full withdrawal from all the Arab territories occupied in 1967, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative, as a comprehensive and indispensable strategic solution that cannot be relinquished or waivered.

The minister also extended thanks and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and President Mahmood Abbas of the Palestinian State HM King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, HM King Abdullah VI of the Kingdom of Morocco and H.E President Abdel Fattah El Sissi of the Arab Republic of Egypt for their incessant efforts in defense of the sacred city.

He also lauded the efforts exerted by the Arab and Islamic countries in confronting the immoral violations and practices perpetrated by the Israeli Occupation Forces.

Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa stressed that peace and violence are two opposites that never meet and that he who seeks peace does not resort to violence or force to harm others or infringe on their rights and violate their sanctities.

He said He who seek peace would rather be totally keen to protect rights, cooperative and responsive to every initiative or effort that would bring peace and put the entire region on the threshold of a long-sought new phase.

The Council of the Arab League, in its extraordinary session, has issued a statement strongly condemning Israel's dangerous escalation in the occupied city of Jerusalem and the Holy Mosque of Al-Aqsa, stressing its absolute rejection of Israel’s attempt to impose new facts on the ground aimed at changing the existing historical and legal situation , in clear violation of its legal responsibilities as the occupying force, calling on it not to repeat closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the future.

The statement stressed that all measures and actions taken by Israel were null and void and should in accordance with relevant international resolutions and conventions and hailed the efforts of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia to protect the Holy Mosque and the efforts of His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan to end the Israeli escalation and support the resistance of the Palestinian people.

It called on the Security Council to assume its responsibilities in maintaining international peace and security and implementing the resolutions on the city of East Jerusalem and urged the US administration to continue its efforts to restore security and end tensions on bases that guarantee the security of the holy sites.

The statement lauded the position of the American President which is committed to working to resolve the conflict and achieve peace and stressed the need to cooperate to end the political standstill through the launch of serious and effective negotiations.

Negotiations capable to lead to peace, based on the two-state solution and ensure the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative..

 

Following are the main points in the statement issued by the meeting:

◦ Affirming that all measures and actions taken by Israel (the occupying Power) aim to change the historical and legal status quo in the city of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque and are null and void accordance with the relevant international resolutions and conventions calling on Israel not to shut Al Aqsa Mosque in the future and to halt all forms of escalation and attempts to change the historical legal status of Al Aqsa or impose new facts on the ground.

◦ Urging the Security Council of the United Nations to assume its responsibilities in maintaining international peace and security and implementing relevant resolutions on the city of East Jerusalem, including resolutions 476 (1978), 478 (1980) and resolution 2334 (2016) and to compel Israel (the occupying force) to halt its assaults on East Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque committing grave violations of international laws and resolutions.

◦ Urging all States to implement the resolutions adopted by the United Nations and the UNESCO Executive Board on the Palestinian cause, including UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, which affirmed that Al-Aqsa Mosque is an Islamic site dedicated to worship and an integral part of the world cultural heritage sites, condemning the Israeli attacks and illegal measures taken against the city of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

◦ Commending the contacts and efforts of His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan, the Custodian of the Holy Mosque in Jerusalem, to end the Israeli escalation measures that affect the historical and legal status quo of Al Aqsa Mosque.

◦ Praising the efforts of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia in protecting Al Aqsa Mosque.

◦ Supporting the steps and procedures adopted by the Palestinian leadership to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque and to address the illegal measures taken by the occupation authorities in the occupied city of Jerusalem.

◦ Supporting the resistance of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian institutions in the occupied city of Jerusalem and their defense of the city and its Islamic and Christian holy sites, particularly the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the face of Israeli violations and aggression, and to address the Israeli attempts to change the historical and legal situation in this regard.

◦ Calling on the US administration to continue its efforts to restore security and ease tensions to ensure security of holy sites and protect them while respecting the existing historical and legal situation, and completely and immediately halting Israel's unilateral measures in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

◦ Calling member states to take advantage of their relations with world countries to protect Jerusalem with its Islamic and Cristian sanctities, including the blessed Aqsa Mosque and prevent future aggressions.

◦ Instructing the Arab Group in New York, Arab Ambassadors Councils and missions of the Arab League to immediately move towards uncovering Israeli plans to change the historical and legal status quo of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

◦ Strengthening coordination and cooperation between the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to protect the city of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

◦ Calling on all Arab and Islamic countries, Arab funds and civil society organizations to provide funds and implement development projects in vital sectors in Jerusalem in order to save the city, protect its sanctities and consolidate its resistance through the increase of the capital of Al Aqsa and Jerusalem funds by 500 million dollars in implementation of Amman Summit decision 677.

◦ Requesting the Secretary-General to follow up on the implementation of this resolution and report on the actions taken thereon to the next session of the Council.

◦ Considering the Council of the Arab League in an open-ended meeting to follow up the Israeli developments and violations against the blessed Aqsa Mosque and to observe Israel's commitment to not repeating any escalatory measures that would threaten the security and stability of the Holy City and the historical and legal status quo in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

 Source: BNA