The UAE chairs an emergency Arab meeting to confront Israeli settlement expansion

Today, the United Arab Emirates chaired the emergency meeting of the Council of the League of Arab States at the level of permanent delegates, which was held at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Cairo to discuss ways of Arab and international action to confront the recent Israeli decisions regarding expanding settlement in the Palestinian territories.

Hamad Obaid Al Zaabi, the UAE Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt and its Permanent Representative to the League of Arab States, stressed in his speech during the opening session the UAE’s condemnation of the illegal Israeli measures aimed at imposing illegitimate sovereignty, consolidating settlements, and the continuation of the expansionist policies pursued by Israel, which lead to fueling violence and conflict in the region.

Al-Zaabi renewed his categorical rejection of violating the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, calling for an immediate cessation of settlement activities that threaten stability and undermine opportunities for peace and coexistence. He called on the international community, the United Nations and the Security Council to assume their responsibilities and put an end to illegal practices that violate international law.

For his part, Ambassador Dr. Faed Mustafa, Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Sector of the Arab League, confirmed that the recent decisions of the occupation government represent a dangerous escalation in settlement policies and the actual annexation of parts of the West Bank in clear violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions, warning of their repercussions on the chances of peace and stability in the region.

In turn, Ambassador Muhannad Al-Aklouk, the representative of the State of Palestine to the League of Arab States, called on member states and the international community to take effective political, economic, legal and diplomatic measures to stop plans to annex the occupied West Bank, stressing that the State of Palestine considers these decisions null and void and called for Arab and international support to enable it to exercise its full sovereignty over its lands.