Ministerial Meeting on Gaza by the Arab League
United Nations, February 15 (RHC)-- The Arab Group at the UN, along with group of UN ambassadors, has strongly rejected any plans to “displace” Palestinians in Gaza, deeming it as a violation of international law.
"The displacement of Palestinians in Gaza must be unequivocally rejected. The Arab Group categorically rejects such displacement, which constitutes a clear violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949," Kuwait's UN envoy Tareq Al Banai said as the chairperson of the Arab Group at a news conference in UN headquarters in New York on Friday.
The statements were also backed by ambassadors from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). He also denounced the Israeli regime’s acts of aggression in the occupied West Bank, calling the regime's offensives in the area a “clear violation of international law.”
On January 21, Israel’s military, police, and domestic spy agency, the Shin Bet, launched a large-scale, open-ended offensive in Jenin and its refugee camp. The offensive has since expanded to other areas in the northern occupied West Bank, including Tulkarem and Tammun, south of Tubas."
The Jenin Refugee Camp Media Committee has reported that Israeli acts of aggression has displaced around 20,000 Palestinians.
Palestine's UN envoy Riyad Mansour also made remarks at the news conference, stressing that "what we need is to open doors for peace. What we need is a political horizon. What we need is to put an end to this illegal occupation as soon as possible."
As a result of the Israeli genocidal campaign in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, the death toll has risen to over 48,239 martyrs and 111,676 injured. The figures are expected to rise as more bodies are recovered from the rubble.
Mansour urged media outlets to ensure accurate reporting on issues related to Palestine, and asked to "not to allow further crimes to be committed against the Palestinian people, of imposing on us another Nakba, of kicking us out of our homeland."
"We have no homeland except Palestine. We love Palestine, we will rebuild the Gaza Strip. We will rebuild Palestine," he said, expressing hopes to celebrate the independence of the State of Palestine one day.
In light of specific steps the Palestinian mission hopes to see from the Security Council or the General Assembly in the next two weeks, Mansour called on the Security Council to implement Resolution 2735.
"We told the Security Council … you have two things that you declared you are united around," he said, adding that "one is the implementation of Security Council resolution 2735 … The other is implementing your joy and happiness in which you declared unanimously … welcoming and committing yourself to the agreement on the ceasefire."
Mansour stressed that action is needed within weeks, and said, "If we do not see serious commitment … then we will go to Plan B, which I will not share with you, nor I shared with them now then."
