NEW YORK : The GCC ambassadors to the United Nations (UN) in New York, headed by the Sultanate of Oman, held a meeting with António Guterres, UN Secretary-General.

The meeting, which was held at the UN headquarters, reviewed the latest developments on the Palestinian scene in light of the continued Israeli aggression against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

For his part, the UN Secretary-General expressed his concern about the huge loss of civilian lives, especially women and children. He added that the UN lost many UNRWA employees.

The UN Secretary-General affirmed that UNRWA is in dire need of the support and donations of other member states of the world in light of the humanitarian needs and the acute shortage of medical and relief materials. He called on the international community to facilitate the arrival of aid to the Gaza Strip as quickly as possible to save lives and protect civilians.

For their part, the GCC ambassadors referred to the resolution issued by the extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic summit that concluded its deliberations in Riyadh. The summit condemned the brutal Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Al Quds (Jerusalem). The summit also called for confronting this aggression and addressing the humanitarian catastrophe it causes, as well as endeavouring to end all illegal Israeli practices that perpetuate the occupation and deprive the Palestinian people of their rights, especially their right to freedom and an independent state with sovereignty over their entire national territory.

During the meeting, the GCC ambassadors also reaffirmed the centrality of the Palestinian cause. They stressed that all Arab and Islamic countries stand united with all their capacities and capabilities alongside the Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle to liberate all their occupied territories and to fulfill all their inalienable rights, especially their right to self-determination and to live in their independent, sovereign state along the borders of 4 June 1967 with its capital Al Quds (Jerusalem).

The GCC ambassadors explained their vision that a just, lasting and comprehensive peace constitutes a strategic option and the only way to guarantee security and stability for all peoples of the region and protect them from cycles of violence and wars. This can only be achieved, the ambassadors asserted, by ending the Israeli occupation and resolving the Palestinian cause on the basis of the two-state solution.

The GCC ambassadors also expressed the stance of the international community demanding a ceasefire, ending the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, and stopping any plans to forcibly displace Palestinians from their land. They stressed at the same time that the massacres committed by Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank seen as war crimes and genocide.

The GCC ambassadors reiterated that the Arab and Islamic worlds will not abandon the Palestinian people and will stand by them in defending their rights and standing firm on their land against all the illegal criminal practices practiced by the Israeli occupation authorities, which claimed the lives of more than 11,000 Palestinian people.

The ambassadors also reiterated their rejection of any attempt to mislead international public opinion by describing this retaliatory war as self-defense or justifying it under any pretext.

For his part, the UN Secretary-General stressed that the mission of the United Nations and its specialized agencies will not stop helping the Palestinian people. He indicated that the United Nations is determined to continue its noble role with integrity in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy.

The UN Secretary-General condemned the killing of innocent children, the elderly, and women, and the targeting of hospitals, medical staff, schools, and places of worship. He called for not cutting off electricity, water, and basic services, including communication and Internet services, and the need to stop any plans for the forced displacement of the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip and other areas in the occupied Palestinian territories.

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