Muscat – In a speech delivered by H. E. Ambassador Idris bin Abdulrahman Al Khanjari, Permanent Representative of the Sultanate of Oman to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva, Oman expressed its appreciation of the report, which highlighted the dire situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and the difficult living conditions of the people.

The report underscored how the intense Israeli war in Gaza and the restrictions imposed on the West Bank have inflicted the greatest damage on the Palestinian economy in modern history. While the infrastructure has been completely destroyed, the rates of poverty and unemployment have increased, leading to an unprecedented deterioration of the humanitarian and environmental conditions.

All these factors have weakened the Palestinian government’s ability to perform its functions and provide basic services due to lack of resources and recurring crises.

In addition, Israel’s withholding and deduction of Palestinian revenues, the leakage of financial resources, and the sharp decline in donor aid, contributed to a severe financial crisis that posed a direct threat to social and political stability and the banking system.

The Sultanate of Oman called for the implementation of paragraph 127 BB of the Bridgetown Covenant emanating from the 15th UNCTAD Conference, which stresses the importance of strengthening the work of the organization, calculating the economic cost of the Israeli occupation on the economy and development in occupied Palestine, and preparation of necessary research and studies to understand trade and development in Palestine. It also urged UNCTAD to strengthen the work of its unit concerned with assisting the Palestinian people through financial and technical support.

Oman also supported the UNCTAD report’s content on the need for immediate and concrete intervention by the international community to halt the economic deterioration in the occupied Palestinian territory, address the humanitarian crisis, and lay the foundation for lasting peace and development. This includes considering a comprehensive recovery plan, increasing international aid and support, releasing withheld revenues, and lifting the blockade on Gaza.

Finally, the Sultanate of Oman affirmed its steadfast and continuous support for the rights of the Palestinian people, and called on UNCTAD to exert more efforts to help the Palestinians achieve sustainable development.