The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia confirmed before the Security Council that the Palestinian cause was and is still at the forefront of its worries, calling on the Security Council once again to set up an international protection system concerning the occupied Palestinian state, including Al-Quds, in accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention and the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy. This came in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's speech before the Security Council last night at the United Nations on the item of situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian cause and delivered by the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations, Ambassador Abdullah bin Yahiya Al-Moa'llemi. At the outset of the Kingdom's speech, Ambassador Al-Moa'llemi expressed congratulations for countries that started its membership in the Security Council for this year, namely: Uruguay, Egypt, Senegal, Ukraine, Japan, and wished them success in their duties. He further said: 'I address your esteemed Council with thanks to your honorable position represented in your strong condemnation of the barbaric assault targeted the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and its Consulate General in Mashhad city, and we hope that the Council will continue to demand that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran respect its international legal responsibilities toward the protection of diplomatic missions and to hold accountable all those who have a role in these attacks, their instigators, planners and perpetrators and not just being sufficed with general expressions of regret issued by the Iranian authorities. Ambassador Al-Moa'llemi added that the delegation of the Kingdom asserts that the Palestinian cause was and is still at the forefront of the concerns of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and that no matter how our Arab region swept by difficulties and challenges, yet they will not deter or distract us from standing by the Palestinian people in their steadfastness and continuous defense of their territory and holy places as well as their countering Israel's occupation, its colonial practices and violations contrary to international legitimacy. Ambassador Al-Moa'llemi that the Israeli authorities are still working to Judaize Al-Quds and historical Islamic and Christian places as well as obliterating its Arab identity, changing the historical status of Al-Aqsa Mosque, all without accountability nor any fear of accountability, and that Israel is defying the will of the international community and continuing to build the apartheid wall, as well as its exploitation of the resources of the occupied Arab Golan, the practice of illegal trade in goods and products of Israeli settlements built in the occupied Palestinian territory and occupied Arab territories in a clear violation of the ruling issued by the International Court of Justice and all United Nations relevant resolutions, all without accountability nor any fear of accountability, in addition to the Israel's unjust blockage of Gaza Strip and its arbitrary policies in the West Bank. We invite you to take the necessary immediate measures to remedy the decline of any real opportunities for peace and the threat of the two-state solution and to compel Israel to stop immediately all settlement projects, the seizure of Palestinian territories and implement all political, economic and security agreements on which it has signed but broken them. We also urge you to support efforts to set a timetable for ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian land and the rest of the occupied Lebanese territories as well as the occupied Arab Syrian Golan and pulling out to the borders of the fourth of June, 1976, and achieving just and comprehensive peace in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy, the Arab Peace Initiative, granting independence for the Palestinian people and the establishment of their state with Al-Quds as its capital. On Syrian crisis, Ambassador Al-Moa'llemi said 'The Security Council, has not been able over five years, to perform its duty to protect the Syrian people from the acts of murder, intimidation, starvation and genocide being committed by the Syrian authorities against their people, and that led to the killing of more than 300,000 people and the displacement of more than 12 million Syrians, in addition to the destruction of the country and ignition of terrorism that threatens the whole world''. We affirm the condemnation of all types of the blockade imposed around several Syrian cities and villages and the use of starvation as a tool of war from any party whatsoever, and we mention that 49 out of the 52 besieged cities are under siege by the Syrian authorities and their allies of Hezbollah group and terrorist sectarian gangs. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Calls at Security Council for International Protection for the Occupied State of Palestine 5 United Nations The Kingdom's Permanent Representative to the United Nations said that we do not see a way to solve this humanitarian catastrophe but only through a political solution, according to Geneva Statement and Vienna Statements. We also will continue our work through International Support Group on Syria to ensure the political transition process set forth in Vienna statements and Geneva Statement, where the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has, by a mandate from the international support group on Syria, worked to gather the widest possible spectrum of the opposition, so that Syrians can choose their representatives in the negotiations and determine their negotiating positions by themselves without any intervention from any third party. The Syrian opposition with its various spectra has been able in the conference which was held recently in Riyadh, to unite its word and consolidate its position, to be an important turning point for the sake of finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis. We commend the efforts of the Syrian opposition and its formation of the Supreme Commission for Negotiations, and we will continue to provide an unconditional full support to the Syrian people to meet all their needs, alleviate their sufferings and realize their aspirations so as to maintain the unity of Syria, its territorial integrity and the rights of its citizens whatever might be their different categories, sects and beliefs.
