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| King Salman of Saudi Arabia |
Saudi Arabia has called on the United Nations to set a timeline ending Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and to compel Israel to abide by UN resolutions.
The Kingdom made the call during the fourth meeting of the UN General Assembly’s Special Political and Decolonization Committee at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday.
Speaking on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Manal Hassan Radwan, first secretary of the Saudi mission in the UN, emphasized the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
Radwan said Israel should be compelled to comply with UN resolutions and with the Arab Peace Initiative launched 14 years ago by Saudi Arabia to establish an independent Palestinian State, with Jerusalem as its capital.
The initiative also demanded that Israel be compelled to withdraw from all occupied Arab lands.
Radwan said the Gulf Cooperation Council also welcomed efforts to find a consensual solution to the question of Western Sahara, under the framework of Security Council resolution 2285 (2016).
Saudi Arabia confirmed its support of the position of Morocco.
The Moroccan Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS) has proposed a plan for the autonomy of Western Sahara and made visits to a number of countries to explain and gather support for their proposal.
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Saudi Arabia’s push for a timeline comes amid Palestinian accusations of increasing Israeli aggression and continuing settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
On Thursday, the prosecutor’s office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said it is sending a delegation to Israel and the West Bank to address the Israeli and Palestinian public about its preliminary examination of possible Israeli war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories.
Last week, the United States, Israel’s firm backer, accused Tel Aviv of a betrayal of trust over its plans to build new settlement homes deep in the occupied West Bank.
“The actions of the Israeli government in announcing this settlement undermine the pursuit of peace,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said after Israel gave the go-ahead to build as many as 300 housing units and establish an industrial zone in Palestinian territory.
“I guess, when we’re talking about how good friends treat one another, that is a source of serious concern as well,” he said.
Source: Arab News
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