Qatar describes upgraded UN status for Palestine as historic achievement

The State of Qatar welcomed the UN General Assembly resolution which upgraded the Palestinian status in the United Nations to a non-member observer state, and described it as a historic achievement that has been accomplished at a time marked by a broad international support for the right of the Palestinian people to end the Israeli occupation, build its independent state with Jerusalem (Al-Quds Al-Sharif) as its capital. Addressing the UN General Assembly while discussing the Question of Palestine last night, Qatar’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Yousef Sultan Laram renewed Qatar’s unlimited support for the Palestinian cause. The Qatari diplomat said that the large number of countries that voted in favor of upgrading the representation of Palestine had sent a message to the international community that there is an unprecedented international consensus about the necessity to realize the Palestinian rights and enable the Palestinian people, who had long suffered from oppression, to build their own state and live in dignity within its internationally recognized borders in accordance with the international law. He underlined that the continued military occupation and the persistence of the Israeli authorities in the implementation of its settlement policy are the main reasons of the continuation of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He refuted Israel’s claim that it is fighting terrorism, and said that Israel is an occupying power, and the struggle for liberation from foreign occupation is a legitimate right and can not be equated to military aggression.