BRUSSELS, The Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brussels Thursday called on the European Union to put pressure on Israel to stop its aggression in Gaza and underlined that there can be no peace and security in the region without a solution to the question of Palestine .
Speaking a press conference organized by the Council at the Brussels Press Club today, Jordan’s ambassador to Belgium and the EU, Ms Saja Majali said “we as Arab countries enjoy partnerships with the EU and we expect the EU to also stand by the Palestinian people.” “We urge our friends to be on the right side of history and the right side of history is to stand with the helpless Palestinian people,” she stressed.
Majali noted that if one thing has united the Arab world it is the Palestinian cause.
“We have never been divided when it came to Palestine and express solidarity with our Palestinian brethren,” she added.
On his part, Palestine’s ambassador to the EU and Belgium Abdalrahim Alfarra called on the EU to put pressure on Israel to stop the aggression in Gaza.
“We call on the EU to play a catalyst role to urge Israel to meet its international obligations as an occupying power and return to negotiations on a two-state solution that provides a viable state for Palestine,” he said.
“It is beyond belief that some still speak of a right to self-defense of an occupying power that has made clear it is seeking blind vengeance, forced transfer and annihilation of our people,” Alfarra said.
On his part, Egyptian Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union Badr Abdel Aty said there is a high level of anger in our region and we are very concerned about the spillover from the current cycle of violence.
“The core of the problem in our region is the Palestinian issue. Without solving it there cannot be comprehensive peace and security in our region” he stressed.
The Egyptian ambassador denied that the Rafah border crossing from Egypt to Gaza has been closed from the Egyptian side.
“This is not true and false information,” he said, and clarified that aid convoys from the EU the UN and the international community are waiting at the border for security guarantees from Israel that they will not be attacked.
He stressed that the transfer of the people of Gaza is “not acceptable to Egyptians, the Palestinians and Arabs.” Saudi Ambassador Belgium Dr. Khalid Al-Jindan in his intervention said so long the Israeli occupation continues, crisis in the region will continue Answering to a question on western hostages reportedly being held by Hamas in Gaza, Aljindan recalled that there are 6,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and nobody talks about them as hostages.
Fadi Hajali ambassador of Lebanon to Belgium and the EU said the people in Lebanon are “emotionally very distressed” on what might happen to them following the atrocities taking place in Gaza.
“Our request is for an immediate ceasefire and to help the civilians as fast as possible,” he added.
The press conference was organized by the Council of Arab ambassadors, including the Kuwait embassy, to address the Israeli aggression on Palestine, its people, and the European position.
Source: Kuwait News Agency
