Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad al-Maliki met yesterday with the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on the sideline of the UN General Assembly’s 76th session in New York, where the two discussed the latest political developments in Palestine.
Al-Maliki briefed the UN chief on the ongoing Israeli violations in occupied Palestine, including house demolitions, forced expulsions, field executions and arbitrary arrests, the siege of Gaza, and the daily attacks committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians.
The Foreign Minister stressed that his meeting with the Secretary-General is the start of diplomatic and international action to mobilize the momentum required to implement what was stated in President Mahmoud Abbas’s recent speech before the UN General Assembly, leading to the protection of the rights of our people in their land.
He stressed that everything stated in the President’s speech is based on the rules of international law and United Nations resolutions, which unanimously agreed on the right of our people to self-determination, independence for the State of Palestine, and the return of refugees.
Al-Maliki reiterated the call for the UN to form an international protection mechanism for the Palestinian people, to hold a peace conference under the auspices of the International Quartet, to compel Israel to bear its responsibilities as an occupying power, and to work to dismantle the Israeli apartheid system in the occupied State of Palestine.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency