EGYPT FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS ON NAM TO OFFER MORE SUPPORT TO PALESTINIANS

Cairo, 26 Rabiul Awwal 1434/6 February 2013 (MINA) – Egypt Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr called on the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to offer more support to the Palestinian people in facing Israel’s attempts to annex more Palestinian lands and change the identity of the Holy city of Jerusalem.

This came during a ministerial meeting of NAM’s Palestine Committee held on Tuesday 5/2/2013 on the sidelines of the meetings of the foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation ahead of the 12th Islamic summit on Wednesday 6/2/2013.

NAM should offer the necessary support to the Palestinian cause until a decision on the establishment of the Palestinian state is taken, he said, adding that this requires further efforts in order to protect Jerusalem as a capital of this state and the Palestinian territories in general.

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Amr underlined the need to reach Palestinian reconciliation and end division. He also stressed Egypt’s intention to exert more effort in this respect, according to www.sis.gov.eg report monitored by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA), Thursday.

The Committee was held under the Chairmanship of Iran, being the President of the Non-Aligned Movement. The meeting was attended by the committee member states, namely: Algeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, Senegal, Bangladesh, South Africa, Cuba, Colombia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In his intervention before the meeting, Minister Amr expressed his congratulation to the Palestinian people on the recognition of the State of Palestine, after the UN General Assembly voted in overwhelming majority for the resolution of establishing the Palestinian state on the territories occupied on 1967.

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Amr affirmed that the resolution had significant results on the ground and on the legal sphere, and that it will contribute in supporting the efforts the Palestinian people’s is exerting to regain their legitimate rights and restoring their territories occupied by Israel.

The Foreign Minister stressed that in light of the contribution of the Non-Aligned Movement in supporting the Palestinian cause reaching the Palestinian State resolution, the Movement should intensify its support for the Palestinian people to confront the Israeli practices aiming to seize control over additional Palestinian territories and changing the identity of the city of Jerusalem.

Those practices have significantly escalated recently, through the almost daily announcements of new settlements projects, and taking several measures that would change the demographic nature of the city of Jerusalem, with the aim of isolating it from its Arab surroundings.

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Amr stressed that all these developments requires doubling the effort to preserve the identity of Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state, and to preserve the Palestinian territories in general.

The Foreign Minister pointed that besides the moral support, NAM should provide financial support to the Palestinian people helping them withstand the punitive measures imposed by Israel, those being represented in freezing tax balances due on the Palestinian authority and continuing Gaza Strip blockade.

The Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Malki elaborated the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and the Palestinian people’s perspective on how to achieve their aspirations. (T/P02/E1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)