Baghdad (UNA/WAM) - The meetings of the "Palestine Committee in the Arab Parliament" kicked off in Baghdad today, with the participation of delegations from the Arab member states.
The Arab Parliament affirmed its continued efforts to support the Palestinian people until they achieve their legitimate rights to return, freedom, self-determination, and the establishment of an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, noting that the Palestinian cause will remain the central and foremost issue on its agenda.
In his speech, Mohammed Ahmed Al-Yamahi, Speaker of the Arab Parliament and Chairman of the Committee, said that this meeting comes within the framework of the Arab Parliament’s monitoring of developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and the difficult and critical moments that Palestine is going through, as its people are subjected to genocide, starvation, displacement, and the complete destruction of their infrastructure.
He stressed that the Israeli occupation is committing one of the most heinous crimes against humanity, whether in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, claiming the lives of thousands of innocent civilians, most of them children and women, with the death toll reaching more than 170 martyrs and wounded, in addition to thousands of missing persons buried under the rubble, in addition to the ongoing aggression, displacement of the population, illegal colonial expansion, and the displacement of more than two million people who suffer from a severe shortage of basic necessities of life, such as food, water, and medical care.
He added that, out of the Arab Parliament's belief that the Palestinian cause will remain the Arab world's primary and central issue and its top priority, and as a representative of the Arab peoples, it will not accept any attempts or schemes to alter the equation or liquidate the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
Al Yamahi emphasized the importance of "working with an effective, practical approach that supports the Palestinian cause, through continuous and serious communication with regional and international parliaments to support Palestinian rights, show solidarity with the Palestinian people in their ordeal and suffering, and mobilize international, global, and parliamentary support to support our brothers in Palestine, until its people attain their full legitimate rights."
The Speaker of the Arab Parliament called for "a decisive stance by countries and parliaments around the world, by adopting a strict policy that ensures the prosecution of criminals who committed war crimes, the implementation of arrest warrants issued against them by the International Criminal Court, and efforts to end the occupation, immediately halt the aggression, cease fire, and allow the entry of aid."
Al-Yamahi condemned the occupation's "targeting and bombing of hospitals and medical and humanitarian institutions, destroying them and putting them out of service," stressing that the occupation is implementing a systematic policy of ethnic cleansing. He also denounced the occupation's targeting, killing, and assassination of Palestinian journalists, and its silencing of the voice of truth.
He called on the international community, primarily the Security Council and the International Criminal Court, to take immediate and effective action to halt the aggression against the Gaza Strip and hold the occupation leaders accountable for their ongoing crimes.
He announced the Arab Parliament's welcome of the outcomes of the emergency Arab Summit hosted by the Arab Republic of Egypt, which affirmed the Arab position's firm rejection of the displacement of the Palestinian people from their land under any pretext or justification, and considered it a crime of ethnic cleansing and a crime against humanity.
He affirmed the Arab Parliament's "full support for the plan presented by the Arab Republic of Egypt to the summit, which was unanimously adopted, regarding the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, ensuring the continued presence of the Palestinian people on their historic land without displacement."
He appreciated the tireless and sincere efforts made by Arab leaders to support the Palestinian cause and uphold the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
The Iraqi Council of Representatives is hosting meetings of the Arab Parliament and its standing committees in Baghdad, with the attendance of 60 representatives of Arab parliaments.
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