Manama: King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa has urged the international community to put an end to the killing of innocent Palestinians and offer them much-needed protection.
“We reject and strongly condemn the Israeli practices and actions that have gone beyond all limits, particularly the brutal aggression by the occupation forces on the Gaza Strip,” King Hamad said. “We urge the international community to assume its responsibilities and compel all parties to respect international law, to intervene promptly to end the dangerous operations in the region, to stop the loss of innocent Palestinian lives and to protect them,” the king said as he received Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a Palestinian delegation.
Manama is hosting a conference of Palestinian diplomats accredited in Arab capitals that opens on Sunday.
King Hamad added that Bahrain supported the efforts by Egypt to halt the conflict between Palestinians and Israel.
“We in the Kingdom of Bahrain will not hesitate to provide the necessary support for Palestine and its people, and we always emphasise that the Palestinian cause is the top cause for the Arabs. We must work to ensure we reach a fair, lasting and comprehensive solution to ensure the legitimate rights of the Palestinians and meet their aspirations for decent, safe and stable lives and the establishment of their independent Palestinian state with [occupied] East Jerusalem for capital. We stress the need for a full Israeli withdrawal from Arab territories occupied in 1967, an immediate halt to settlement [colony] building, and a commitment to legitimate international resolutions related to the Arab peace initiative,” King Hamad said.
In his speech, Abbas said that the Palestinians were “suffering from the savage aggression on the Gaza Strip perpetrated by Israeli forces”.
“We agree with His Majesty the King that there must be an end to this aggression, the loss of lives in Gaza and acts of destruction,” he said. “At the same time, we are working on taking our cause to international forums. We have reached the United Nations and we have become a state. It is true that we are an observer state, but it is a state. This state will develop and it will get its full rights. We look forward to the day when we have an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” he said.
