The foreign ministers of the GCC countries have sent a joint letter to Anthony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States of America, condemning statements made by Israel’s Finance Minister in which he called for the town of Huwwara to be wiped out and denied the existence of the Palestinian people.

The letter praises the American position rejecting these statements and calls on the United States to assume its responsibilities in responding to all measures and statements targeting the Palestinian people.

It also urges the American administration to play its role in reaching a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the conflict based on the principles of international law and the Arab Peace Initiative, including the right of the Palestinian people to establish an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Jassim Muhammad Al Budaiwi, Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) , said that the message reflects the position of the leaders of the GCC countries on the issue of Palestine, an issue of the first importance for Arabs and Muslims.

The Secretary General said the letter reflected the closing statement of the GCC Ministerial Council of the Cooperation Council, held on March 22nd. This expressed the GCC’s support for guarantees for the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people and the rejection of settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Secretary-General stressed the GCC’s condemnation of the escalating Israeli statements and violations against the Palestinian people. These include crimes committed recently in the city and camp of Jenin and in the towns of Hawara, Burin, Asira al-Qibliya and others, which claimed a number of lives and left dozens wounded. Recent events have seen the demolition of homes, the destruction of property, the violation of the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Palestinian presence in the city of Jerusalem has been targeted and attempts to change the city’s legal character, demographic composition and the arrangements for Islamic holy places.

This is an unofficial English version of an Arabic report. To view the official Arabic text, click here.