Self-defence is not a justification for Israel’s killing: Oman’s Foreign Minister

Riyadh, The Gulf Observer: Assigned by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, Sayyid Badr Hamad Al Busaidi, Oman’s Foreign Minister, headed the delegation of the Sultanate of Oman that participated in the extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic Summit held in Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saturday, in the presence of country leaders and heads of the delegations.

During the summit, Sayyid Badr conveyed the greetings of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to the leaders and heads of delegations who took part in the summit, along with His Majesty the Sultan’s sincere wishes of success.

In his speech, Sayyid Badr said that the Palestinian people are undergoing excessive, heart-rending human suffering at a time the UN Security Council remains stagnant and incapable of taking any decisive action to stop the current barbaric war that Israel is waging against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip under the pretext of self-defense.

Sayyid Badr stressed that self-defence is not a justification for Israel’s killing and displacement of innocent people or slaying of children, women and defenseless men or demolishing Palestinian people’s homes, places of worship, infrastructure facilities, schools and hospitals or interrupting services or depriving the population of water, food, fuel and medicine or imposing an unlawful blockade on the Gaza Strip.

Sayyid Badr observed, “It really saddens us to see inaction from some friendly countries known for defending the international law and its application in other regions of the world, while failing to denounce Israel’s violation of the same international law in the context of Palestine!”

Sayyid Badr affirmed “The Sultanate of Oman, from this podium, remains steadfast in supporting the Palestinian people’s legitimate right to life and their inherent right to live in a manner that guarantees them freedom, dignity and self-determination”.

Sayyid Badr urged everyone to be sincere with oneself, to advocate ethics of the free human conscience, to call for ending this senseless war, the opening of humanitarian corridors to deliver life-saving relief supplies to the population in the Gaza Strip, lifting the siege imposed on the Strip and releasing the hostages, prisoners and detainees. He called upon countries that support Israel to refrain from exercising double standards in applying the international law.

Sayyid Badr pointed out that the only solution to the Palestinian cause lies in political action to end Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian lands and to establish an independent Palestinian state on the borders of 4 June 1967, with Al Quds Al Sharqiya (East Jerusalem) as its capital, as well as the implementation of the international law and the UN resolutions—to ensure justice, security and peace for all.

Sayid Badr said that the Sultanate of Oman affirms its constant strive to serve issues of significance to global security and peace, acting from its conviction that it is an integral part of this interconnected world, sharing its interests and the destiny of its people.

“Therefore, supporting the fair cause of the Palestinian people constitutes an absolute obligation on everyone in our modern world. Now that the ordeal has become so flagrant and so unbearable, the world must echo with the voice of truth and wisdom, so that Palestine obtains its rights guaranteed by the international law and becomes a full member of the international community, a free country existing with equal dignity within its own territories,” Sayyid Badr added.

The delegation of the Sultanate of Oman that took part in the summit included Sheikh Khalifa Ali Al Harthy, Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry for Political Affairs, HH Sayid Faisal Turki Al Said, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Nasser Al Rahbi, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Arab Republic of Egypt and its Permanent Representative to the Arab League, and Khalid Sulaiman Ba’omar, Head of the International Organizations Department at the Foreign Ministry.