UAE demands stop to Israel housing

The Perseverance housing development in Victoria, the Seychelles’ capital on Mahe island. The affordable-housing project, which will provide 2,000 houses once finished, is being built with the help from the UAE. Silvia Razgova / The National GENEVA — The UAE demanded the implementation of all United Nations, UN, resolutions that call on Israel to stop its settlement expansion in occupied Palestinian areas, including in East Jerusalem.

It also called on the international community to end Israel’s occupation and guarantee the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination and establish an independent country, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The country’s statement was made during a speech by Obaid Salem Al Zaabi, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN in Geneva, at the 38th session of the Human Rights Council, which witnessed a general discussion on the state of human rights in Palestine and other occupied Arab lands.

Al Zaabi highlighted Security Council Resolution No. 2334 for 2016, which asserts that Israel’s policy of settlement expansion in occupied Palestinian areas since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal basis, is a stark violation of international law, and is a major obstacle to creating two states that can live together in peace and security.

Two years after the resolution was issued, the wall is still continuing to be built and the number of settlements is increasing while the two-state solution has disappeared, even before it was discussed, he said.

Al Zaabi called on the council to face its responsibilities to enforce its mandate to end Israel’s injustices and its construction of settlements.