Kuwait reaffirms steadfast support to Palestinian people

BRUSSELS: Kuwait has once again stressed its unwavering support to the Palestinian people and reiterated calls for ending the Zionist entity’s occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since 1967. “Kuwait has been a steadfast in its multipronged backing of the Palestinian people and will continue to do so to ensure the support they get the support they desperately need,” Kuwait’s Ambassador to the EU, NATO and Belgium, Jasem Al-Budaiwi, told an international donor meeting on Palestine in Brussels Tuesday evening. He noted that “this meeting comes at an important time as the Palestinian people and the government are witnessing a difficult period and require unlimited support from the entire international community.”

To this end, Kuwait, through the three conferences that were held to support Palestine in Paris (2007), Sharm El-Sheikh (2009), and Cairo (2014), has contributed a total of $700 million. The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development has been supervising its distribution to support various projects in the Gaza Strip, the latest of which is the financing of development programs in the southern governorates with $100 million out of the total value of the $200 million, he said. Kuwait calls for ending the occupation of al Palestinian and Arab territories occupied since June 4, 1967, based on international legitimacy resolutions, the principle of land for peace, the road map and the Arab peace initiative adopted by all Arab countries at the Beirut Summit in 2002, he said. Kuwait supports a peaceful solution that achieves the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, he stressed.

UNRWA budget

Budaiwi noted that Kuwait shares the concern of the UN and the international community concerning the severe financial deficit in the UNRWA budget. In response to these challenges, Kuwait has provided over $120 million to UNRWA for the period 2014-2018. Most recently in October 2021,the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development concluded a grant agreement worth $21.5 million with UNRWA to support the Agency’s program budget for the years 2021-2022, and to contribute to financing the health program for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

Referring to recent developments, Budaiwi expressed Kuwait’s strong condemnation and denunciation of the Zionist occupation forces storming Al-Aqsa Mosque and attacking worshipers at dawn on Friday April 15, 2022, which resulted in the injury and arrest of hundreds of innocent people. “These attacks are a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of all international charters and resolutions, and a reason to fuel extremism and violence and undermine the stability of the region, “he warned. The annual spring meeting of the international donor coordination group in support of the Palestinian economy, the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) was hosted by EU High Representative Borrell and chaired by the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt.

“The two-state solution is the only sustainable solution to the conflict [between the Zionist entity and Palestine]. The occupation must end. [The Zionist entity] must cease settlement building and evictions. The Palestinian Authority must implement vital reforms and strengthen its legitimacy. And the Palestinians need to unite under a single political leadership,” Huitfeldt told the gathering. The Palestinian Authority is faced with a huge budget deficit. The Palestinian people have been hit by the steep rise in prices for food and fuel resulting from Russia’s war on Ukraine. International contributions to the Palestinian Authority have decreased significantly over the past few years, she noted.

Meanwhile, Borrell said the aim for this meeting is to get more concrete economic, fiscal, security and political results. Because despite the political complexities, efforts must be made for the political process to restart. The meeting discussed the worrying financial crisis of the Palestinian Authority, the need to ease the occupation with more economic and personal freedoms for Palestinians, the clear need for reforms in the Palestinian Authority and the importance of fulfilling the democratic aspirations of the Palestinian people, he noted. The main aim of the AHLC is to develop an institutional and economic basis for a Palestinian state based on a negotiated two-state solution.

$2 million donation

In Ramallah, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) welcomed the Kuwaiti additional donation amounting to $2 million. In a press statement, UNRWA said that Kuwait Ambassador to Jordan Aziz Al-Dihani presented UNRWA Acting Director of External Relations Tamara Alrifai with the donation cheque at the Embassy of Kuwait in Amman. The statement quoted Dihani as saying “this donation from the government of Kuwait aims to enhance activities and programs of the UNRWA for about five million Palestinian refugees in the region.”

“It comes in line with directives of the Kuwaiti higher political leadership and the government of Kuwait to stress the Kuwaiti position toward the Palestinian case, and the commitment to support the humanitarian situation to the Palestinian refugees,” Dihani stressed. He praised the role played by UNRWA and its efforts in providing basic services such as health and education to Palestinians refugees in its fields of operations, pointing to Kuwait’s cooperation with the UN organizations in order to achieve development goals for societies. This funding is in addition to an earlier $10 million contribution to the Agency for 2022, in support of its core programed Budget for essential services including health care, education, and relief and social services. Rifai said, “With this additional donation, Kuwait is showing Palestine’s refugees that its long-term support is still firm.”