Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 23, 2023. (Photo by AFP)

The Saudi foreign minister, Faisal bin Farhan, in his speech at the UN General Assembly, has called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and demanded an end to relentless violations of international law by the Israeli regime.

The top Saudi diplomat stressed in a speech to the 78th session of the General Assembly in New York that there can be no durable peace and stability in the Middle East until a just solution to the Palestinian plight is found.

The stability of the region rests on a just and comprehensive solution for the Palestinian cause, he said, and the establishment of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders with East al-Quds as its capital.

Bin Farhan said that his country, rejects and condemns all the unilateral steps that constitute a blatant violation of international laws and which contribute to the collapse of regional and international peace efforts and are hindering the path of diplomatic solutions.

The UN speech comes amid growing speculations over a potential US-mediated normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel

Palestinian issue still very important to Saudi Arabia: MBS

In an interview with right-wing US media channel, Fox News on Wednesday, Crown Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) said the Palestinian issue still remains very important to Saudi Arabia.

Bin Salman told Fox’s Special Report program that the Palestinian issue was very important to Riyadh. We need to solve that part, he said when asked what it would take to get a normalization deal.

Riyadh has reportedly demanded Israeli concessions to Palestinians that nevertheless fall short of giving them an independent state.

US President Joe Biden’s administration in recent months has pressed ahead with an effort to broker a Saudi-Israeli deal.

Saudi Arabia has reportedly informed the United States of its decision to suspend all negotiations on normalizing ties with Israel due to the far-right Israeli cabinet’s unwillingness to make any concessions to the Palestinians.

The London-based Elaph online newspaper, citing an Israeli official, reported last Sunday that Washington had informed Tel Aviv of Riyadh’s stance that the extremist nature of the occupying regime led by Netanyahu is torpedoing any possibility of rapprochement with the Palestinians, and therefore with the Saudis.

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed recent so-called normalization deals between Israel and Arab states, claiming that Palestinians must not have a veto over such agreements.

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas recently slammed Israel’s push for normalization with Arab countries for increased raids into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Israeli settler incursions into al-Aqsa Mosque and violence against Palestinians have been on the rise since the hardline cabinet of Netanyahu took office last December.

Omani FM stresses Palestinian statehood

Oman’s foreign minister has told the UN that the UN has a moral duty to resolve the Palestine issue through a two-state solution.

Sayyid Badr Albusaidi made remarks while speaking at the 78th UN General Assembly in New York City on Saturday.

The minister described the Palestinian issue as an injustice which has lasted more than 70 years.

The Palestinian people, however, stand firm in their conviction and determination vis-a-vis the brutal Israeli occupation, the embargo and abuses and violation of international law, and Security Council resolutions, the top diplomat said.

Oman’s belief in justice, equity and respect for the UN Charter means that like all peaceful nations, the country sees no other solution to the Palestine question than the two-state solution, Albusaidi noted.

He appealed to all countries to stay attached to the UN system in settling disputes and resolving conflict, adding that the UN has a duty to put an end to the painful suffering of the Palestinian people.

This can only happen through Israel’s withdrawal from the June 1967 borders and the creation of an independent Palestinian state with East al-Quds as its capital, Albusaidi said.

Senior Palestinian officials from the Palestinian Authority have urged the international community to recognize an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East al-Quds as its capital and demanded all-out support for its full membership in the United Nations.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recently told the UN General Assembly that Middle East peace will not be achievable until the Palestinians are granted full rights.

Those who think that peace can prevail in the Middle East without the Palestinian people enjoying their full, legitimate national rights would be mistaken, Abbas told the UN’s annual gathering on Thursday.

Palestine applied for full UN membership in 2011 but failed to get the necessary support in the UN Security Council, which is dominated by the US-led Western states, Israel’s key backers.

Observers say the so-called two-state initiative is fading and being violated systematically by Israel and its Western allies, and it has become fairly difficult to implement it.

In June, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said statements by Netanyahu regarding the occupying regime’s plans to eliminate the Palestinian people’s aspirations for an independent state confirm Israel’s fascist nature.