NEW YORK: Kuwait has announced a voluntary contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) worth 30 million dollars, while renewing the international community’s demand to recognize Palestine’s membership in the United Nations. This was stated in the speech delivered by Kuwait’s Minister Plenipotentiary Faisal Al-Enezi, its Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at the ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council.

Al-Enezi said the contribution comes out of the moral and humanitarian responsibility of Kuwait to support UNRWA. He stressed the continuity of the operations of the Kuwaiti Air Relief Bridge in order to meet all the needs of the Palestinian people. He also touched on the decision of many countries to suspend their support for UNRWA following allegations made by the Zionist occupation that later proved invalid, which led to the reversal of those countries’ decision to suspend their voluntary contribution to the agency.

UNRWA was subjected to a campaign that claimed that 12 of the agency’s staff participated in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, but a report by an independent UN Commission of Inquiry concluded that the Zionist occupation has not provided evidence to support its claims in this regard. On a related note, Al-Enezi renewed Kuwait’s call on the international community to recognize Palestine’s membership in the United Nations, citing General Assembly Resolution No. 3236, which recognizes that Palestine should be given full independence and sovereignty and recognized by the organization.

The resolution reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, in particular the right to self-determination without external interference, as well as the right to national independence and sovereignty. He added that the Zionist occupation “was recognized by the UN as a member four years after the establishment of this organization,” while Palestine, five decades after the issuance of the resolution, still demands its right to be recognized by the UN as an independent state like the rest of the member states.

Al-Enezi expressed regret that the United States used its veto power against an Algerian draft resolution recommending the admission of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations. In this regard, he stated that “Kuwait is Palestine, Palestine is Kuwait, Kuwait’s membership in the United Nations is Palestine’s membership, your concerns are our concerns, and your challenges are our challenges.”

Kuwait’s representative to the UN reiterated the need to comply with the three basic demands, namely, a ceasefire in Gaza, the payment of humanitarian and relief assistance, the cessation of forced displacement, and the end to ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Last week, the UN Security Council failed to adopt an Algerian draft resolution recommending that the General Assembly accept Palestine as a full member of the United Nations. 12 of the 15 council members voted in favor of the resolution, while the United States opposed it and the United Kingdom and Switzerland abstained. — KUNA