Otaibi renews Kuwait's financial support for UNRWA

NEW YORK: Kuwait affirmed its stance against violations on Jerusalem with attempts to destroy its Palestinian identity, calling on the international community to stop siding with Israel on the matter. The remarks were made by Kuwait's Permanent Representative at the UN Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi, during the United Nations Security Council's (UNSC) session on Palestine late Wednesday. He spoke of the UNSC's resolutions number 476 and 478 and the UN General Secretariat's resolutions of 2017 against any action taken to affect Jerusalem's Palestinian identity.

Meanwhile, Otaibi noted the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Palestine due to the Israeli occupation for over 50 years. He added that a Palestinian family was kicked out of their home last Monday, where they've been living since 1951 by Israelis, in East Jerusalem. He called on the UNSC to exert further efforts to resolve the situation in the city, adding that senior Israeli officials are promoting hate speech and making matters worse for Palestinians.

Violence against Palestinian civilians rose by 57 percent in 2018 according to UN statistics, the ambassador said, noting that it is the international community's responsibility to protect them. The UNSC must take serious measures to stop the Israeli violations and violence in accordance with the international law. He said that 263 Palestinians including children were killed since the beginning of the peaceful Great March of Return in March last year. Otaibi renewed Kuwait's financial support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). He also called on the international community to take part in supporting the agency financially. - KUNA