Geneva:The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Office and other international organizations participated in a general debate focused on the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories during the 63rd session of the Human Rights Council.

According to Saudi Press Agency, Dr. Salem Al-Qahtani, Director General of the General Administration of Humanitarian Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delivered a statement on behalf of Saudi Arabia. He condemned the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, emphasizing the necessity to uphold the ceasefire and protect civilians fully.

Al-Qahtani also criticized the expansion of settlement activities and settler terrorism. He reiterated Saudi Arabia's firm rejection of any attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians or to alter the geographic or demographic nature of the occupied Palestinian territory.

He further welcomed initiatives by several countries to recognize the State of Palestine and the strengthening of accountability measures, such as imposing trade restrictions on Israeli settlements.

A year after the adoption of the New York Declaration, Al-Qahtani reaffirmed the stance of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, which maintains that Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, form a single Palestinian territorial unit that must be free from occupation.

Saudi Arabia continues to assert that the only viable path to a just and lasting peace is through the implementation of the two-state solution, supporting the Palestinian right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.