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30th Arab Summit: Tunis Declaration

30th Arab Summit

Tunis Declaration

(Excerpts)

Tunis, 31 March 2019

We, the leaders of the Arab States

…

The issue of Palestine remains at the heart of our joint endeavours and informs all our actions in regional and international forums. We remain resolved to continue efforts to relaunch serious and effective negotiations within a set time frame and to assist in reaching a settlement that will bring about a just and comprehensive peace in keeping with the terms of reference of the peace process, internationally binding resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 and the principle of the two -State solution.

Peace, security and stability can be brought to the Middle East only on the basis of a just and comprehensive settlement of the question of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict in general.

We shall continue to provide the Palestinian people, their legally constituted national leadership and their sole legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, with all political, moral and material support. We shall stand with them in their determination and struggle to recover their legal rights, above all the right to self-determination and to establish an independent State within the borders of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, the right of return in accordance with General Assembly resolution 194 (III) of 1948 and the release of prisoners.

We are committed to shoring up the budget of the State of Palestine and providing a financial safety net to enable it to cope with the economic and financial strains confronting it and thereby strengthen the Palestinian people ’s resolve. We appeal to the international community to maintain its support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and mobilize the necessary resources and contributions to fund its budget and activities, so that it may continue to provide Palestinian refugees with essential services.

In the face of continued Israeli aggression, we call on the international community and the Security Council to shoulder their responsibilities, provide the Palestinian people with the protection they need and put an end to the hostile acts of Israel and its systematic violations of Muslim and Christian holy sites, particularly the Aqsa Mosque. We warn Israel against any plans or attempts to carve up the Mosque or alter its historical status, such as the recent ruling by a court of the occupying authorities to close the Bab al-Rahmah oratory, and its schemes to expand illegal settlements at the expense of the Palestinian territories. In that regard, we demand the implementation of Security Council resolution 2334 (2016).

We utterly reject any unilateral actions by Israel, the occupying Power, to alter the legal or historical status of East Jerusalem, in particular with regard to the Muslim and Christian holy sites there. We appeal to the nations of the world not to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and not to transfer their embassies to that city, in line with their obligations under Security Council resolutions 476 (1980) and 478 (1980) on that subject.

The long-standing Hashemite custodianship of the Muslim and Christian holy sites in East Jerusalem, especially the Aqsa Mosque/Haram al-Sharif, now exercised by His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and his leading role in protecting those holy sites and their Arab Muslim and Christian character are essential.

…

It is of the utmost importance that the decision adopted on 18 October 2016 by the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at its 200th session be implemented. We call on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities with regard to Israeli violations and the arbitrary measures that Israel imposes on the Aqsa Mosque and those who pray there and reiterate that the Jordanian-run Waqf Administration of Jerusalem has the sole and exclusive legal authority to manage, maintain and preserve the Aqsa Mosque/Haram al-Sharif and control access thereto.

We again reject and condemn the so-called Jewish nation-State law as enshrining racism and denying Palestinians their rights, in particular the right to self determination.

 

Source: “Tunis Declaration Adopted by the League of Arab States at its thirtieth ordinary session at the summit level, held on 31 March 2019 in Tunis”, in “Letter dated 10 April 2019 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Tunisia to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council”. UN Document S/2019/306.