Foreign Minister Mohamed A. Alhakim’s Speech at League of Arab States Meeting at Ministerial Level

His Excellency Yusef bin Alawi , Foreign Minister of the fraternal Sultanate of Oman, Chairman of the Council of the League of Arab States at the level of foreign ministers.
Honorable Arab Foreign Ministers
Honorable Brother Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary General of the esteemed League of Arab States.
Peace, mercy and blessings of God.

At the outset, I am pleased to offer you my sincere congratulations and blessings on the occasion of the blessed month of Ramadhan.

Excellencies:

We meet today in light of exceptional challenges and circumstances, resulting from the risks to which the entire world is exposed as a result of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and we ask God Almighty to spare our nation and the whole world the dangers of the spread of this pandemic which still poses a great threat to all of humanity.

The challenge facing our Arab nation and the Palestinian issue is no less serious than the global challenge of the coronavirus. In recent times, the aggressive tendencies of the usurped Israeli entity, backed by the United States that aims at procrastinating the legitimate and inalienable Palestinian rights.

Your meeting discussed this in regular and exceptional sessions, the announcement of the Prime Minister of the Zionist occupation intending to annex lands from the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley to his usurping entity, and the Council also discussed the variables of the US position regarding the consideration of Israeli settlement in the territory of the occupied Palestinian state is not contrary to international law. His Excellency President Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, attended the extraordinary session of the Council held on the first of last February to discuss the plan of US President Donald Trump on the peace process in the Middle East, or what he called as the deal of the century, as Arab countries were unanimous in rejecting that plan and put appropriate plans for action within the framework of the international community.

Today, the usurping Israeli entity reiterates its efforts supported by the United States , and taking advantage of the world’s preoccupation with the coronavirus pandemic to announce its intention to implement a plan to annex the West Bank or parts of it to its usurping entity, supported by statements from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Our esteemed meeting is required today to take serious practical steps by sending a clear message to the international community to pressure the Israeli entity and its allies to desist from such provocations that complicate the scene, and feed the voices and extremist tendencies in the region, as well as demand the United States be an honest and impartial mediator on regional issues.

Excellencies

The government of my country supports the directions of your decision, which emphasizes guaranteeing the rights of the Palestinian people, foremost of which is the establishment of an independent state with its capital in the occupied Quds. The achievement of stability in the region will not be accomplished without finding a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions.
We pray to the Almighty God to grant our Arab and Islamic nations health and safety, and to spare the entire world the dangers of the coronavirus pandemic.

Peace, mercy and blessings of God

Mohamad A. Alhakim
Foreign Minister of Republic of Iraq
April 30, 2020