The Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs (ECFA) appreciates United Nations General Assembly Resolution No. A/77/L.24 issued in 2022 and stipulating – for the first time – to commemorate the anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, and to consider May 15 of each year as a day to commemorate this anniversary, including establishing a high-level event marking the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, in the UN General Assembly Hall in New York on May 15, 2023, as evidence of the injustice inflicted on the Palestinian people by the Israeli occupation authorities.
In this regard, the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs affirms its absolute and complete support for international legitimacy resolutions regarding the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of its independent state on all the territories occupied by Israel since June 5, 1967, including East Jerusalem, demanding the complete withdrawal of the occupying authorities from these lands, the return of Palestinian refugees to their usurped lands, and their compensation in accordance with General Assembly Resolution No. 194 of 1949.
ECFA condemns the Israeli practices that violate the provisions and principles of international law, including the United Nations Charter. It also condemns the policies of demolishing houses, intimidating and displacing civilians, confiscating property, and other practices that violate the provisions of international humanitarian law, in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention. ECFA also condemns the illegal processes of judaization, annexation and settlements of Palestinian lands, as well as the recent brutal military operation, which claimed the lives of many Palestinian civilians, and which coincides with the anniversary of the Nakba.
In this context, ECFA supports Palestinian and Arab efforts to restore Palestinian rights, welcoming the “For Palestine” campaign aimed at achieving this purpose and exposing racist Israeli violations in the occupied territories, which was adopted by the League of Arab States on May 10. It also supports the efforts of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people and the civilian population under occupation, and to call on donor states to provide the necessary contributions to enable it to carry out its humanitarian missions.
ECFA reaffirms that the Palestinian people’s restoration of its full rights to establish its independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital is the pillar of the return of security, stability and prosperity to the peoples of the Middle East region. Therefore, ECFA calls on the international community – especially the major powers that continue to provide protection to exempt Israel from accountability – to assume their responsibilities in this regard in accordance with the United Nations Charter and international legitimacy resolutions in a manner that ensures the restoration of these rights and puts an end to the long-standing humanitarian tragedy, as soon as possible.