Saudi Arabia, Iceland and India on Saturday drew attention to the situation in Gaza, which continues to receive international attention at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
In his remarks, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, stressed the Kingdom’s rejection of all attempts to displace Palestinians or change the reality of Palestinian land.
Al Saud said lasting peace could only be achieved through the implementation of the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Saudi Arabia also called for the entire Middle East region to be free of weapons of mass destruction, demanding that nuclear programmes be subject to international oversight, verification and safeguards.
India also voiced support for the Palestinian people. Its Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, affirmed that the world’s most populous country believes a durable and lasting peace requires a two-state solution.
Iceland’s Foreign Minister, Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for referring to delegates who walked out during his speech as “moral cowards”.
“Moral cowards are those who refuse to sit down and negotiate just and lasting peace,” she said. “Those leaders who deny access to humanitarian aid for people in desperate need.”
Gunnarsdóttir said moral cowards repeatedly violate and disrespect international law, adding that “the horrors in Ukraine and the Middle East” should not make other crises invisible.
She told heads of state that the suffering of Palestinian civilians must not become background noise, decrying the deaths of children, the pain of parents, and the loss of homes and livelihoods.
The Icelandic minister further urged the international community not to accept the destruction and rebuilding of Gaza while the underlying causes of the conflict remain unresolved.
She condemned the expansion of what she described as “illegal settlements” in the West Bank, where Palestinians face settler violence “often enabled by impunity, inflammatory rhetoric and permissive policies”.
Gunnarsdóttir said Iceland’s objective remained to work towards a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel, with both peoples able to live in security, dignity and peace.
UNGA 81: Saudi, India rally round Gaza as Iceland slams Netanyahu