عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

The National Council Welcomes IAEA’s Decision to Consider Palestine a State

The Palestinian delegation at the IAEA General Conference
The Palestinian delegation at the IAEA General Conference
TT
TT

The National Council Welcomes IAEA’s Decision to Consider Palestine a State

The Palestinian delegation at the IAEA General Conference
The Palestinian delegation at the IAEA General Conference

The Palestinian National Council and other official institutions in Ramallah welcomed two recent decisions that were described as historic.

The General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency voted by a majority on a draft-resolution to officially adopt the designation of “State of Palestine”. In parallel, the Anglican Church in South Africa decided to declare Israel an “apartheid state.”

In a statement on Friday, the Palestinian National Council said that the overwhelming vote at the International Atomic Energy Agency was a clear condemnation of the Israeli occupation policy of expansion and illegal annexation in violation of international laws.

The Council thanked “all the countries that supported and endorsed the decision, especially the sister Arab Republic of Egypt, which submitted the request on behalf of the State of Palestine.”

The General Conference of the IAEA had voted, with an overwhelming majority of 92 countries, on the Egyptian draft-resolution to officially adopt the designation of “State of Palestine”, and grant it more privileges and rights. The voting was held within the 67th Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference in Vienna.

Meanwhile, the head of the Palestinian National Council, Rawhi Fattouh, welcomed the decision of the Anglican Church in South Africa to declare Israel an “apartheid state.”

In a statement on Friday, Fattouh said: “This decision is a victory for our Palestinian cause, and expresses the extent of injustice and racial discrimination against the Palestinian people, especially the storming of Islamic and Christian places of worship, the attacks on Christian clergy, and the operations of repression committed by the fascist occupation government.”

The Higher Committee of Churches Affairs in Palestine also hailed the decision of the Anglican Church, noting that it came in response to and in solidarity with the calls made by Palestinian Christians to hold Israel accountable for its “crimes against the Palestinian people.”

The Anglican Church in South Africa has dioceses in Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Angola, and St. Helena, in addition to South Africa. It holds its church council, the “Synod,” every three years.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
TT
TT

Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.