The Gulf state has repeatedly ruled out normalising with Israel as long as it continues to occupy Palestine.

Qatar reiterated its support for the Palestinian cause on Saturday during the 16th conference of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation [PUIC] in Istanbul.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was among the attendees at the conference, where participants discussed issues concerning the global Muslim community, namely the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine.

In her speech, Deputy Speaker of the Qatari Shura Council Dr. Hamda bint Hassan Al Sulaiti reaffirmed her country’s position in supporting the Palestinian people’s rights as well as the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

The Qatari official also addressed the Judaization of Jerusalem and Israel’s ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, calling on attendees at the conference to strengthen their efforts to support the resistance of the Palestinian people.

Furthermore, Al Sulaiti praised the PUIC’s condemnation of the Israeli occupation’s actions in Palestine.

Qatar’s support to Palestine

Despite the signing of the Abraham accord in October last year by neighbouring countries including the UAE and Bahrain, Qatar has repeatedly ruled out normalisation with Israel as long as it continues its illegal occupation of Palestine.

Qatar has taken responsibility for rebuilding the besieged Gaza Strip since the 2014 onslaught, pumping over $1 billion into projects. It pledged another $500 million in May this year following Israel’s offensive on the city, which killed at least 260 Palestinians including 66 children.

In November, the Qatar Fund for Development and the Commissioner-General of UNRWA signed $25 million agreement as part of Doha’s continuous support to Palestinians.

Late in October, the Qatar Fund for Development [QFFD] renewed a $3 million grant agreement with the Institute for Palestine Studies Project [IPS] to further inform the Arab and international community about the realities of the Palestinian cause.

The Gulf country has long condemned Israel’s war crimes and ongoing forced displacements of Palestinians, including the ethnic cleansing policies pursued by the zionist state in the neighbourhoods of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan.

The foreign ministry [MOFA] has also condemned Israel’s latest announcement of expanding settlements in the West Bank, describing it as “a flagrant violation of international law”.

“The settlement plans pose a serious threat to international efforts to implement the two-state solution and impede the resumption of the peace process based on international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative,” said MOFA on 29 October.

During the fourth annual Global Security Forum in Doha in October, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani clarified his country’s stance on the issue.

“This is our foreign policy, we see that the core of the issue is the occupation. So as long as there is no prospect for ending that occupation and having a fair and just solution, I don’t see Qatar taking such a step for normalisation,” he said.

“We have repeated this plenty of times, this expansionist policy that Israel is doing by expanding settlements and escalating against the Palestinian people is a huge violation and unfortunately we have seen the international community deal with this issue in double standards,” he added at another event in the same month.

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