The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, called for an immediate ceasefire to end the bloodshed and humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, reiterating his country's readiness to mediate in this regard.

This came in a message read on his behalf by Qatar's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and International Organizations in Vienna, Jassim Al Hammadi, during the annual celebration held by the United Nations Office in Vienna on the occasion of the "International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People" on Friday.

In his message, excerpts of which were carried by the Qatar News Agency on Saturday, the Emir of Qatar stressed that “violence does not achieve peace, security and stability for anyone, and that a just, comprehensive and lasting peace will only be achieved through the implementation of international legitimacy resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative, and on the basis of the principle of the two-state solution, and the establishment of an independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

He said, "Solidarity with the Palestinian people is particularly important this year in light of the collective punishment and war of extermination that this oppressed people (in the Gaza Strip) is being subjected to, which does not spare civilians, their homes, infrastructure, schools, universities, places of worship, and hospitals."

The Emir of Qatar referred to the "indescribable humanitarian consequences of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, which led to widespread destruction of its cities and villages, and which extended to the West Bank and then to brotherly Lebanon."

He considered that the solidarity required with the Palestinian people today in light of this is primarily represented in “rejecting the injustice (to which they are subjected), and adhering to the right of this people to a dignified life on their land and their right to self-determination.”

He also stressed "the need to put an immediate end to the violence and reach a ceasefire (in Gaza) that ends the bloodshed, the humanitarian catastrophe (there) and the suffering of prisoners and detainees."

In this regard, Emir Tamim pointed out Qatar's keenness "to exert all possible mediation efforts in order to facilitate reaching an agreement that achieves this goal."

He criticised "the continued failure of the international community and the United Nations to stop the bloodshed, and the double standards in enforcing international law, international humanitarian law and international human rights law when it comes to the Palestinian people, despite the clear international positions and demands, General Assembly resolutions and orders of the International Court of Justice."

He warned that this "will only lead to more impunity and undermine confidence in international law and order."

The Emir of Qatar also renewed his "strong condemnation of the repeated (Israeli) attacks on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque."

He stressed that "any attempts to undermine the historical and legal status quo of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem, divide the Al-Aqsa Mosque temporally and spatially, and undermine the freedom of Muslims to pray there are null and void under international law and relevant UN resolutions."

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is an event organized by the United Nations since November 29, 1977, to commemorate what was stipulated in Resolution 181 issued by its General Assembly on that day in 1947, which called for the partition of Palestine into two states, “Arab” and “Jewish.”