ISTANBUL – Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saturday congratulated the Palestinian people on winning an observer state status at the UN. “We see in this recognition a good step toward a positive change in the way the UN deals with the Palestinian issue,” he said in a speech at the Turkish-Arab Cooperation Forum here. “We hope that the Security Council would view positively the decision of the global majority to give a push to peace,” Prince Saud said. Arab and Turkish foreign ministers condemned Israel's plans to build 3,000 settler homes in east Jerusalem after the Palestinians won non-member observer status at the United Nations. The ministers “condemned the Israeli decision to establish 3,000 housing units in East Jerusalem and the West Bank,” according to a joint statement released at the end of the forum. They called on the international community to exert all efforts to halt the Israeli settlement activities which they said “are illegal and contrary to (UN) Security Council decisions resolutions and international law.” Israel revealed plans to build the 3,000 new homes a day after the Palestinians' historic success at the United Nations Thursday. The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a resolution Thursday recognizing Palestine as a non-member observer state, a move Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said was part of “a last chance” for a negotiated two-state solution. Israel and the United States have both criticized the UN vote as an obstacle to efforts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord. In opening remarks, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called for an “independent Palestinian state” and urged the international community not to allow Israel to undermine peace efforts in the Middle East. Davutoglu welcomed the upgrading of the Palestinians' status at the United Nations as a “significant step.” “Now is the time to restore permanent peace in the region,” said Davutoglu, adding that the establishment of “an independent Palestinian state” was a precondition to achieving peace. “We hope that the Palestinian flag will be hoisted at the United States with full member status,” Davutoglu said. He also criticized the Israeli aggression in Gaza which he said dragged the Middle East into new chaos. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressing the forum, welcomed the UN vote about the Palestinians but said: “We must see and admit that Palestine is also a country under occupation despite the fact that it won observer status.” – Agencies
