New York, October 18, 2026 : Qatar has warned that the continued exploitation of natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the occupied Syrian Golan, alongside restrictions on local communities’ access to those resources, remains a major barrier to sustainable development and the economic and social rights of people living under occupation.
The statement was delivered by Third Secretary at Qatar’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Mohammed Hassan Al Emadi before the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly during its 81st session in New York. It addressed the permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people and the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources.
Al Emadi stressed that Palestinians cannot exercise permanent sovereignty over their natural resources while being denied control over their land and resources.
Addressing the situation in the Gaza Strip, he said Qatar’s immediate priority is to consolidate the ceasefire, ensure the full implementation of its terms and facilitate the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance. He also emphasized the need to restore essential services and civilian infrastructure and establish conditions for early recovery and reconstruction, enabling Palestinians to rebuild their economic and social lives.
He added that Qatar’s mediation efforts, conducted in cooperation with Egypt and the United States, are driven by a commitment to ending human suffering and creating conditions for a political process that leads to a just and lasting peace.
Al Emadi also underscored the importance of supporting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), describing it as a key partner in providing essential humanitarian, educational, healthcare and development services under its mandate.
On the occupied Syrian Golan, he reaffirmed Qatar’s support for the Arab population’s right to its natural resources and rejected measures aimed at changing the territory’s legal or demographic status. He also called for an end to the occupation and Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Golan to the June 4, 1967 line, in accordance with relevant UN resolutions.
Al Emadi concluded by reaffirming Qatar’s support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, particularly their right to self-determination and to establish an independent state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Source: QNA
