UAE rejects Israeli actions in Gaza, West Bank, calls for 2-state solution to achieve regional peace

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) rejected Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, calling for the implementation of a two-state solution to reach sustainable peace in the region.

“Nothing can justify targeting tens of thousands of civilians, besieging them, starving them, and forcibly displacing them. Nothing can excuse the pursuit of unacceptable expansionist ambitions, including the threat of annexing the West Bank,” State Minister Lana Nusseibeh said in a speech to the 80th UN General Assembly in New York early Sunday.

The Emirati minister said implementing a two-state solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and establishing an independent sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital are a “fundamental requirement for achieving a permanent, just, and comprehensive solution to the issue.”

Nusseibeh welcomed the recent wave of recognition of Palestinian statehood, urging remaining countries to take similar steps for a better future in the region.

“Our first and most urgent demands are an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, ending the siege, releasing the (Israeli) hostages and (Palestinian) detainees, and urgent unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid at scale,” she said.

Regarding the dispute with Iran over three islands in the Persian Gulf, the minister called on Tehran to “end its occupation of these islands, which are an integral part of UAE territory, as well as responding to our repeated calls to resolve this dispute through direct negotiations or by resorting to the International Court of Justice.”

Iran asserted its dominance over the Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb islands in November 1971, which had been under British occupation since 1903. Only a few days later, the UK transferred control of the islands to the UAE, a newly established country.

The UAE considers Iran, which deployed military forces to the islands, as an "occupier," while Iran claims that the territories were temporarily under British control in 1903 and returned in 1971.

The UAE is actively pursuing initiatives with Arab countries and international organizations to regain the three islands.