Saudi Arabia backs monitoring by chemical weapons watchdog in Palestine

By İbrahim Khazen and Rania Abu Shamala

RIYADH (AA) - Saudi Arabia announced its support Wednesday for Palestine’s request for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to monitor the situation in the Palestinian territories.

The statement was made during the participation of Saudi Arabia’s permanent delegation to the OPCW led by Prince Jalawi bin Turki Al Saud at the 108th session of the organization’s Executive Council in The Hague, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

In a statement, the delegation reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the importance of its full implementation.

It emphasized that the use of such weapons is "a crime and a violation of the convention and international law."

It also expressed support for Palestine’s request for the organization to monitor the situation in the Palestinian territories.

Palestine, which joined the OPCW in 2018, has been calling on the organization to oversee Israel’s compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention, particularly amid repeated accusations of Israel’s use of such weapons.

In a related context, the Saudi delegation welcomed progress concerning Syria’s chemical weapons file and stressed the importance of cooperation between OPCW member states to provide the necessary support for Syria to resolve the issue permanently.