New York, January 22, 2020, SPA -- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia affirmed its rejection of foreign interference in the Libyan issue. This came in the Kingdom's speech during the open debate of the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East and the Palestinian issue. The speech was delivered by the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom to the United Nations, Ambassador Abdullah bin Yahya Al-Muallami during the debate which was held today. Ambassador Abdullah bin Yahya Al-Muallami said that foreign interference in the Libyan issue led to the movement of extremist fighters to Libya and the violation of the relevant Security Council resolutions, the intensification of the military escalation, the prolongation of the conflict and the deepening of suffering of the brotherly Libyan people. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its position of supporting the Libyan people and respecting their will, and standing at an equal distance from all Libyan parties, calling on all parties to exercise self-restraint and give priority to the supreme interest, and to preserve the territorial integrity and protect it from external interference, as well as support the United Nations efforts aiming to stop the conflict and resolve the crisis through dialogue and diplomatic solutions. Al-Muallami thanked the Council for convening this session to discuss the situation in the Middle East, pointing out that what distinguishes this situation at the present time is the continued occupation of the Israeli authorities to work on imposing the fait accompli as Israel announced its intention to build a large group of settlements and its desire to annex large parts of the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank, which led to the closure of the doors of the settlement, and even increased Israel's intransigence and daring to violate the relevant international covenants and laws to end this conflict, which is the main cause of the crises in the region. The Ambassador indicated that Israel is still enacting legislation and taking anti-Palestinian policies to legalize its settlement system, and deprive the Palestinian people of their rights, once again, stressing the Kingdom's call to the international community to compel Israel to implement the relevant international resolutions, otherwise the region will continue to suffer from the danger of the continuation of this protracted conflict. He said, "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia confirms its firm position, which is that the Palestinian issue is the first pivotal issue of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and will continue to defend it and the rights of the Palestinian people until they obtain their inalienable rights and establishes their independent state on June 4, 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with binding Security Council resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, as well as ending the occupation by Israel of the Syrian Arab Golan and Lebanese territories. Ambassador Abdullah bin Yahya Al-Muallami affirmed the kingdom’s categorical rejection of the statements that consider the settlements in the West Bank as legitimate and not in violation of international law, pointing out that Israel’s construction of settlements is in violation of the decisions of international legitimacy and international law, and stands as an obstacle to achieving peace and stability in the Middle East region and the two-state solution. --More 01:13 LOCAL TIME 22:13 GMT 0037 www.spa.gov.sa/w1251779