Palestinian cause remains sacred, says Algerian president

ALGIERS

The right of the Palestinian people to have a state with Jerusalem as its capital is not subject to bargain, the Algerian president said on Wednesday.

Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s remarks came at a speech he delivered at the 75th UN General Assembly via video link.

"The Palestinian cause remains a sacred cause for Algeria and its people," Tebboune said.

He went on to express firm support for the Palestinian people and their "inalienable” right to establish their independent, sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital.

On Sept. 15, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed US-brokered normalization agreements with Israel at the White House; ignoring the Palestinian rejection. Yet, Riyadh has not declared its rejection or support for these agreements.

Tebboune also stressed in his speech the need to accelerate a comprehensive UN reform to improve its performance and to ensure fair representation of the African continent in the Security Council in line with the Sirte Declaration.

The African Union summit held in Sirte, Libya, in 2005 came out with Sirte Declaration calling for a comprehensive UN reform and ensuring representation of the continent in the Security Council with two permanent and five non-permanent seats.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat