The UAE bridges of Charity: Support and Assistance for the Palestinian Cause

History preserves the positions of the United Arab Emirates and its founder, His Highness Sheik Zayed, towards the Palestinian cause. He is the first to extend his white hands to help them, stand by them and support them in all fields of life, to provide them with a decent life in the face of the injustice imposed on them by the occupation

Firm positions

It was no secret that the United Arab Emirates was one of the first countries to open a representative office of the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1968. It was also one of the first countries to recognize the State of Palestine after the declaration of independence in 1988, and it was and still is present on many occasions, in support of the Palestinian cause and the successive events that took place in the Palestinian arena, and which occupied an important area of statements issued by the Council at various times. In March 1994, the Federal National Council condemned in a statement the heinous crime committed by Israeli settlers at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, and vowed to raise this heinous crime in international forums, especially the conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which was to be held in Paris at the same month, with the aim of mobilizing public opinion against this treacherous act.

Guidance for popular support and brotherhood

Sheik Zayed’s directives to support the Palestinian people have had a great impact in galvanizing UAE citizens to come to the aid of their brothers in Palestine through fundraising and in-kind assistance to enable the Palestinian people to survive on their land. In 2003, the Abu Dhabi channel helped organize a campaign for donations for Palestinians in the Arab world, in which prominent media, cultural and political figures participated. The campaign raised more than 120 million dirhams, which was sent to implement humanitarian and development projects in Palestine.

Historically, the UAE’s support has not been conditional, nor has it provided political money tied to political positions.

Palestinian fields

The city of Sheik Zayed Al Nahyan, the Emirati residential neighborhood, Mohammed bin Rachid Hospital, and not the last Emirati hospital to be opened tomorrow for epidemics, these service facilities are not in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, nor are they facilities in Sharjah or Ajman, but in the Gaza Strip, some of which have been in existence for decades, others that are still under study and planning. No neighborhood or city in the Gaza Strip, from the southernmost part of the Strip to the last area on its northern borders, but where the Emirates are present with its humanity and Arabism. The Emirates have also established Sheik Zayed City in northern Gaza to shelter Palestinians who were displaced and whose homes were demolished by the Israeli occupation forces in their repeated aggression against the Strip.

In addition to Sheik Zayed’s support for the reconstruction of the Jenin camp, which was destroyed by the Israeli occupation forces in April 2002 after the Jenin massacre, instructions were given for the construction of 800 housing units at a cost of 27 million dollars.

National Solidarity Committee

The United Arab Emirates and the Arab Republic of Egypt formed a joint committee to oversee the financing of relief and development projects in the Gaza Strip at a cost of $15 million per month. The committee was handed over to the National Solidarity Committee in the Gaza Strip, which implemented the projects at the time. The National Islamic Committee for Social Solidarity was formed in 2011 at the invitation of the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, headed by MP Majed Abu Shamala and comprising five factions: Fatah, Al-Islah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Popular Front, and Democratic Front. Their mission is to work in a unified way to provide humanitarian and relief aid in the Gaza Strip, in various sectors, away from any political disputes or disputes between the factions. Meanwhile, the Emirati-Egyptian Committee is composed of experts from both countries and deals with the Solidarity Committee as an aid address, with funding from the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Works, which was established in 2007 and is based in the Emirates.

Gaza to build humanitarian airlift

After the 2014 Gaza offensive, aid agencies mobilized to respond to the humanitarian crisis and mobilize relief supplies from the International Humanitarian City in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. These supplies were donated to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees for thousands of vulnerable displaced families in Gaza. A special air bridge was constructed in support of displaced families in Gaza on Sunday from the royal wings in Dubai. A Boeing 747 cargo plane carrying 114 metric tons of aid took off with it. In addition, a large delegation of high-ranking personalities came to Gaza. Its main task was to equip and erect the large field hospital, which had a significant impact on alleviating the suffering and injured citizens during the 2014 Gaza offensive.