The Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria Azmi Al Daqqa at the weekend appealed to Nigeria to be involved in the peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestine crisis.
Al Daqqa told reporters in the capital Abuja that the appeal became necessary because Nigeria had "significant weight both regionally and internationally."
"In addition, Nigeria has good relations with both Palestinians and Israelis, so its involvement in the efforts to bring both parties to the negotiating table is very important," he added.
Al Daqqa said Palestinians were suffering because of the continued Israeli occupation of their land, adding that the only way to end the suffering was to prevail on Israel to vacate the occupied territories.
The ambassador said 10,000 Palestinians were currently in Israeli jails and some of them had spent more than two decades in jails.
Of the number, he said, 450 were under 18 and 250 women, reminding the international community of the suffering of the families of the jailed Palestinians.
He said it was the responsibility of the international community to intervene "to stop aggression against the Palestinian people."
Referring to the Israeli soldiers captured by the Palestinian militant group, the ambassador said "our view is that they should be released on political and humanitarian grounds."
He said the Palestinian Authority condemned the killing of civilians, whether by Palestinians or Israelis, adding "We condemn all forms of terrorism, including state terrorism."
The situation in Gaza, he said, had deteriorated further since January, due to "Israeli aggression and human right violation."
He said Israel had not withdrawn from Gaza because it was still in control of the border crossing into Gaza and had imposed restriction on movement of goods and persons.
"Our opinion is that any Israeli withdrawal should be through negotiation and not by unilateral action, because unilateral action will not lead to a solution," he said, adding "I believe the Palestinians' choice must be respected, while Hamas must respect all the agreement signed by the Palestinian Authority, which calls for a two-state solution."
"I don't believe the Palestinian people should suffer for their choice. The international community should resume their financial aid to the people to avoid the ongoing humanitarian crisis," he said.
Source: Xinhua