Saudi supports Palestine’s call for chemical weapons monitoring in Occupied Territories 

Saudi Arabia has voiced support for Palestine’s request for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to oversee the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The announcement came during the 108th session of the OPCW’s Executive Council in The Hague, where Saudi Arabia’s permanent delegation, led by Prince Jalawi Bin Turki Al Saud, reaffirmed the kingdom’s commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the delegation underscored that the use of chemical weapons is “a crime and a violation of the convention and international law.”

It reiterated support for Palestine’s appeal for international oversight, amid ongoing concerns regarding Israel’s alleged use of such weapons.

Palestine, which became an OPCW member in 2018, has repeatedly urged the organisation to monitor Israel’s adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The Saudi delegation also welcomed progress on Syria’s chemical weapons file, urging international cooperation for a lasting resolution, and praised the outcomes of the Rabat AI conference on CWC implementation.

The OPCW, based in The Hague, enforces the Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans chemical weapons and mandates their destruction. The treaty, which has 193 state parties, is broader in scope than the 1925 Geneva Protocol, which only prohibits their use.

Israel has signed but not ratified the convention, while Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan have neither signed nor ratified it.

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