The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has lauded a recent BRICS summit declaration issued in New Delhi. The document advocates for full UN membership for Palestine and opposes the froced removal of people from Gaza and the West Bank.
The 11-Nation Bloc Representing 40 Percent of Global Economic Output
The diplomatic weight behind this declaration has grown significantly following the 2024 expansion of the BRICS grouping. As the report notes, the bloc now consists of 11 countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. This expansion has transformed BRICS into a geopolitical force that represents roughly half of the global population and about 40 percent of the world's economic output.
This shift in membership suggests a broadening of the international coalition supporting Palestinian rights. By aligning major economies across the Global South and the East,the BRICS grouping is positioning itself as a primary alternative to Western-led diplomatic frameworks.. For the Palestinian cause, this means a larger pool of influential states is now formally committed to the two-state solution and the end of Israeli occupation.
Full UN Membership and the Protection of Occupied East Jerusalem
A central pillar of the New Delhi declaration is the explicit call for the State of Palestine to obtain full membership in the United Nations. According to the source,the BRICS members also emphasized the need to protect holy sites and ensure continued access to them within occupied East Jerusalem. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry highlighted these points as being consistent with international law and existing UN resolutions.
The declaration further rejects any attempts to forcibly displace Palestinians from their ancestral lands. By specifically naming occupied East Jerusalem as a point of concern, the BRICS nations are reinforcing the Palestinian claim to the city as the capital of a future independent and sovereign state. This level of specificity in a multilateral document provides a significant diplomatic endorsement for Palestinian leadership.
Unhindered Aid to Gaza and the Mandate of UNRWA
The BRICS leaders expresseed urgent concern over continued violence in the region, describing such actions as contrary to the ceasefire reached last October. The declaration specifically calls for the full, timely, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to the besieged Gaza Strip. Furthermore, the 11-nation bloc reaffirmed its support for the mandate of UNRWA, the agency responsible for Palestinian refugees.
By linking the preservation of the ceasefire to the delivery of aid, the BRICS countries are framing the Gaza crisis not just as a security issue, but as a humanitarian imperative. The insistence on safeguarding UNRWA's operations indicates a desire to maintain the existing international infrastructure for refugee support, even amid intense political pressure to dismantle or replace such agencies.
Turning New Delhi’s Consensus into Measurable Results
Despite the positive reception, Palestinian officials have raised a critical question: how will these commitments be translated into practical steps? The Palestinian Foreign Ministry stressed that the real value of the New Delhi declaration depends on whether BRICS members move beyond consensus language to implement measurable results. The source indicates that the Palestinian authorities are looking for concrete diplomatic and humanitarian measures to back the rhetoric.
It remains unclear exactly what mechanisms the BRICS nations intend to use to press for these results. While the bloc possesses immense economic power, it lacks a centralized enforcement body. The primary open question is whether the diverse interests of the 11 member states—ranging from India to Iran—can be synchronized into a unified policy of pressure to end the occupation and secure UN membership for Palestine.
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