25 june 2019
Latest statistics show that the number of Israeli settlements, established on Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, has reached 503, of which 474 are located in the West Bank and 29 others in Jerusalem, says Hanna Issa, Secretary-General of the PA Islamic-Christian Council for Jerusalem and the Holy Places.
Issa added, in a press statement on Monday, that the number of settlers residing in these settlements exceeds one million, indicating that “Peace Movement,” in Israel, says that settlement expansion on Palestinian lands in the West Bank is higher than population growth itself, in Israel.
He noted that the construction of the apartheid wall, which stretches from the Jordan Valley to the mountains of Hebron, with an area of more than 725 kilometres, is grabbing up around 20% of the West Bank lands originally estimated at 5,844 square kilometers.
He also pointed out, according to Al Ray, that Israeli bypass roads, established throughout the West Bank, to connect settlements, amount to 800 square kilometers.
Issa confirmed that Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories is a grave violation of international norms and conventions, particularly Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva convention and Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He clarified that Article 49 states that the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own population into the territories it occupies, adding that Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court considers the transfer, directly or indirectly, by the occupying power, of parts of its own civilian population, into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory, within or outside this territory, as war crimes.
Issa called for urgent international action to compel Israel to stop its settlement policies and its defiance of international wills, aiming at bringing peace and stability to the region.
Issa added, in a press statement on Monday, that the number of settlers residing in these settlements exceeds one million, indicating that “Peace Movement,” in Israel, says that settlement expansion on Palestinian lands in the West Bank is higher than population growth itself, in Israel.
He noted that the construction of the apartheid wall, which stretches from the Jordan Valley to the mountains of Hebron, with an area of more than 725 kilometres, is grabbing up around 20% of the West Bank lands originally estimated at 5,844 square kilometers.
He also pointed out, according to Al Ray, that Israeli bypass roads, established throughout the West Bank, to connect settlements, amount to 800 square kilometers.
Issa confirmed that Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories is a grave violation of international norms and conventions, particularly Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva convention and Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He clarified that Article 49 states that the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own population into the territories it occupies, adding that Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court considers the transfer, directly or indirectly, by the occupying power, of parts of its own civilian population, into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory, within or outside this territory, as war crimes.
Issa called for urgent international action to compel Israel to stop its settlement policies and its defiance of international wills, aiming at bringing peace and stability to the region.
British government continued to sign off on licences for weapons despite concerns raised by prime minister and MPs
The British government licensed arms deals worth over £14m ($17.8m) to Israel last year even as Israeli soldiers were accused of intentionally firing on Palestinian protesters at the Gaza border in what the UN says may be potential war crimes.
Weapons approved for sale included ammunition, components for assault rifles, and other types of arms which could be used for repression, according to newly released details from the Department of International Trade (DIT), compiled by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT).
Revelations of the sales to Israel come after a UK court ordered the British government last week to stop approving arms sales to Saudi Arabia because it failed to fully assess whether the equipment might be used in breach of international humanitarian law in the war in Yemen.
One sale for more than $125,000-worth of military training equipment was approved on 18 May last year, four days after 68 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops on the most deadly day in Gaza since the 2014 Israeli offensive.
The DIT declined to give MEE more details about the equipment and how it could be used.
The sale was approved the same week Prime Minister Theresa May called the Palestinian killings "extremely concerning," and said there was an urgent need to find out why Israeli forces had used live fire.
The British government licensed arms deals worth over £14m ($17.8m) to Israel last year even as Israeli soldiers were accused of intentionally firing on Palestinian protesters at the Gaza border in what the UN says may be potential war crimes.
Weapons approved for sale included ammunition, components for assault rifles, and other types of arms which could be used for repression, according to newly released details from the Department of International Trade (DIT), compiled by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT).
Revelations of the sales to Israel come after a UK court ordered the British government last week to stop approving arms sales to Saudi Arabia because it failed to fully assess whether the equipment might be used in breach of international humanitarian law in the war in Yemen.
One sale for more than $125,000-worth of military training equipment was approved on 18 May last year, four days after 68 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops on the most deadly day in Gaza since the 2014 Israeli offensive.
The DIT declined to give MEE more details about the equipment and how it could be used.
The sale was approved the same week Prime Minister Theresa May called the Palestinian killings "extremely concerning," and said there was an urgent need to find out why Israeli forces had used live fire.
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"While we do not question the right of Israel to defend its borders, the use of live fire and the resulting loss of life is deeply troubling," May said in a 15 May press conference. "We urge Israel to show restraint."
The violence at the border was debated in parliament on the same day, with seven MPs calling for greater scrutiny of arms sales to Israel and some calling for an outright ban. But the approval of licences continued, including military radar equipment, missile technology and night-vision gear, totalling about $18m between 30 March until the end of the year. That figure does not include sales that were approved through what are |
called open licences, whereby UK firms are not required to publicly disclose the values of arms or quantities sold.
Use of these opaque licences to sell arms to states in the Middle East and North Africa rose by 22 percent between 2013 and 2017, MEE has reported.
MEE understands that the DIT reviewed export licenses for Israel following the events at the border in May 2018 but found nothing to indicate that UK-supplied equipment had been used in a way that violated licensing criteria.
It would, however, revoke licences if that assessment changed.
A DIT spokesperson told MEE: "All export licence applications are considered on a case-by-case basis against international criteria, including respect for human rights. We will revoke any licences found to be no longer consistent with these standards.
"We keep all defence exports under careful and continual review."
'The message it sends'But CAAT spokesperson Andrew Smith said that while it's not clear whether UK-made weapons were specifically used on protesters, it is the symbolism of the UK sales, which have continued through Israeli offensives on Gaza in 2008 and 2014, that matters.
"If shooting on the border didn't stop the arms sales, if the bombardment in 2014 and 2008 didn't stop them, what more will it take?" Smith said.
"The message it sends is that, no matter what atrocities are inflicted on the Palestinian people, arms sales will continue."
By continuing to arm and support the Israeli military, he added, the UK is "only making it more likely that UK-made weapons will play a devastating role in the future".
Asked about the figures, Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot told MEE it is the sole responsibility of the British government to ensure that its arms sales are lawful, but he said there was a wider legal context to consider beyond the arms trade.
"The UK government can only say if it has done its due process. We are not aware of such a process to ensure that these weapons do not harm innocent Palestinians and they do not end up aiding Israel in its illegal occupation and colonisation of the land and people of Palestine," he said.
"It's not just about a direct specific incident only, but it's also about the overall macro picture of the entire illegal situation of a state that has been in control of another and in daily violations of basic UK and international law."
Shortly before the mass killing on 18 May, the UK parliament's Committee on Arms Export Controls, the government's arms export watchdog, wrote to Trade Secretary Liam Fox [pdf], asking whether he had any information about how sniper rifles and their components approved for sale to Israel in January 2017 had been used.
Fox responded that the company which exported the rifles and components used them to test ammunition in the company's own firing range.
"We were satisfied that there was not a clear risk that these items might be used for internal repression or in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law," he wrote.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle, an MP and member of the committee, said the answer had been "rather dissatisfactory" and called for end-use auditing that was more far-sighted.
"There is no good sending Israel arms in relative peace assuming the risk of it using them is low only to realise it is too late when it launches another disproportionate assault on their neighbours," he said.
According to Palestinian Ministry of Health figures released on Sunday, 306 people have been killed and 35,529 injured in what have been called the Great March of Return protests.
The ongoing initiative began in March 2018 after a call from local civil society actors urged Palestinians to engage in a mass march towards the Gaza fence in opposition to Israel's 11-year-old siege on Gaza.
A United Nations inquiry released earlier this year found that Israeli soldiers intentionally shot civilians and may have committed war crimes in their heavy-handed response to the protests.
Use of these opaque licences to sell arms to states in the Middle East and North Africa rose by 22 percent between 2013 and 2017, MEE has reported.
MEE understands that the DIT reviewed export licenses for Israel following the events at the border in May 2018 but found nothing to indicate that UK-supplied equipment had been used in a way that violated licensing criteria.
It would, however, revoke licences if that assessment changed.
A DIT spokesperson told MEE: "All export licence applications are considered on a case-by-case basis against international criteria, including respect for human rights. We will revoke any licences found to be no longer consistent with these standards.
"We keep all defence exports under careful and continual review."
'The message it sends'But CAAT spokesperson Andrew Smith said that while it's not clear whether UK-made weapons were specifically used on protesters, it is the symbolism of the UK sales, which have continued through Israeli offensives on Gaza in 2008 and 2014, that matters.
"If shooting on the border didn't stop the arms sales, if the bombardment in 2014 and 2008 didn't stop them, what more will it take?" Smith said.
"The message it sends is that, no matter what atrocities are inflicted on the Palestinian people, arms sales will continue."
By continuing to arm and support the Israeli military, he added, the UK is "only making it more likely that UK-made weapons will play a devastating role in the future".
Asked about the figures, Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot told MEE it is the sole responsibility of the British government to ensure that its arms sales are lawful, but he said there was a wider legal context to consider beyond the arms trade.
"The UK government can only say if it has done its due process. We are not aware of such a process to ensure that these weapons do not harm innocent Palestinians and they do not end up aiding Israel in its illegal occupation and colonisation of the land and people of Palestine," he said.
"It's not just about a direct specific incident only, but it's also about the overall macro picture of the entire illegal situation of a state that has been in control of another and in daily violations of basic UK and international law."
Shortly before the mass killing on 18 May, the UK parliament's Committee on Arms Export Controls, the government's arms export watchdog, wrote to Trade Secretary Liam Fox [pdf], asking whether he had any information about how sniper rifles and their components approved for sale to Israel in January 2017 had been used.
Fox responded that the company which exported the rifles and components used them to test ammunition in the company's own firing range.
"We were satisfied that there was not a clear risk that these items might be used for internal repression or in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law," he wrote.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle, an MP and member of the committee, said the answer had been "rather dissatisfactory" and called for end-use auditing that was more far-sighted.
"There is no good sending Israel arms in relative peace assuming the risk of it using them is low only to realise it is too late when it launches another disproportionate assault on their neighbours," he said.
According to Palestinian Ministry of Health figures released on Sunday, 306 people have been killed and 35,529 injured in what have been called the Great March of Return protests.
The ongoing initiative began in March 2018 after a call from local civil society actors urged Palestinians to engage in a mass march towards the Gaza fence in opposition to Israel's 11-year-old siege on Gaza.
A United Nations inquiry released earlier this year found that Israeli soldiers intentionally shot civilians and may have committed war crimes in their heavy-handed response to the protests.
19 june 2019
Political and conventional policy has not put an end to Israel settlement policy, but it enhances the Israeli expropriate of Palestinian lands, Secretary General of the Christian Islamic Organization for Supporting of Jerusalem and Holy Sites, Hanna Issa said.
Issa said, in a statement on Wednesday, that settlement is a war crime under the article VIII, paragraph 8, of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Occupied Palestinian lands are subjected to the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which prohibits and criminalizes all acts of seizing Palestinian land, forced eviction, settlement, and changing the demographic composition of the country.
He explained, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, that the Palestinian Authority (PA) controls 18% of occupied Palestinian lands (“Area A”), under the signed conventions, while “B” areas constituted 21% of occupied lands in 1976, where the PA would have civilian powers only, under joint Israeli-Palestinian security control.
He pointed that the largest part of Palestinian lands are categorized as “C” areas, in addition to East Jerusalem, which are under Israeli civil and security control. Thus, the PA has no authority over these areas, but limited powers relating to the Palestinian population, in some of those areas.
He pointed out that the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip are still under Israeli occupation according to the international law, despite Israeli unilateral withdrawal in 2005.
He added that settlement expansion policy is illegal under international humanitarian law. Article 46 of the Hague Convention of 1907 states that the Occupying Power may not confiscate private property. Article 55 provides that the occupying power shall be deemed to be the administrator of the territory of the occupied country, private property.
He explained that the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, article 49, states: “the Occupying Power shall not have the right to transfer its citizens to the territories it occupies or to carry out any action leading to its demographic change.”
Article 53 also states that “the occupation forces shall not have the right to destroy individual or collective personal property or the property of individuals or of the state or of any authority of the occupied state.”
UN Security Council and UN General Assembly resolutions have condemned Israeli policies in all its forms, in the occupied Palestinian territories, whether it be the seizure of Palestinian land for various military purposes, the construction of Israeli settlements, the creation of bypass roads, or other examples.
After the war of June 1967, Israel seized the state-owned princely lands, mainly for military and military purposes, and sought to build large and scattered settlements in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, to Judaize the area, absorb immigrants, acquire and requisition the necessary land, to form a vital perimeter for army camps and settlements.
Issa said that the basic legal obligation of “Israel,” as an occupying power of the Palestinian territories, is to committed by the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, until the final demise of the occupation from all parts of the West Bank, including Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Issa said, in a statement on Wednesday, that settlement is a war crime under the article VIII, paragraph 8, of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Occupied Palestinian lands are subjected to the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which prohibits and criminalizes all acts of seizing Palestinian land, forced eviction, settlement, and changing the demographic composition of the country.
He explained, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, that the Palestinian Authority (PA) controls 18% of occupied Palestinian lands (“Area A”), under the signed conventions, while “B” areas constituted 21% of occupied lands in 1976, where the PA would have civilian powers only, under joint Israeli-Palestinian security control.
He pointed that the largest part of Palestinian lands are categorized as “C” areas, in addition to East Jerusalem, which are under Israeli civil and security control. Thus, the PA has no authority over these areas, but limited powers relating to the Palestinian population, in some of those areas.
He pointed out that the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip are still under Israeli occupation according to the international law, despite Israeli unilateral withdrawal in 2005.
He added that settlement expansion policy is illegal under international humanitarian law. Article 46 of the Hague Convention of 1907 states that the Occupying Power may not confiscate private property. Article 55 provides that the occupying power shall be deemed to be the administrator of the territory of the occupied country, private property.
He explained that the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, article 49, states: “the Occupying Power shall not have the right to transfer its citizens to the territories it occupies or to carry out any action leading to its demographic change.”
Article 53 also states that “the occupation forces shall not have the right to destroy individual or collective personal property or the property of individuals or of the state or of any authority of the occupied state.”
UN Security Council and UN General Assembly resolutions have condemned Israeli policies in all its forms, in the occupied Palestinian territories, whether it be the seizure of Palestinian land for various military purposes, the construction of Israeli settlements, the creation of bypass roads, or other examples.
After the war of June 1967, Israel seized the state-owned princely lands, mainly for military and military purposes, and sought to build large and scattered settlements in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, to Judaize the area, absorb immigrants, acquire and requisition the necessary land, to form a vital perimeter for army camps and settlements.
Issa said that the basic legal obligation of “Israel,” as an occupying power of the Palestinian territories, is to committed by the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, until the final demise of the occupation from all parts of the West Bank, including Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch an immediate investigation into the crimes of the Israeli government and its extremist settlers.
The ministry, in a statement released on Monday, condemned the settlers’ assault on the town of Kafr Malik, located 17 kilometers northeast of the occupied central West Bank city of Ramallah, which resulted in the damage of a number of private Palestinian vehicles and racist graffiti being spray-painted on the walls of a local mosque.
“The Israeli regime’s pride in settlement expansion and land grabs reached a blatant provocation in a ceremony attended by [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and [US Ambassador to Israel David] Friedman to launch a new settlement in the occupied Golan Heights named after US President Donald Trump,” the statement read.
It added, “The rise in Israeli forces’ and settlers’ expropriation of occupied Palestinian territories and their reckless disregard for international law and resolutions constitute a flagrant challenge to international peace, and the so-called advocates of human rights that claim peace can be achieved through the two-state solution.”
The Palestinian foreign ministry finally called on local, regional and international human rights organizations to quickly document these crimes in order to submit them to the ICC, urging them to speed up the opening of an official investigation into these crimes in order to hold Israel accountable for war crimes.
About 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions, WAFA reports.
The ministry, in a statement released on Monday, condemned the settlers’ assault on the town of Kafr Malik, located 17 kilometers northeast of the occupied central West Bank city of Ramallah, which resulted in the damage of a number of private Palestinian vehicles and racist graffiti being spray-painted on the walls of a local mosque.
“The Israeli regime’s pride in settlement expansion and land grabs reached a blatant provocation in a ceremony attended by [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and [US Ambassador to Israel David] Friedman to launch a new settlement in the occupied Golan Heights named after US President Donald Trump,” the statement read.
It added, “The rise in Israeli forces’ and settlers’ expropriation of occupied Palestinian territories and their reckless disregard for international law and resolutions constitute a flagrant challenge to international peace, and the so-called advocates of human rights that claim peace can be achieved through the two-state solution.”
The Palestinian foreign ministry finally called on local, regional and international human rights organizations to quickly document these crimes in order to submit them to the ICC, urging them to speed up the opening of an official investigation into these crimes in order to hold Israel accountable for war crimes.
About 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions, WAFA reports.
Israeli soldiers released, Tuesday, a Palestinian child from the al-Khader town, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, a month after they shot him with an expanding Dumdum bullet in the leg, leading to an amputation. video
The Palestinian child, Mahmoud Hussein Salah, 14, was abducted by the soldiers who shot him, and was later moved to Shaare Zedek Israeli Medical Center, where his left leg was amputated, due to the severe injury he sustained.
Salah said his dream was to become a famous soccer player, before the soldiers shot him with a Dumdum expanding bullet, in direct violation of International Law.
Commenting on his injury after his release, the child told the Palestinian Watar Broadcast Network (WBN) that he and his friends were playing soccer, and the ball was kicked out of the field before he ran after it.
“I located the ball and carried it before I heard a soldier shouting at me and almost instantly started shooting,” Salah said, “I ran just a few feet, then I fell, and the soldiers ran towards me and started kicking and beating me up, and later took me behind the (Annexation) Wall where I was kept for about two hours, until an ambulance came and took him to the hospital.”
“At the hospital is where I went into a coma, and the next day they performed a surgery and amputated my leg — I had no idea they did that until my mother came and informed me of what happened,” he added, “It was like a dream, or rather a nightmare to me, is my leg there, or it isn’t?!”
Commenting on the injury of his child, the father Hussein Mousa Salah, said his mother went to see him after he was injured, but could not find him, and later managed to reach him at the hospital.
It is worth mentioning that Israel continues to use the illegal expanding bullets against the Palestinian people, in direct violation of the International Law, especially The Hague Convention of 1899, Declaration III, which prohibits the use of expanding bullets.
The Palestinian child, Mahmoud Hussein Salah, 14, was abducted by the soldiers who shot him, and was later moved to Shaare Zedek Israeli Medical Center, where his left leg was amputated, due to the severe injury he sustained.
Salah said his dream was to become a famous soccer player, before the soldiers shot him with a Dumdum expanding bullet, in direct violation of International Law.
Commenting on his injury after his release, the child told the Palestinian Watar Broadcast Network (WBN) that he and his friends were playing soccer, and the ball was kicked out of the field before he ran after it.
“I located the ball and carried it before I heard a soldier shouting at me and almost instantly started shooting,” Salah said, “I ran just a few feet, then I fell, and the soldiers ran towards me and started kicking and beating me up, and later took me behind the (Annexation) Wall where I was kept for about two hours, until an ambulance came and took him to the hospital.”
“At the hospital is where I went into a coma, and the next day they performed a surgery and amputated my leg — I had no idea they did that until my mother came and informed me of what happened,” he added, “It was like a dream, or rather a nightmare to me, is my leg there, or it isn’t?!”
Commenting on the injury of his child, the father Hussein Mousa Salah, said his mother went to see him after he was injured, but could not find him, and later managed to reach him at the hospital.
It is worth mentioning that Israel continues to use the illegal expanding bullets against the Palestinian people, in direct violation of the International Law, especially The Hague Convention of 1899, Declaration III, which prohibits the use of expanding bullets.
12 june 2019
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) on Wednesday called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene and provide protection for medical personnel in the Gaza Strip.
The PCHR in a press statement condemned the ongoing Israeli attacks on medical teams, who are responsible for rescuing and treating the wounded participating in the Great March of Return on the eastern Gaza Strip border.
On Monday, 10 June 2019, an ambulance officer named Mohammed al-Jadili succumbed to wounds he sustained while on duty to evacuate wounded protesters, the PCHR said. Thus, the number of medical personnel causalities has risen to 4 killed and 203 injured since the beginning of the Great March of Return on 30 March 2018.
"It should be noted that the Israeli forces continue to target medical personnel, centers and transports along the Gaza Strip borders while on duty to rescue and evacuate those wounded in the demonstrations," the human rights center added.
It affirmed that the Israeli forces used excessive and lethal force against them despite posing no danger to the soldiers' lives.
The PCHR called on the international community to take immediate action and put pressure on Israel to stop its grave violations against Palestinian civilians, including medical teams in the Gaza Strip who are protected under international law.
It also stressed that Israel should be held accountable and prosecuted by investigating the crimes committed against unarmed Palestinian demonstrators and medical crews.
The PCHR in a press statement condemned the ongoing Israeli attacks on medical teams, who are responsible for rescuing and treating the wounded participating in the Great March of Return on the eastern Gaza Strip border.
On Monday, 10 June 2019, an ambulance officer named Mohammed al-Jadili succumbed to wounds he sustained while on duty to evacuate wounded protesters, the PCHR said. Thus, the number of medical personnel causalities has risen to 4 killed and 203 injured since the beginning of the Great March of Return on 30 March 2018.
"It should be noted that the Israeli forces continue to target medical personnel, centers and transports along the Gaza Strip borders while on duty to rescue and evacuate those wounded in the demonstrations," the human rights center added.
It affirmed that the Israeli forces used excessive and lethal force against them despite posing no danger to the soldiers' lives.
The PCHR called on the international community to take immediate action and put pressure on Israel to stop its grave violations against Palestinian civilians, including medical teams in the Gaza Strip who are protected under international law.
It also stressed that Israel should be held accountable and prosecuted by investigating the crimes committed against unarmed Palestinian demonstrators and medical crews.
10 june 2019
In response to U.S. ambassador to Israel’s remarks that “Israel has the right to annex some of the occupied West Bank”,the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates announced that it is considering filing a complaint to the International Criminal Court.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman’s statement, the ministry claimed “is a reflection of the broad U.S. policy that is totally biased with the Israeli occupation and colonial policies.”
In a press release, the Palestinian ministry posed the question; “In what logic does Friedman think that Israel has the right to annex parts of the West Bank?, On what reality did he base his conviction? Or international law prohibiting the annexation of territory by force? Or the reality imposed by the occupation authorities?”
The ministry proclaimed that Friedman “is illiterate in politics, history and geography, and belongs to the state of the settlements… has nothing to do with logic, justice or law, unless they serve the occupation state, which he is eager to defend by all means.”
According to International Law, taking over or annexing land through military force is prohibited, Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza in 1967, and has ruled militarily there, since that time.
“These statements prove that Friedman is the ambassador of colonization and hostility targeting the Palestinian rights, including the right to self-determination and independence.”
– Palestinian Authority Spokesperson Ibrahim Milham
“U.S. has its foreign policy determined by people who are politically immature and extremist in their ideologies, such as Kushner, Greenblatt and Friedman. These men are playing politics as if they are in a circus.”
– Palestinian Authority Spokesperson Ibrahim Milham
“Friedman’s statements are direct incitement against the Palestinian people, and are filled with lies that aim at justifying the Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.”
– Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization,
Dr. Hanan Ashrawi.
In response to Friedman’s statement that even if peace is achieved, the Israeli military would need to continue its military occupation of the West Bank, “this would constitute an annexation of occupied territory, which is a war crime according to international law.”
– Chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat.
More Palestinian officials have condemned the recent statement by US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.
“the vision of the American side to annex occupied territories is a war crime according to the international law.”
– Secretary General of Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee, Saeb Erekat, (Twitter)
“President Trump’s ambassador provides enough background in order for everyone not to attend the Manama meeting: Their vision is about annexation of occupied territory, a war crime under international law.”
– Saeb Erekat, (Twitter)
Friedman told the New York Times that he blamed the Palestinian Authority for the current stalemate in the peace process with Israel.
All statements of the US ambassador “are totally rejected by all the Palestinians.”
– aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and veteran Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath, (Voice of Palestine Radio)
“We won’t accept any American or Israeli steps and measures, Palestinians are sticking to their territories and will carry on with their struggle until they topple all the plots that aim at eliminating the Palestinian cause.”
– Nabil Shaath, (Voice of Palestine Radio)
“Practically, Israel still occupies area C in the West Bank, and any Israeli measures will be a violation of international law.”
– Nabil Shaath, (Voice of Palestine Radio)
“US President Donald Trump protects and encourages the Israeli side to keep occupying other people’s territories and violate the international law, and “any peaceful solution must end the Israeli occupation.”
Nabil Shaath, (Voice of Palestine Radio)
U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman’s statement, the ministry claimed “is a reflection of the broad U.S. policy that is totally biased with the Israeli occupation and colonial policies.”
In a press release, the Palestinian ministry posed the question; “In what logic does Friedman think that Israel has the right to annex parts of the West Bank?, On what reality did he base his conviction? Or international law prohibiting the annexation of territory by force? Or the reality imposed by the occupation authorities?”
The ministry proclaimed that Friedman “is illiterate in politics, history and geography, and belongs to the state of the settlements… has nothing to do with logic, justice or law, unless they serve the occupation state, which he is eager to defend by all means.”
According to International Law, taking over or annexing land through military force is prohibited, Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza in 1967, and has ruled militarily there, since that time.
“These statements prove that Friedman is the ambassador of colonization and hostility targeting the Palestinian rights, including the right to self-determination and independence.”
– Palestinian Authority Spokesperson Ibrahim Milham
“U.S. has its foreign policy determined by people who are politically immature and extremist in their ideologies, such as Kushner, Greenblatt and Friedman. These men are playing politics as if they are in a circus.”
– Palestinian Authority Spokesperson Ibrahim Milham
“Friedman’s statements are direct incitement against the Palestinian people, and are filled with lies that aim at justifying the Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.”
– Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization,
Dr. Hanan Ashrawi.
In response to Friedman’s statement that even if peace is achieved, the Israeli military would need to continue its military occupation of the West Bank, “this would constitute an annexation of occupied territory, which is a war crime according to international law.”
– Chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat.
More Palestinian officials have condemned the recent statement by US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.
“the vision of the American side to annex occupied territories is a war crime according to the international law.”
– Secretary General of Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee, Saeb Erekat, (Twitter)
“President Trump’s ambassador provides enough background in order for everyone not to attend the Manama meeting: Their vision is about annexation of occupied territory, a war crime under international law.”
– Saeb Erekat, (Twitter)
Friedman told the New York Times that he blamed the Palestinian Authority for the current stalemate in the peace process with Israel.
All statements of the US ambassador “are totally rejected by all the Palestinians.”
– aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and veteran Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath, (Voice of Palestine Radio)
“We won’t accept any American or Israeli steps and measures, Palestinians are sticking to their territories and will carry on with their struggle until they topple all the plots that aim at eliminating the Palestinian cause.”
– Nabil Shaath, (Voice of Palestine Radio)
“Practically, Israel still occupies area C in the West Bank, and any Israeli measures will be a violation of international law.”
– Nabil Shaath, (Voice of Palestine Radio)
“US President Donald Trump protects and encourages the Israeli side to keep occupying other people’s territories and violate the international law, and “any peaceful solution must end the Israeli occupation.”
Nabil Shaath, (Voice of Palestine Radio)
