Palestinian Media Center In Europe Palestinian Media Center In Europe
Hanan Ashrawi, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Tuesday condemned the Israeli Knesset’s approval of a bill to place Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty.
She said in a statement, “Such a law severely changes the status of Jerusalem and creates an illegal and extrajudicial Israeli and Jewish exclusivity over all of Jerusalem— a city whose status remains that of “corpus separatum” under United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 (II).”
“Such legislation builds upon a long series of racist laws, proposals and measures that reveal Israel’s intent to erase the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem, destroy the territorial contiguity and demographic presence of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), and to impose a de facto one-state solution,” Ashrawi added.
“Without East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, the chances for peace will be destroyed indefinitely.”
Ashrawi’s statement followed a meeting with Italian lawmaker Lia Quartapelle Procopio who was accompanied by Italian Consul General Fabio Sokoloicz at the PLO headquarters in Ramallah.
She briefed the Italian delegation on Israel’s illegal steps concerning Jerusalem and its status and reality on the ground, including Israeli unlawful measures of ethnic cleansing and the escalated expansion of the illegal settlement enterprise, home demolitions and revocation of Jerusalem identify cards.
Ashrawi’s office said the discussion focused on the latest political and regional developments, as well as the “role of Europe and the international community in view of the current US administration’s total disdain for international law and multilateralism and its dangerous moves that have undermined the chances for peace.”
The PLO official called on the international community to form a coalition of those “willing for peace that undertakes an urgent and effective course of action with concrete and specific steps to hold Israel accountable for its flagrant violations of international law, and to guarantee freedom and sovereignty for Palestine.”
“In light of the gravity of situation, it is incumbent upon all global leaders to intervene immediately, not just to prevent further deterioration but to also undo the damage and rectify the situation as soon as possible,” Ashrawi remarked following the meeting.
(WAFA)
