Embassy of the State of Palestine

PLO Executive Committee member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, strongly denounced Israeli minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, Neftali Bennett’s recent statements regarding Palestinian prisoners – ‘If you catch terrorists, you have to simply kill them.’ Bennett also declared that he has ‘killed lots of Arabs’ in his life and that ‘there’s no problem with that.’

Middle East peace talks have resumed after Israeli and Palestinian negotiators dined in Washington DC with US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Mr Kerry said it was a "very, very special" moment, as they broke the traditional Muslim fast for Ramadan.
Earlier, US President Barack Obama welcomed the discussions but cautioned that "hard choices" lay ahead.

The Jerusalemites Campaign strongly condemns Israel’s recent change in its issuing of Jerusalem IDs, which now include expiration dates.
Since the beginning of July, Jerusalem residents who have gone to the Ministry of Interior to receive new IDs have obtained ones valid for only 10 years. Prior to this, IDs had no explicit expirationdate.
The implications of this policy change are significant. Once implemented collectively, all Palestinian Jerusalemites who hold permanent residency status will be obligated to go to the Ministry of Interior to renew their IDs upon such expiration. It can be expected, then,that they will be subjected to the MOI’s Center of Life policy, which requires Palestinians through an exhaustive list of documents to prove Jerusalem as their continuous, uninterrupted center of life. Those who are unable to meet the Ministry’s excessive list of demands will render themselves at threat of having their IDs revoked and, accordingly, their rights to live in Jerusalem stripped.

A recent study Published by Al-Haq “Water For One People Only: Discriminatory Access and ‘Water-Apartheid’ in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” finds that Israel’s policies and practices in relation to water in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) amount to a system of ‘water-apartheid.’ The threshold for apartheid is met because the inhuman acts, committed against Palestinians through the denial of access to water in the OPT, are carried out systematically in the context of an institutionalised regime with the intent of establishing and maintaining Jewish-Israeli domination over Palestinians as a group.

In response to a recent European Union binding directive banning dealings with Israeli settlements, PLO Executive Committee member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi said:

“We welcome this significant move that calls for all EU projects to be conducted within pre-1967 lines and not in East Jerusalem, the West Bank or Golan Heights. This includes the prohibition of funding, cooperation and research funding, among other things, to any individual or institution in the illegal settlements.”

Any Israeli entity seeking funding from or cooperation with the European Union will have to submit a declaration stating that the entity has no direct or indirect links to the West Bank, East Jerusalem or the Golan Heights, according to the new EU guidelines.
The guidelines, which condition all future agreements on Jerusalem’s acknowledgement that its occupied territories are not part of Israel, have strained relations with the EU to unprecedented level.
The full text of the guidelines obtained by Haaretz states that any Israeli entity that wants to receive funding, participate in a project or apply for grants or prizes from EU foundations or institutions will have to submit such a declaration.
The guidelines also state that “only Israeli entities having their place of establishment within Israel’s pre-1967 borders will be considered eligible” for consideration.”
The place of establishment “is understood to be the legal address where the entity is registered, as confirmed by a precise postal address corresponding to a concrete physical location. The use of a post office box is not allowed.”
The guidelines, which were drawn up by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm are expected to be officially released on Friday. The document was circulated among all the EU institutions, foundations, investment funds and aid organizations two weeks ago, as well as to all 28 EU member states. They go into effect on January 1.

B'Tselem, an Israeli Human Rights Organisation released a video capturing Israeli soldiers arresting a 5-year-old Palestinian in Hebron for allegedly throwing a stone at a settler's car in a checkpoint near Hebron's Tomb of the Patriarchs.

B'Tselem complained to the legal advisor in the West Bank that the IOF acted illegally according to Israeli law by detaining a child under the age of 12.

On the Ninth Anniversary of the ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Construction of Israel’s Apartheid Wall Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, PLO Executive Committee member and Head of the PLO Department of Culture and Information, affirms the following:

"Pursuing Israel in the international judicial arena is long overdue, and it is high time that Israel is held accountable for its flagrant violations of international law and the human rights of the Palestinian people.

3 July 2013 – A senior United Nations humanitarian official today urged the Israeli Government to lift restrictions on the free movement of people and goods in the Gaza Strip, as he met with Palestinian farmers and fishermen whose livelihoods have been ruined by the measures.

Veteran PLO official Hanan Ashrawi has stressed that the rights of the Palestinian people are inalienable, and the right of return is at the top of those rights. Citing UN Resolution 194 and the Geneva Convention of 1951 on the Status of Refugees, the PLO executive Committee member insisted that such rights, individually and collectively, cannot be waived and will not become obsolete with the passage of time.