Dr. Ashrawi on Israeli Plans to Legalize Illegal Settler ‘Outposts’
In response to Israel’s most recent unilateral violations of international law, including plans to legalize settler ‘outposts,’ and the increase in settler violence against the Palestinian people and their resources, PLO Executive Committee member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi said:
“Such an announcement to legalize four settler outposts in the territory of the State of Palestine (that were supposed to be demolished in2003) shows the truth of an ongoing Israeli policy to create facts on the ground. It preempts the Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to the region next week, and makes a mockery at any attempt to launch viable negotiations. These actions send a clear message to both the Obama administration and to the Palestinian people that Israel is committed more to land theft than to peacemaking.”
Dr. Ashrawi added: “The PLO also strongly denounces the repeated intrusions and attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque by extremist groups under the protection of the Israeli Army and Police. This constitutes a deliberate provocation to Muslims everywhere and threatens to unleash a religious conflict of dangerous proportions. Furthermore, the danger inherent in the settler violence is becoming increasingly visible in the reign of terror by settlers attacking innocent Palestinians, particularly in remote villages and rural areas, and their deliberate destruction of property and the uprooting of trees. It is evident that such patterns of behavior threaten to plunge the entire region into instability and violence and undermine global security.”
“Such violations make it more imperative that Palestine accedes to international agreements and conventions to protect our rights and to join international agencies and organizations to ensure multilateral protection for Palestine and judicial accountability for Israel. We call on the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and members of the international community to undertake their responsibility in curbing Israeli deliberate violations of international law and Palestinian human rights. Israel must be held accountable with bold measures and initiatives before any and all chances for peace and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state are destroyed,” concluded Dr. Ashrawi.