November 5, 2014 - "Dr. Ashrawi: With its Actions in the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound, Israel is Provoking a Holy War in Palestine and throughout the Region"
In response to Israel’s recent acts of aggression and violence against the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound and its Palestinian worshipers, PLO Executive Committee member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, stated:
“Prohibiting Muslim Palestinian worshipers from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound to allow right-wing extremist Israeli settlers and lawmakers to gain access is an act of incitement and provocation for sectarian strife. Israel’s continued arbitrary arrests and detentions of Palestinians, placement of age restrictions on worshipers, use of excessive force and violence, and closure of the Al-Aqsa Mosque are condemnable in the strongest terms. Today’s events are not isolated incidents; Israel is employing a deliberate policy to generate grave violence and chaos. Under the guise of security, it will impose unilateral facts that violate international law and foment conflict and instability. With its acts of terror and injustice, Israel is inciting a holy war in Palestine and throughout the region with global ramifications.”
In addition, Dr. Ashrawi denounced the Jerusalem Local Planning and Building Committee’s approval of 305 settlement units in Ramot and Har Homa (Jabal Abu Ghneim):
“Plans to continue construction of illegal settlement units send a clear message to the entire international community that Israel is not interested in being a genuine partner for peace. Thus, the Palestinians have the full right to seek justice and protection in all international legal venues, including approaching the UN Security Council and the ICC and acceding to the Rome Statute, to guarantee the basic rights and freedoms that Israel is persistently violating.”
Dr. Ashrawi stressed, “With its illegal policies and actions in and around Jerusalem, Israel is blatantly changing the religious, political, demographic, cultural, and social character of the occupied city in order to ensure the Judaization of Jerusalem and the destruction of the two-state solution.
We call on all members of the international community, including the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States, not just to condemn Israel, but to hold Israel to account immediately and undertake serious and concrete measures to put an end to its violations of international law and Palestinian human rights.”
To view the statement, please click here.