Embassy of the State of Palestine

Foreign ministers from 16 EU countries – including the UK – have signed a letter to the EU’s foreign policy head, Federica Mogherini, requesting she expedite moves to ensure the clear labelling of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements and sold in Europe.

PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi said:

“Today, we honor and express our solidarity with all Palestinians who have been and continue to be imprisoned in Israeli jails. We commend their steadfastness, courage and determination in defiance of Israel’s military occupation and system of enslavement and apartheid.

Identical letters sent by Ambassador Dr. Riyad Mansour,Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, to the UN Secretary-General, President of the Security Council and President of the General Assembly on the grave situation of Palestine refugees in Yarmouk.

April 1, is a historic day in the struggle for justice, freedom, and peace for our people and all those seeking justice worldwide. Today marks the official membership of the State of Palestine to the International Criminal Court, reflecting Palestine's commitment to justice, international law, and human rights. Our determination to protect our people against the injustice of those responsible for war crimes is underscored by our nation’s accession to the Rome Statute and submission to the ICC’s jurisdiction.

The United Nations human rights office has voiced concerns over Israel’s so-called administrative detention, calling on Tel Aviv to end the unlawful practice of detaining Palestinians without charge or trial.

At 8pm next Tuesday evening, 14 April, the ABC’s Foreign Correspondent program will feature Pitch Battle, a documentary about the Palestinian team that visited Australia this year to compete in the Asian Cup.
Pitch Battle follows Abdelhamid Abu Habib, an exile from Gaza who lives on the West Bank and hasn’t been home in three years, and the team’s assistant coach, Saeb Jundiyeh, who lost the top two floors of his house in the Gaza war. Team boss is Jibril Rajoub, a former security aide to Yasser Arafat who spent more than 15 years inside Israeli prisons.

The Palestine Liberation Organization confirms its permanent position in refusing to be drawn into the midst of the ongoing conflict in Syria, and expresses its absolute refusal to be part of the ongoing armed conflict in al-Yarmouk Refugee Camp.

The Higher National Committee in Charge of Following Up with the ICC strongly condemns the arrest of PLC and Higher National Committee Member Khalida Jarrar. The Committee also denounces the arbitrary decision of the Israeli military authorities sentencing Jarrar to six months administrative detention. Jarrar was arrested at her home at dawn last Thursday.

PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi said:

“The current situation in the al-Yarmouk refugee camp is a heartbreaking catastrophe. Since December 2012, tens of thousands of men, women and children, most of whom are Palestinian refugees, have been forced to flee and have had their lives torn apart by war. The 18,000 residents who remain in Yarmouk are in great danger from extremist groups, including Da’ish (ISIS/ISIL/The Islamic State), that are seeking to take full control of the Camp.

The persecution and slaughtering of Palestinian refugees continues in a conflict that isn’t theirs.


For four years now, Al- Yarmouk refugee camp continues to be the victim of the internal Syrian conflict despite the repeated reiteration by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the vast majority of the Palestinian groups of our longstanding position of non-interference in the internal affairs of other states.

Reports of kidnappings, beheadings and mass killings are coming out from Al- Yarmouk, which is under a brutal campaign of murder and occupation at the hands of the terrorist group of Daesh and its allies.