RAMALLAH, Thursday, January 9, 2020 (WAFA) – Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Saeb Erekat, said today that the European Union is required to recognize the state of Palestine on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital, and to ensure that legislative and presidential elections are held in Palestine, including East Jerusalem, and to remove the financing conditions imposed on Palestinian civil society institutions.
This came during a diplomatic meeting requested by Erekat with European Union (EU) ambassadors to protest the new financing conditions, ensure the holding of elections, and to discuss the latest developments in the domestic and international political arena.
Erekat stressed the Palestinian leadership‘s determination to conduct legislative and presidential elections, and to obligate Israel, the occupying Power, not to obstruct its conduct in Jerusalem and other occupied Palestinian lands.” The presidential decree will not be issued until Israel pledges not to obstruct the elections in East Jerusalem.”
He called on European countries to pressure Israel and to make a solemn undertaking that elections will be held.”
Erekat stressed that these restrictive conditions and measures are not in line with the European Union’s commitment to achieve a two-state solution and foster peace and stability in the region.
He expressed rejection of criminalizing the Palestinian national struggle and classifying any of the Palestinian resistance factions as terrorist groups.
“The European countries have failed so far to take any concrete steps to hold Israel accountable for its systematic and continuing violations while taking the only accountability measures against the Palestinian side under the allegations of incitement or supporting terrorism at a time when the European Union does not hold accountable the organizations and individuals supporting illegal settlements and those who destroy the two-state solution."
He called on the EU to pressure for the release of UN database of companies operating in Israeli settlements.
Erekat urged the EU to support and draft evidence to support the decision of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and to uphold the right and justice as the main gateway to peace.
T.R.
