RAMALLAH, July 4, 2018 (WAFA) – Israel’s recent decision to seize money from the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) funds it collects on its behalf that amounts to what the PA pays for families of prisoners and Palestinians killed or injured by Israel is tantamount to the destruction of the Palestinian state, Saeb Erekat, a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official, said on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters in Ramallah, Erekat said Israel and its United State ally are leading efforts to destroy the two-state solution through a series of measures aimed at the PA.
He said the two governments have moved from negotiations to dictation, which is something that will not be acceptable for the Palestinians.
The PLO official said the Palestinian National Council (PNC) took a decision in its meeting in May to curtail relations with Israel after the latter has reneged on all its agreements with the PLO.
“We are studying the PNC’s call for defining Israel-Palestine relations in security, economically and politically,” he said, explaining that the PA is ready to turn over responsibility of the occupied territories to Israel.
He said however, that the PA will coordinate all steps with the Arab countries, the European Union and other countries before it embarks on any of them.
“The continuation of the destruction of the Palestinian Authority means that it is time for (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu to shoulder his responsibility as the occupying power in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem. The current situation is not sustainable and will not be sustainable,” said Erekat.
He said that the PA is ready to go to the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice to hold the US accountable for its decisions on Jerusalem and refugees, which he said are illegal under international law.
The US has recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved its embassy to the city while slashing aid to the United Nations agency in charge of Palestinian refugee, UNRWA.
Erekat mocked the US for organizing a meeting on what it said was the humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying that it cries over the humanitarian situation in Gaza while at the same time it cuts aid to the refugees, who make around 80 percent of Gaza’s population.
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