RAMALLAH, January 19, 2016 (WAFA) – PLO Secretary General and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat Tuesday said he was disappointed by Human Rights Watch report regarding Israeli settlement businesses, saying it falls short by failing to call for a complete ban on trade with Israeli settlements.

“Our position on that matter is clear: There must be a full cessation of trade, both in goods and services, with illegal Israeli settlements.”

However, “We welcome the report‘s central message that all lawful measures should be taken to properly define products and services and ensure that they do not receive any benefits under bi-lateral trade agreements.”

“The report exposes one of the most absurd media lines Israel‘s propaganda machine has been “spewing” that settlement businesses ‘contribute‘ to the Palestinian economy.”

Nonetheless, he said the report detailed with accuracy how international businesses and governments that maintain trade ties with Israeli settlements are complicit in the denial of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

The top-ranking PLO official urged countries to adopt a national legislation that “bans illegal settler products and services from entering any international market, and to sever ties with any establishments that contribute to the denial of Palestinian fundamental human rights.”

“We call for the full application of international humanitarian law in the occupied State of Palestine, including international responsibility towards the full implementation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” he concluded.

M.N/M.H