RAMALLAH, February 8, 2017 (WAFA) – The Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that even though the international community spoke out very strongly against Israel’s new regularization law and its settlement activities, they nevertheless remain ineffective if Israel is not held accountable for its acts.
The ministry said in a statement that the law passed on Monday, which legalizes thousands of settlement units built on private Palestinian land in the occupied territories, drew strong condemnation.
However, it added, “in general, the international reaction was not up to the level and seriousness of that crime and was nothing more than reiteration of formality condemnation and expression of concern and rejection that does not say anything about holding the occupiers accountable for their acts.”
The statement also criticized “the so far unjustified silence of some countries, particularly the United States, which raises a number of questions regarding its position from settlements, its support for the peace process and its concern for international law and United Nations resolutions.”
The Foreign Ministry said “the occupying authority has adapted itself to all forms of settlement condemnation as long as these statements do not include real penalizing steps and do not have an effect on their bilateral relations with Israel.”
Moreover, it added, “the occupying power interprets these reactions and sketchy condemnation as an encouragement to continue with its flagrant violation of international law by escalating its settlement activities aimed at closing the door once and for all to the creation of a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel.”
The ministry called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council “to take mandatory measures and decisions that would put an end to the Israeli settlement activity and its noncompliance with international resolutions, particularly adopting the obligatory mechanisms that came in Security Council resolution 2334 and to support Palestinian efforts to put Israel on trial in specialized international courts as an occupation power.
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