VIENNA, June 26, 2011 (WAFA) - Member of the PalestineLiberation Organization’s (PLO) Executive Committee, Hanan Ashrawi Sunday strongly condemned US threats to withdraw its funding from United Nations (UN) if the Palestinian state is recognized and considered them “condescending.”
She said that threats to cut funding to the United Nations highlight the extent to which the United States is ready to sacrifice its interests and credibility for the sake of protecting Israeli violations of international law.
“US is using its position in the United Nations to strong arm the international community,” she added.
Ashrawi, who is also a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, responded to US Ambassador to UN, Susan Rice’s warnings, saying “Palestinians are well within their rights to go to the United Nations in pursuit of our national aspirations for independence and statehood. Attempts by the US to shut down all available avenues to Palestinians to pursue our legitimate rights are short sighted and counterproductive.”
Ashrawi gave a political lecture to the Council of Foreign Relations in the Austrian Association for Foreign Policy of the United Nations in Vienna on the political situation in Palestine and its association with the democratic changes in the Arab region. She also discussed the Israeli unilateral actions and bargains, indicating the aggressive campaign by the Israeli government to stave off the Palestinian plan to seek UN recognition of a state.
Ashrawi reiterated the importance of the Austrian recognition of the Palestinian state and support of gaining full UN membership. She urged Europe to activate the EU ministerial declarations of 2009 and 2010, which made a clear legal reference to the peace process and took a clear position on the 1967 borders, East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state and the definition of occupied territory.
“Europe must free itself from its subordination to US and take a practical and different stance that will provide political and diplomatic support of the Palestinian right to self-determination and establishment of an independent state within June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, as well as to provide a just solution to the Palestinian refugees in accordance to UN resolution (194),” she added.
R.Q.
