RAMALLAH, October 6, 2016 (WAFA) – PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi Thursday urged the international community to exercise the political will necessary to put an end to Israel’s war crimes following the announcement of plans to build new settlement and the arrest of activist on a Gaza-bound aid boat.
Ashrawi made these comments during separate meetings with Cypriot Representative Savvas Vladimirou and newly appointed Italian Consul General Fabio Sokolowicz at the PLO Headquarters in Ramallah.
She stressed, “Once again, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has exhibited that he is more committed to land theft, oppression and expansion than to the two-state solution or working towards a just peace in our region.”
She said that the latest example of Israel’s unbridled violations is its detention of thirteen courageous women activists from around the world who traveled to Gaza on the solidarity ship “Zaytouna” to bear witness to and to break the illegal and inhumane blockade of Gaza and its people.
“Israeli actions constitute a deliberate and crude exercise of power and an attempt to isolate the Palestinian people from the rest of the world. It further seeks to render solidarity with the Palestinian people and support for their nonviolence resistance against the military occupation a costly and risky endeavor.”
Ashrawi called on the governments representing these courageous women, including Australia, Canada, Norway, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States, to end Israel’s detention of their citizens and its repeated violations of the rights of their nationals, in addition to its persistent aggression against Palestinian lives.
In her meeting with Cypriot Representative Vladimirou, Ashrawi provided a comprehensive assessment of Israel’s continued breach of international law and international humanitarian law.
They discussed Palestinian-Cypriot cooperation, as well as the trilateral agreement among Palestine, Cyprus and Greece and widening cooperation with the private sectors in Palestine and Cyprus.
M.H
