TEHRAN, February 21, 2017 (WAFA) – Chairman of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) Salim Zanoun Tuesday urged for suspending the membership of the Israeli parliament, known as Knesset, in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Speaking at the 6th International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada in Tehran, Zanoun urged attendees to support PNC’s efforts to suspend the membership of the Israeli Knesset in the IPU due to its discriminatory laws against Palestinians.
He urged attendees to exert pressure in order to protect Jerusalem, “the eternal capital of the Palestinian state”, and support Jerusalemite Palestinians against Israeli occupation practices.
Zanoun highlighted the importance of the Palestinian cause to Arabs, Muslims and the free world, noting that there will never be a regional security and peace without East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state.
He hailed worldwide parliaments and IPU for urging the Knesset to annul the so-called “Regularization Bill” that would retroactively legalize the expropriation by settlers of private Palestinian land across the West Bank
Zanoun slammed the law as a serious threat to the efforts to secure a peaceful solution to the conflict in the Middle East, including the two-state solution, noting that it would undermine regional stability and security.
He also called for the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution 2334 in order to halt Israeli settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, imposing economic sanctions on Israel and supporting the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
He noted the preparatory committee of the PNC, which involved representatives of all Palestinian factions, agreed to convene the PNC following the formation of a national unity government that would prepare for presidential and legislative elections.
The 6th International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada opened in Tehran with representatives of over 50 countries in attendance.
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