DEAD SEA, JORDAN, March 27, 2017 (WAFA) – Arab foreign ministers meeting at the Dead Sea in Jordan stressed on Monday that a precondition for peace with Israel is an end to its occupation of the Palestinian territory.

The foreign ministers said in a statement that will be presented to the summit of Arab leaders that will convene at the Dead Sea on Tuesday that they are still committed to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and that a precondition to reach peace is an end to the Israeli occupation of all the Palestinian and Arab land occupied in 1967.

They stressed the centrality of the Palestinian cause to the Arab world, stressing that occupied East Jerusalem is an Arab city and capital of the State of Palestine.

They condemned Israeli practices and policies, which they said will destroy the two-state solution and create an apartheid system.

They also urged the countries that support the two-state solution and have not yet recognized Palestine, particularly the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the European Union member states, to do so as soon as possible to contribute to peace based on the two-state solution.

The foreign ministers urged world governments to abide by Security Council resolutions 476 and 478 (1980) that consider Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem as null and void and not to establish or move their diplomatic missions to Jerusalem, calling for a follow up on any government that violates these resolutions.

They warned against rise in Israeli involvement in Africa, which comes at the expense of the Palestinian cause.

The ministers said they will not agree to Israel’s membership in the Security Council in 2019-2020 because it does not have the requirements as stated in the UN Charter since it remains an occupying power and has a long list of violations of international resolutions and laws.

They also condemned British plans to hold celebrations marking 100 years for the infamous Balfour declaration that promised a homeland for Europe’s Jews in Palestine at the expense of its indigenous Palestinian Arab population, and called on Britain to recognize Palestine in reparation for the hardships its then foreign secretary Arthur Balfour’s declaration caused to the Palestinian people.

M.K.