RAMALLAH, April 3, 2018 (WAFA) – The issue of the Czech Republic’s record of voting against Palestine in the United Nations and the possibility of relocating the Czech embassy in Israel to Jerusalem were the topics discussed between Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi and Representative of the Czech Republic to Palestine Petr Starý.

Ashrawi met Starý at the PLO headquarters in Ramallah on Tuesday where she related to him the PLO’s concerns regarding his government’s policies at the UN and intention to relocate the embassy to Jerusalem.

“Such a move will be antithetical to peace and stability, emboldening the most aggressive and hardline elements in Israel and enabling the final demise of the two-state solution,” Ashrawi said in a statement issued following the meeting.

The PLO official provided Starý with a comprehensive overview of Israel’s persistent and egregious violations against the Palestinian people and its efforts to violently suppress them as they strive to achieve self-determination and freedom peacefully:

“On Friday, Israel committed war crimes against unarmed Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip who participated in demonstrations marking the 42nd anniversary of Land Day and affirming the Palestinian right of return. Murdering Palestinians and injuring hundreds more who are already living under an illegal blockade and exercising their right to freedom and to protest constitutes a crime against humanity. Members of the international community, in particular the European Union, cannot only use statements of condemnation and censure; they must also undertake concrete and serious measures to curb Israel’s illegal actions and to hold it to account with punitive measures and sanctions,” she told the Czech diplomat.

M.K.