MOSCOW, September 6, 2018 (WAFA) – PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi extended her appreciation on Wednesday to the Russian government for its continued support of a viable Palestinian state and its promotion of the Palestinian cause.
This came as Ashrawi met with the Chairman of the Russian Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev in the Russian capital of Moscow. The Ambassador of the State of Palestine to the Russian Federation Abdelhafiz Nofal and First Secretary Abdullah Issa accompanied Ashrawi to the meeting.
She briefed Senator Kosachev on the latest developments in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel‘s persistent breach of international law and conventions, in particular the escalation of illegal settlement activities and the grave acceleration of laws and legislation in support of the settler colonial project.
The discussion also focused on the so-called American "peace plan" and the US administration‘s disastrous and irresponsible policies, including defunding UNRWA, recognizing occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, relocating the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, refusing to refer to the 1967 borders and the two-state solution, and refraining from addressing the illegality of settlements, as well other reckless moves.
In that context, Ashrawi stressed, "It is incumbent upon all members of the international community to undertake serious and concrete measures to curb Israel‘s systematic violations of Palestinian rights and lives and end its land theft and unlawful settlement policies."
In addition, Ashrawi participated in the United Nations International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East entitled, "25 years after the Oslo Accords: Are we any closer to peace?"
Moderated by UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Alison Smale, Ashrawi spoke on a panel with Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations Riyad Mansour, Professor of History and Director of the European Centre for Palestine, Ilan Pappé and former Oslo peace process negotiator and Director for the Centre for Middle East Studies at Galilee International Management Institute Yair Hirschfeld.
In her thorough presentation, Ashrawi stated, "For the past twenty-five years, Israel has flouted the global rule of law and exploited the peace "process" to prolong the occupation and entrench the grave suffering of the Palestinian people. In order for there to be a lasting solution, there has to be serious accountability for Israel to end its sense of exceptionalism and policies of impunity."
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