Erekat: Israel’s settlement expansion is a declared threat to a rules-based world order

OCCUPIED AL_QUDS,(ST)_Israeli occupation authorities’ escalated settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories is part and parcel of its annexation plan, today said Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

 

“This is not an isolated event, but is taking place in the context of an Israeli annexation plan presented as a US peace initiative which aims at normalizing crimes under international law, including annexation and Apartheid, while perpetuating the denial of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” he said.

 

“The ignorance and arrogance of the US Middle East Team has allowed for those figures to continue growing as their ideological blindness continues to represent a declared threat to a rules-based world order,” added the PLO official.

 

“The international community has the responsibility to act, including by imposing sanctions, in order to save the prospects of a just and lasting peace based on international law and relevant UN resolutions.”

 

In another development, Israeli forces detained today six Palestinians from various parts of the West Bank, according to Palestinian sources.

 

Israeli forces detained three young Palestinians after storming the houses of their families in Dheisheh refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, they said.

 

The raid triggered confrontations during which soldiers fired teargas and concussion bombs towards the stone-throwing youths. No injuries were reported though.

 

The raid into Bethlehem came as the district is placed under complete lockdown and nighttime curfew as part of the precautionary measures to tackle the spread of the coronavirus.

 

Meanwhile, an Israeli army force raided Hebron city and detained one Palestinian.

 

In the northern West Bank, Israeli military stormed Arraba town, southwest of Jenin, where soldiers detained one person.

 

Soldiers conducted a similar predawn raid in Qalqilia city, resulting in the detention of another.

 

Source: WAFA