The UN Security Council is scheduled to convene on June 24 at foreign minister level to discuss Israel’s plan to annex large swathes of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Authority’s Observer at the UN, Riyad Mansour, announced yesterday.
#Palestine Will Be Declared a State Shall #Israel Annex #WestBank, #PA Prime Minister Says https://t.co/0FycDssr8d via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/lFwXJTDoGg
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) June 14, 2020
Mansour told Voice of Palestine radio that invitations for the meeting were sent out to the foreign ministers of many countries, including the member states of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Arab League. He added that the meeting would most likely be attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The PA official expressed his hope that the Security Council will shoulder its responsibilities and demand the Israeli government to halt all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory and cancel the annexation. All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.
#Israel Opens New #Settlement Roads on #Palestinian Land in Preparation for #WestBank #Annexation https://t.co/DD4jBwAfey via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/UgpkHnDtPb
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) June 14, 2020
Talks are underway, explained Mansour, and efforts are being made to push for the formation of an international coalition to thwart the US-backed annexation of the Jordan Valley and the main Israeli settlement blocs.
Meanwhile, the PA’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riyad Al-Maliki, said that the leadership has been working hard at the highest levels in order to raise international voices and mobilize a unified position to thwart the annexation plan. The EU foreign ministers will meet with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday in order to discuss the issue, added Al-Maliki.
Abbas urges higher-level UN meeting on Israeli annexation plans https://t.co/pDyRw7kuJ2
— Joe Catron
(@jncatron) June 14, 2020
On May 24, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu renewed his pledge to annex part of the occupied Palestinian West Bank in July.
Palestinians have expressed outrage, appealing to the international community to block the Israeli step, which, if implemented, would be considered the final nail in the two-state solution’s coffin.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced on May 19 that the PA is canceling all agreements with Israel and the US, as a direct response to Israel’s annexation plans.
(Palestine Chronicle, MEMO, Social Media)
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