CAIRO, Nov 26 (NNN-MENA) – Arab foreign ministers rejected a recent U.S. decision, recognising Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian, and warned Israel against annexing the Jordan Valley and parts of the occupied West Bank.
Following a meeting at the Cairo-based Arab League, the Arab foreign ministers said, the U.S. decision is void, illegal, baseless and violates the UN Charter and relevant UN resolutions.
On Nov 18, U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, announced that the U.S. government will no longer consider Israel’s West Bank settlements “inconsistent” with international law, a move that may further dim the future of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Pompeo said, the decision, which reversed the Barrack Obama administration’s position on the issue, had been made, based on the “reality on the ground.”
After Pompeo’s statements, the Palestinian Authority asked the Arab League to hold an emergency ministerial-level meeting, to discuss and defy the U.S. position on Israeli settlements.
Meanwhile, Arab ministers warned that, the U.S. move poses a real threat to regional and international security, peace and stability.
They also said, the U.S. decision is meant to legalise and support Israel’s settlements, “which may undermine the Arab peace initiative.”
The foreign ministers warned against “exploiting the illegal cover, provided by unilateral U.S. decisions, to encourage the Israeli government to ratify legislation aimed at annexing the Jordan Valley and parts of the occupied West Bank, intensifying settlements and Judaising the occupied city of Jerusalem.”
In Sept, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, pledged to annex the Palestinian Jordan Valley and key parts of the occupied West Bank, if re-elected.
The ministers called for mobilising Arab efforts and working with international partners, to hold Israel accountable for its illegal settlement policy.
The resolution adopted by the ministers urged Arab efforts to approach the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and demand an investigation into the crime of Israeli settlements, in accordance with the Rome Statute.
After the meeting, Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki, told a news conference, the Palestinian Authority would formally request Arab support for a meeting of the state parties to the Geneva Convention, to hold Israel accountable for its actions.
According to the Geneva Convention, al-Maliki said, the signatory countries are obliged to deal with violations against people under occupation.
The U.S. decision to legalise the settlements “is part of a war” the U.S. government declared against the Palestinian people, he said, adding, the recent U.S. decision is the ninth anti-Palestine move taken by the United States since 2017.
The Palestinian minister noted that the resolution adopted by the Arab foreign ministers, establishes a collective action, led by Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, to face and foil the U.S. decision.
During the meeting, Aboul-Gheit described the U.S. decision on Israeli settlements as a “very negative and regrettable shift in the American position.”
“What the U.S. government has done, after three years of unilateral moves and tremendous pressure on the Palestinians, is ending its role as a peace mediator or reference,” he said.
Israeli settlement activity is one of the major issues that caused the collapse of the peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis in 2014.
According to the latest Palestinian data, around 400,000 Israelis live in 135 settlements and 100 illegal outposts in the West Bank, where the Palestinian population has reached 2.6 million.– NNN-MENA
