Friday, November 18, 2011

Ashrawi Condemns Israeli Seizure of Jordan Valley Land

RAMALLAH, November 18, 2011 (WAFA) - PLO Executive Committee member and lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi strongly denounced what she described as the illegal Israeli seizure of privately owned Palestinian land in the Jordan Valley, a press release said Friday.

“The government of Israel re-routed an illegal separation barrier to guarantee the expropriation of 1,500 dunums of Palestinian land for a kibbutz inside Israel,” she said.

“Israel is further expropriating Palestinian-owned land in the West Bank and unlawfully redrawing boundaries. The Israeli annexation of Palestinian territory, whether privately or publicly owned, is a grave violation of international law.”

Ashrawi said that “as the custodian of absentee property, Israel is forbidden from confiscating Palestinian property since it is obligated to safeguard such property and return it to its rightful owners upon their return.”

She said that by seizing Palestinian land, “Israel is willfully sabotaging the chances of peace and the possibility of a two-state solution.”

She called on the Quartet and foreign governments to demand that Israel “cease and desist all settlement activities and actions that violate international law and conventions,” stressing that “the Palestinians have the full right to seek justice in all international legal venues to guarantee basic rights and freedoms that Israel is persistently violating.”

Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA

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