JERUSALEM, August 14, 2012 (WAFA) – Israel is singlehandedly destroying the two-state solution with its expansionist settlement policy in and around Jerusalem, Monday said Hanan Ashrawi, a lawmaker and member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Speaking to diplomatic representatives and journalists at an iftar (end of fast meal) held in Jerusalem, Ashrawi lashed out at Israel’s policy in occupied East Jerusalem saying it contravenes international law.
“With its legislation of illegal laws that contravene international law, Israel is alienating Jerusalem, the center of Palestinian life, from its environs and indigenous people,” she said.
“The evacuation and transformation of the occupied city’s geography, culture, heritage and institutions are taking place internally and externally, and the extremist Israeli government is carrying out a policy of ethnic cleansing, not just with the confiscation of IDs but also with its racist marriage and reunion laws, whereby families are divided and unable to live together in Jerusalem,” she added.
“Israel is singlehandedly destroying the two-state solution with the continuation of its expansionist settlement policies in and around Jerusalem, the confiscation of Palestinian land, the demolition of Palestinian homes, the eviction of Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, and the closure of Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem,” she said.
“All of these illegal actions are in direct violation of signed agreements and international conventions.”
The PLO official said that “without Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, there will be no Palestinian state, and without a Palestinian state, there will be no peace or stability in the region.”
She appealed to the international community to support the Palestinian bid for statehood and to intervene in Israeli measures that are destroying all chances for peace and stability.
“In light of the failed peace process and the inability of the international community to hold Israel accountable for its illegal occupation of Palestine and its countless unilateral violations of international and humanitarian law, Palestinians will persist in their efforts to seek state status, whether in the UN Security Council or in the UN General Assembly,” she said.
“We reserve the right to undertake diplomatic and nonviolent means to approach UN agencies and organizations for membership, and such efforts, consistent with the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and freedom, are a test of global consensus and rule of law. Even though the timing has yet to be determined, we are coordinating our efforts with Arab and Muslim countries, as well as with the international community,” she added.
“It is of the utmost importance for the international community to rescue Palestine from the jaws of Israeli unilateralism and to possess the political will to adopt tangible measures to put an immediate end to the military occupation of Palestine and the Palestinian people,” concluded Ashrawi.
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