Ramallah (UNA/WAFA) – The Palestinian Presidency welcomed the joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden, regarding the protection of the two-state solution, the rejection of settlement activity, annexation and the forced displacement of the Palestinian people, and the prohibition of trade with Israeli settlements.
The Presidency commended these countries' determination to impose national restrictions on trade in goods with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, and their support for taking similar measures at the European level, considering this an important practical step towards holding the settlement system accountable and embodying the non-recognition of the illegal situation arising from the occupation..
The Presidency stressed that the Israeli decision to publish tenders for the implementation of the settlement plan called (E1This, along with settlement expansion, escalating settler terrorism, and the transfer of further powers in the occupied West Bank, constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and resolutions of international legitimacy, a direct threat to the unity of Palestinian territory, and aims to entrench annexation and undermine the possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian state..
The Presidency called on the signatory states of the statement, the European Union and the entire international community, to expedite the transformation of these positions into binding measures, including banning dealings and trade with settlements, imposing sanctions on extremist settlers and their supporters, and holding the Israeli government accountable for its ongoing violations..
The presidency also demanded that the Israeli government immediately and completely halt settlement activity and cancel the plan (E1), and to stop settler attacks, provide international protection for the Palestinian people, and refrain from all measures aimed at annexing Palestinian land or displacing its inhabitants..
The Presidency reiterated the State of Palestine's commitment to achieving a just and lasting peace, based on international law, UN resolutions, and the New York Declaration, which guarantees an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and viable State of Palestine on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living in peace and security alongside the State of Israel..
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