Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, welcomed the decision by the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Norway to sanction two extremist Israeli government ministers for their continued incitement to violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Gamal Roshdy, the Secretary-General’s spokesperson, quoted Mr. Aboul Gheit as saying that the decision represents a significant step towards holding accountable officials in the occupying state's government who have openly incited violence and perpetuated a policy of settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank with impunity.
Mr. Aboul Gheit stressed that the sanctioning of the two ministers sends a clear message to the international community, and to the Israeli public, about the extent of criminal conduct committed by extremist members of the Israeli government, which has resulted in war crimes and grave violations of international humanitarian law in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The spokesperson noted that the move by the five countries marks an important first step towards rebalancing the international stance on war crimes committed against the Palestinian people and initiating concrete measures to hold accountable those responsible for inciting and committing acts of violence, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.
