Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, condemned the measures taken by the parliament of the occupying state (the Israeli Knesset) aimed at paving the way for the annexation of occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank. He called on the international community and the signatory states to the New York Declaration on the Implementation of the Two-State Solution to take a firm stand against these extremist Israeli actions.
Gamal Roshdy, the Secretary-General’s spokesperson, quoted Mr. Aboul Gheit as stressing that continued silence regarding these Israeli measures would only encourage the extreme right and settler groups to proceed with their plans to impose a new reality on the ground through the annexation of Palestinian lands.
The spokesperson added that the approval, in preliminary reading, of two annexation bills constitutes a test of the international community’s determination to firmly oppose the extreme right’s agenda. He underscored the need to activate sanctions and economic boycott policies targeting all settlement activities in Israel, in order to send a clear and unified message that annexation is categorically rejected and will not be tolerated.
Mr. Aboul Gheit also welcomed the advisory opinion issued on 22 October by the International Court of Justice, which reaffirmed the responsibility of the Israeli occupation to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The opinion further warned against the use of starvation as a weapon and the deliberate creation of intolerable living conditions leading to the forced displacement of residents—acts that constitute a flagrant violation of international law.
