President Mahmoud Abbas instructed Palestine’s representative to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, to call for an upgraded meeting of the United Nations Security Council when it meets on June 24 to discuss Israel’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank to be at the level of foreign ministers instead of the representatives, today said Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
He said that Mansour was also instructed to propose to the UN General Assembly the formation of an international coalition to oppose the Israeli annexation plan.
Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio that the recent positions of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the European Union, Russia and China show that Palestine was able to gather an international coalition in support of its cause, stressing that Palestine has asked for an official European positon adopting sanctions against Israel if it goes ahead with the annexation, in addition to recognizing the independent state of Palestine on the 1967 borders.
He called on the Arab countries to provide the $100 million monthly financial safety net approved by the Arab summits to help Palestine overcome the financial and political challenges facing it in light of the Israeli moves and Palestinian response to these steps.
