Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said today that he is going to push for imposing heavy punishment on anyone who deals with the illegal Israeli settlement products.
Speaking at the opening of an emergency cabinet meeting called for to put a strategy for confronting the latest US declaration that the illegal settlements are not inconsistent with international law, Shtayyeh said his government will also call on the International Criminal Court to immediately start an investigation of the settlements as requested by Palestine some time ago.
He also said the international condemnation of the US declaration on settlements should go beyond mere statements to actual and immediate recognition of Palestine on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital and the right of return of refugees.
Shtayyeh also called on the European Union and Russia to withdraw citizenship of settlers because their presence in the settlements is illegal.
He described the US position as another hostile move added to previous similar decisions such as Jerusalem and cutting financial aid to the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA.
“It’s a blow to the foundations of international law and the United Nations and cancels for ever any role for this (US) administration in any current or future political track,” said the Prime Minister.
