Premier Mohammad Shtayyeh today urged the Middle East Quartet to put pressure on Israel to cease its plans to further annex parts of the occupied Palestinian territories.
Speaking during a meeting with the European Union (EU) Representative Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff over the video conference, Shtayyeh urged the Quartet to pressurize Israel to cease its plans to apply Israeli sovereignty over, or in other words to annex, the Jordan Valley and the illegal colonial settlements in the occupied West Bank.
He warned that such a move, among other moves that Israel would take in the context of the implementation of the US-touted Mideast plan, dubbed deal of the century, would destroy the two-state solution and frustrate the prospects for an independent and viable Palestinian state.
He underscored the need to convene an international peace conference with the purpose of finding an equitable and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian question.
Shtayyeh highlighted Palestinian efforts to battle the novel coronavirus outbreak along with the public health and economic challenges of the COVID-19 crisis.
“Israel, the occupying power, has to assume its responsibilities towards Palestinians in Jerusalem. If it does not want to do so, it has to allow us to operate and help our Palestinian population in Jerusalem, whether they are residing inside the Israeli-imposed borders of Jerusalem or outside them,” he said.
He urged the EU to continue standing side by side with the Palestinian people and government at this juncture, through supporting the private sector, particularly the small and medium-sized enterprises that were hit by the economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 outbreak, in order to achieve post-crisis economic recovery.
The EU Representative assured Shtayyeh that the EU, as a longstanding and reliable partner of the Palestinian people, will do its utmost to assist the Palestinian Authority in their efforts in this critical period.
