2024-05-16 Time: 10:59:40 (Jerusalem)
Arab FMs say Israeli plan to annex Palestinian lands "a war crime"
CAIRO, Thursday, April 30, 2020 (WAFA) – Arab Foreign Ministers said today that Israel's plan to annex any part of the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967, including the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea, and the Israeli settlements and their surroundings, is considered a war crime.
The comments came in the final communiqué of an emergency Arab League session at the level of Arab foreign ministers that was held through video conference to discuss Israel's plans to annex parts of the West Bank.
The ministers stressed that the Arab countries will support, by all political, diplomatic, legal and financial means, any decisions or steps taken by the State of Palestine to confront any Israeli plans of annexation and colonial settlement expansion.
They also demanded the US administration to abide by the United Nations Charter and resolutions related to the conflict in the Middle East, and the principles and provisions of international law.
The ministers urged the United States to refrain from supporting the plans and maps of the Israeli occupation government that are being prepared under the cover of the so-called American-Israeli deal of the century that aims to annex and occupy occupied Palestinian lands by force.
The final statement called on member states to directly transfer batches of financial contributions to support the budget of the State of Palestine and the Arab Financial Safety Net, in compliance with the decisions of successive Arab summits.
The Arab Foreign Ministers stressed that a comprehensive and just peace based on international law, international legitimacy decisions and the Arab Peace Initiative, is an Arab strategic choice, and a necessity for regional and international security and peace.
The ministers called on the International Quartet to hold an urgent meeting to save peace chances and the two-state solution, and to take an international action consistent with international resolutions and the references of the peace process, including the Road Map and the Arab Peace Initiative, to compel the Israeli occupation government to stop implementing its colonial plans and ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967.
According to the final communiqué, the ministers urged the international community and the United Nations, including the Security Council, to take responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, ensuring the enforcement of international law and international legitimacy decisions in the occupied Palestinian territory, and preventing the Israeli occupation government from implementing the annexation plans.
They have also urged the European Union countries to exert pressure on the occupation government to stop its plans, and to urgently recognize the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders, in order to save peace hopes and the two-state solution.
