Palestinians Resort to Security Council, Arab League to Counter US Move on Settlements
Arab World
Ramallah - Kifah Zboun
The Palestinians have launched major diplomatic efforts to counter an announcement by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that Washington no longer considers Israeli settlements to be "inconsistent with international law.” The Palestinian leadership launched a series of emergency meetings on Tuesday aimed at “taking measures to confront the dangerous US decision against the Palestinian cause.” Palestine’s permanent representative to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said he started consulting UN Security Council members, mainly Kuwait. The Council is expected to meet on Wednesday. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said they would take a series of measures to oppose the US announcement. "We are going to the (UN) General Assembly and we will ask... the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an official judicial investigation," he added. The Palestinian Authority also called for an emergency meeting of the Arab League. Instructed by Abbas, the permanent representative of Palestine to the League addressed the organization’s General Secretariat on holding a ministerial meeting to discuss the recent US position on the Israeli settlements. The Secretariat said in a statement that it has agreed to hold the emergency meeting, but has not decided on the date yet. Pompeo’s announcement on Monday reversed a formal legal position taken by the United States in 1978. Erekat said it was only the latest move by the US to try to force the Palestinians to capitulate and give up their claims to an independent state. "They wanted us on our knees and they used every trick -- internally, externally, regionally -- to put pressure on us. We stand tall and we will stand tall." The Palestinian cabinet is expected to hold an extraordinary session in Ramallah on Wednesday to discuss the implications of the US decision. Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh also announced that his government began contacting international law institutions and governments worldwide to shore up an international consensus against the US announcement.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2000146/palestinians-resort-security-council-arab-league-counter-us-move-settlements
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