AKEL on US move to consider the illegal Israeli settlements as legal
The colonization in the occupied Palestinian territories – as in the case of occupied Cyprus – constitutes a war crime
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 19th November 2019, Nicosia
The US government continues its provocative policy of ignoring and violating international law, characterizing, in a statement by US Secretary of State M. Pompeo, Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as legal. This is a statement that abolishes the position the US itself has maintained since 1978 and which is in conflict with international law and the Resolutions of the United Nations.
This action follow the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem and the recognition of the city as Israel’s “indivisible capital” in violation of the Resolutions of the UN. It even follows that of the recognition by the US of Israeli “sovereignty” over the occupied territories of Syria in the Golan Heights. It is a follow up of Trump’s statements that there are no Palestinian refugees and therefore there is neither any right of return. This new US action is part of the effort to exonerate the State of Israel for the occupation of the Palestinian territories since 1967 and for the crimes it is committing against the Palestinian people, including those in Gaza over the past few days.
It should be noted that both the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs have pointed out that the settlements violate international law.
AKEL calls on the government and the Foreign Minister to align with international law and denounce this US action, seeking to make the Israeli colonization legal. The colonization in the occupied Palestinian territories – as in the case of occupied Cyprus – constitutes a war crime.
