Palestine – The Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Palestinian caretaker government, Riyad Al-Maliki, yesterday, Thursday, praised the current European movement towards recognizing the State of Palestine, and considered it “a step in the right direction.”
This came during a meeting he held with his Belgian counterpart, Hajjah Lahbib, at the headquarters of the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ramallah, according to a statement issued by Al-Maliki’s office.
The statement indicated that Al-Maliki “discussed with his Belgian counterpart the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip as a result of the ongoing genocidal war committed by Israel against innocent civilians, and the destruction of all components of its humanitarian presence in the Gaza Strip and turning it into an uninhabitable place.”
Al-Maliki called on Belgium to consider the issue of establishing field hospitals in the Gaza Strip.
He said, “A sustainable ceasefire (…), providing international protection for Palestinian civilians, and providing humanitarian aid in a safe manner constitute the highest priority.”
He pointed to the Israeli occupation’s violations in the West Bank, its settlers’ terrorism against Palestinian citizens, the confiscation of citizens’ lands for the benefit of settlement expansion, and the escalation of crimes by armed settler militias.
Al-Maliki added: “The internal movement in a number of European countries regarding their recognition of the State of Palestine is a step in the right direction towards taking an immediate decision on this recognition in a way that guarantees and protects the two-state solution and preserves the opportunity for political solutions to the conflict.”
He stressed “the necessity of exerting real pressure on the Israeli government to stop its war, stop targeting civilians, put an end to the policy of forced displacement, and force it to bring relief aid to them as quickly as possible.”
Earlier this month, Spain, Ireland, Malta, and Slovenia announced their readiness to recognize the Palestinian state when “appropriate conditions” were available, in a joint statement following a meeting in Brussels on the sidelines of the meeting of leaders of European Union countries.
Over the past years, the Palestinian Authority has asked the European Union countries, the United States, and Britain to recognize the Palestinian state, but Western countries considered that recognition of the Palestinian state must be the result of a negotiated solution between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Israeli government.
In turn, the Belgian Foreign Minister stressed her country’s position rejecting settlement and settler violence in the West Bank, and the necessity of a permanent ceasefire, protecting the civilian population, releasing all hostages, and bringing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, according to the same statement.
It called on Israel “not to attack the city of Rafah (south of the Gaza Strip), which is crowded with displaced people, in order to achieve peace and enter into a political process that leads to resolving the conflict and establishing a Palestinian state in accordance with the principle of the two-state solution and achieving peace between the two sides.”
Hajjah Lahbib arrived in Ramallah yesterday, Thursday, on a one-day visit from Israel, where she arrived on Wednesday, where she met with Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
Anatolia
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2024-03-30 19:50:52