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PLO chief: We will take legal action against Israeli banks for financing settlements

PLO chief: We will take legal action against Israeli banks for financing settlements

Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat.

Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat.

Ramallah : Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat said on Tuesday that the Palestinian Authority will take legal measures against Israeli banks for financing settlements built illegally in the occupied territories.

Reacting to a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) highlighting how Israeli banks perpetuate settler colonialism, Erekat said the report exposed something already known and that is how Israeli and international companies bankroll unlawful Israeli activities.

“This report clarifies for international audiences the role that Israeli banks play in the Israeli colonial-settlement enterprise in the territory of the occupied state of Palestine,” said Erekat in a statement.

“This is not a novel, new, or an isolated case; there are several Israeli and international companies that profit from the apartheid system imposed by Israel. Yet, several countries that claim to support the two-state solution continue to allow their companies to take part in this illegal enterprise,” he added.

The PLO official said that the Palestinian position is clear: “We will continue to denounce the activity of banks and other companies that profit from the occupation of Palestine and we will take all necessary legal and political measures against those who contribute to the systematic denial of our rights.”

—AB/UNA-OIC

Palestinians won’t be part of Trump’s deal: PLO official

Palestinians won’t be part of Trump’s deal: PLO official

Saeb Erekat

Saeb Erekat

Ramallah : Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Secretary General Saeb Erekat on Sunday said the Palestinians will not take part in any peace deal presented by US President Donald Trump.

Trump isolated himself from the peace process by recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and by attempting to drop the issue of Palestinian refugees off the table, Xinhua news agency quoted Erekat as saying.

He made his statement hours ahead of the expected arrival of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Israel.

Erekat added that “the US cannot be a partner or a mediator in the peace process unless it changes its position of recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel because it is meaningless to have a Palestinian state without East Jerusalem as its capital”.

On reports that Trump might present his Middle East peace deal, which may include financial compensation for Palestinians, Erekat said “this is morally unacceptable and Palestine is neither sold nor bought with money”.

The deal might be presented after the inauguration of the US Embassy in Jerusalem in May.

The tension between the Palestinians and the US has been rising since October 2017 and intensified in December when Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the relocation of the US embassy to the city.

—IANS