Palestinian Cabinet Says Abstention at Human Right Council A Green Light for Israeli Crimes

Rasa - The Palestinian Cabinet welcomed on Tuesday the adoption of the Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution condemning Israeli crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories, but stressed that the countries that abstained sent a message to Israel to continue in its crimes.

News ID: 437848

Date: 23 May 2018 - 21:42

RNA - In a statement issued after its weekly meeting held in Ramallah, the Cabinet hailed the HRC decision to send an independent international committee to investigate Israeli violations in the occupied Palestinian territories, including occupied East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, which started in late March with the Israeli army killing of or more than 115 unarmed Palestinians at the Gaza borders and wounding of 12,000 others, WAFA reported.

The Cabinet repeated its calls and demands to stop Israeli war crimes and provide international protection for Palestinian citizens, stressing that such achievements will leave a significant impact on the formation of an Independent Fact-Finding Commission to investigate the Israeli war crimes against Palestinians and humanity.

While praising the support of the 29 countries that voted for the HRC resolution, the Cabinet nevertheless condemned the United States and Australia for voting against the resolution and the 14 abstaining countries, saying that it considered the position of these countries is "a message of green light to encourage Israel to commit more crimes against Palestinian citizens, and to open an endless cycle of extremism and bloodshed in the region".

During the meeting, Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah briefed the Cabinet members on the outcomes of his participation in the extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation held in Istanbul to discuss "the latest serious developments in the State of Palestine".

In its turn, the Cabinet stressed the urgent need for an independent international investigation for Israeli crimes committed against the Palestinians citizens, praising the outcomes of the emergency meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers, to prepare an integrated plan to counter the latest declaration of the US administration and other states on Jerusalem.

The Cabinet reaffirmed its support to the decisions of the Palestinian leadership to refer the Israeli crimes file, including the colonial settlements file, to the International Criminal Court (ICC), and to seek membership in other international treaties and organizations.

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