AL: US decision on Israeli settlements ‘null and void’

CAIRO – 25 November 2019: The Arab League stated that the US unilateral decision on legalizing the Israeli settlements in Palestine’s occupied West Bank is null and void, warning of the US decisions concerning the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

“The approach taken by the US administration in making unilateral decisions is a flagrant violation to the international law and the UN resolutions that relate with the Palestinian cause,” said the decision issued after holding the extraordinary session of the League of Arab State’s Council at the ministerial level on Monday.

“It is a real threat to security, peace and stability in the Middle East and the world, and an unprecedented reckless disregard for the international organization that is based on and adheres to the international law,” the decision said.

On November 18, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters that the Israeli settlements in the West Bank is “not inconsistent with the international law.”

The Arab Foreign Ministers also called for pressuring the international community to hold Israel accountable for its settlement activities, which undermine the efforts of achieving a two-state solution on the border of 1967.

They also called upon the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch investigations into the Israeli settlements in accordance with the Rome Statute, calling for boycotting all Israeli companies that are operating in the settlements.

The Arab Foreign Ministers “warned against exploiting the illegal cover provided by unilateral US decisions to encourage the Israeli government to enact void and illegal legislation aimed at annexing Jordan Valley and parts of the occupied West Bank.” They added that Israel could be more encouraged to increase settlements, Judaize the occupied city of Jerusalem, vandalize its Islamic and Christian sanctities, especially the Al-Aqsa mosque, and to distort its Arab and Islamic identity, its demography.

The Ministers condemned the latest Israeli aggression that occurred on November 12, 2019 against Palestinians in Gaza, where dozens of civilians killed by Israeli raids, affirming that the Arab countries should continue seeking economic, political and diplomatic actions to defense the Palestinian cause.

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Monday categorically rejected the US changed stance on the Israeli settlements considering it no more illegal,

"The US administration had made great promises to achieve peace," Aboul Ghaiet said, adding that it has only worked to achieve the Israeli goals.

Additional reporting by Amr Mohamed Kandil