Israel’s goal is make us to leave, says mayor of Taybeh
In Taybeh, a town in the occupied West Bank, Palestinians are concerned about an Israeli decision to strip the Palestinian Authority of its civilian powers related to construction and zoning.
The town is also one of many that will be affected by the Israeli government’s decisions to officially recognise five illegal settler outposts.
The Israeli cabinet said the construction ruling was done to combat what it terms “illegal” Palestinian construction.
“The goal is for us to leave. But where will people go? We’re rooted in this land. This town existed before Christ and will continue to exist, God willing,” Sulaiman Khouriyeh, the mayor of Taybeh, told Al Jazeera.
Three illegal Israeli settlements and several outposts have already seized 14,000sq km (5,400sq miles) of Taybeh, reducing the town to a third of its size.
Qatar condemns Israel’s decision to expand settlements in occupied West Bank
Qatar has denounced the Israeli decision to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank, calling the step “the latest in a series of continuous violations of international legitimacy resolutions”.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israel’s policy to expand settlements, and forcibly displace Palestinians, as well as its continuing brutal war on the Gaza Strip, “are obstacles to efforts to prevent the expansion of the cycle of violence in the region and achieve a comprehensive and just peace”.
Qatar stressed the need for the international community to unite in pushing Israel to stop its unilateral steps and comply with international resolutions.
“The ministry renews the firm and permanent position of Qatar in supporting the Palestinian cause and the steadfastness of its people, based on the resolutions of international legitimacy and the two-state solution, in order to ensure the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Arab League slams Israeli decision to expand settlements
Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit has condemned the Israeli decision in a statement, describing it as a “complete and final reversal of the Oslo Accords, a return to square one, and an entrenchment of the blatant occupation logic”.
The Oslo Accords signed in 1993 were an agreement between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, involving arrangements for Palestinian self-government in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Aboul Gheit called on “the international community to see the Israeli government for what it truly is: A racist, right-wing government uninterested in peace, seeking to dismantle any semblance of Palestinian authority, including in ‘Area B’, which under the Oslo Accords, is under Palestinian civilian control”.
The statement came following the Israeli security cabinet’s approval of a plan to legalise five settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, issue tenders to build thousands of housing units in the settlements, and impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority.
It was a step taken by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to counter recognition of Palestinian statehood and actions against Israel in international courts.
