The Trump Administration informed the United Nations that it had frozen $65 million to be paid earlier this year and decided not to pay $45 million worth of food aid to Palestinian refugees, all this in the context of its blackmail and punitive measures against the Palestinian Arab people and their leadership. This Trump’s behavior comes in full unison and concord with the Israeli policies.

The Palestine National Council would like to recall that the establishment of The United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s Services UNRWA came on the background of the catastrophic repercussions of the Catastrophe (Nakba) of 1948, which led to ethnic cleansing that led to the displacement of more than three quarters of a million Palestinian who were scattered, in that period, in the countries surrounding Palestine, beside the part unoccupied of Palestine, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. These repercussions led the international community to adopt Resolution 194, which was rejected by Israel. Followed by Resolution 302 (4) of December 8, 1949, which established UNRWA as interim measure pending implementation of the abovementioned Resolution 194.

For more them sixty-five years, the United States has been the largest single donor to UBRWA and has consistently praised UNRWA’s quality, transparent and accountable services. In early 2017, with the arrival of President Trump, the Israeli entity requested the US administration cut its financial contributions to UNRWA. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally asked US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley to do her best to dismantle UNRWA and transfer of its services to the UNHCR, the main UN refugee agency.

The US administration has required the Agency to change the curriculum of its schools in order to write off all its assets related to the right of return and the Palestinian refugees issue, to relinquish the identity of Jerusalem as the capital of the desired Palestinian state, to renounce the struggle against the occupation, or the expression of Palestinian Intifada (uprising) and the cancellation of activities and festivals related to special events of the Palestinian cause, all these American requirements should be met in order to ensure the continuation of US support for UNRWA, which will be confined only to the regions of Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territories, excluding Syria and Lebanon, from the five areas of operation.

The main objective of these great pressures is to efface the Palestinian identity and to falsity the history and facts on which the Palestinian generation has been raised, and has became well aware of it, and has even influenced its behavior with the Israeli occupier.There have been explicit American and Israeli call for the amendment of the Palestinian curriculum, because it succeeded in establishing and raising generations capable of standing up, challenging , facing the occupation and adhering to national principles. The Palestinian curricula are based on international educational laws. The general principles of the Palestinian curriculum are derived from the General philosophy of the Palestinian Arab society and derive its principles from its heritage, religion, values, customs, traditions and the aspiration of the Palestinian people towards the future.

The Palestine National Council affirms that these steps conceal an Israeli-American goal that seeks to get ride of the most important issues embodied and bearing the Palestinian issue, namely the Palestinian refugee issue, through several steps, most notably, the freezing of financial allocations to the agency with the aim of reducing and paralyzing its services, dismantling and emptying it of all political implications, as the survival of its existence means the continuation of issue of refugees and Palestinian comps as witnesses to the Nakba, as well as what is related to this issue of international resolutions such as Resolution 194, which calls for the return of refugees. These steps will be followed by an attempt to dispose of and dismantle the Palestinian camps, to resettle and absorb the refugees living there.

The Palestine National Council warns of the grave consequences of the Trump administration decisions on Palestinian refugees. Which will put them at risk in all of the five areas of UNRWA operations in which it provides its services, increase the funding crisis and reduce the basic services that have already been reduced in the health and education sectors. This will also endanger the lives of about 75% of the refugees. The suffering and crisis will affect the camps in the Gaza strip, the West Bank and the diaspora, including more than 1 million Gazans living on relief assistance provided by UNRWA, which will bead to a real humanitarian disaster.

UNRWA faces a formidable challenge in upholding its mandate and preserving key services like education and health care for Palestine Refugees. This reduced contribution threatens one of the most successful and innovative human development endeavors on the Middle-East. At stake is the access of 525’000 boys and girls in 700 UNRWA schools, and their future. At state is the dignity and human security of millions of Palestine refugees, in need of emergency food assistance and other support in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. At state is the access of refugees to primary health care, including pre-natal care and other life-saving services. At stake are the rights and dignity of an entire community. The reduced contribution also impacts regional security at a time when the Middle East faces multiple risks and threats, notably that of further radicalization and terrorism.

Based on all of the above, the Palestine National Council calls on you and appeals to you to :
First : Refusing to harm the UNRWA Agency, insisting on maintaining its mission, linking the termination of its work with the implementation of Resolution 194 which calls for refugees return and compensation in accordance with the Agency’s founding decision. And refusing all attempts to transfer its functions to host countries.
Second : calling on all partners-host Arab countries and donors- to further increase their mobilization in support of the Agency’s services, which must continue until the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes, recalling the profound responsibility by the international community of states to assist the Palestine refugees, and continue UNRWA services of education, health care, relief and social services, which must continue until a just and lasting solution has been found.

The Palestine Central Council held its twenty-eighth ordinary session, under the name “Jerusalem – the eternal capital of the State of Palestine “, between January 14-15, 2018 in the city of Ramallah, in the presence of President Mahmoud Abbas.

PNC Speaker Saleem Al-Zanoon opened the session announcing that the quorum was attained, as a total of 87 members out of 109 members attended the session, while a number of members were unable to attend because they were either arrested or prevented by Israeli occupation authority.

PNC Speaker Al-Zanoon said in his opening speech “The time has come for our Central Council, which is acting on behalf of the Palestine National Council which has decided to establish the Palestinian National Authority as the nucleus of the state, to decide its future and duties, and to reconsider the recognition of the State of Israel until it recognizes the State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital and the return of refugees in accordance with Resolution 194 “.
Speaker Al-Zanoon stressed that the Central Council should reject and confront any ideas that are circulating under the so-called “ Deal of the Century “ because it does not comply with rules of international law and resolutions of international legitimacy, and seeks to impose an incomplete solution that does not meet the minimum of Palestinians’ legitimate rights.
Al-Zanoon called for the search for other international channels under the auspices of the United Nations to sponsor resolving the Palestinian issue.
Al-Zanoon added saying “ Our success in dealing with these risks and challenges requires accelerating the steps of implementing the reconciliation, ending the division and developing a plan to strengthen the national partnership with the frame work of the Palestine liberation Organization as the supreme national political and legal reference for our people which requires activating the role of its institutions, and enabling them . Proposing to hold a session of the National Council, in which both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad will be invited with the task of reshaping, choosing or electing a new national council, as stipulated by the electoral system of the National Council.

 
Al -Zanoon said “We respect and appreciate the position of brethren Arabs and their support for the Palestinian issue. We demand the implementation of the decisions of the Arab summits on Jerusalem, especially the Amman summit of 1980, which called for severing of all relations with any state that recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or transfers its embassy to it.

Al -Zanoon stressed the sacrifices and struggles of prisoners in Israeli jails obligate Palestinians to provide all forms of support and that the dignity of Palestinians remains above any consideration.

The Council listened to the speech of Mr. Mohamed Baraka, Chairman of the Higher Follow-up Committee of the Arab masses at home (in Israel).

Speaker Al-Zanoon welcomed the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, and invited him to address the Council.

The President Abbas began his speech saying “We are meeting here to defend and protect Jerusalem, and no excuse for anyone to say that the place is not appropriate. We are at a dangerous moment and our future is at stake. We will not go away. We will not commit mistakes of the past. This is our country from the days of the Canaanites.

The President stresses that we are committed to a two-state solution based on international legitimacy, the Arab peace initiative based on the 1967 borders, the cessation of settlements and unilateral actions. Adding that he was open to talking to Israel’s peace camp. President Abbas affirmed that the Palestinians will continue to seek the Security Council until full membership is achieved, stressing that Palestinians will not accept what the US attempts to impose, and the PLO will reconsider its relations with Israel , yet engage in any serious negotiations under the auspices of the UN.
The President Abbas stressed that we continue to meet the needs of the families of martyrs, prisoners and wounded. We are for popular, non-violent struggle, and continue to join the international organizations. We will continue our meetings with peace supporters in Israel, stressing the necessity of working for convening of the National
Council as soon as possible, activating and developing the PLO, continuing to achieve reconciliation that has not stopped, but needs great efforts and good intentions to complete it.

   
Following the general debate on the evening of the Fifteenth of January 2018, the Central Council issued the following resolutions:

First: Us recognition of Jerusalem
The Central Council condemns and rejects the decision of US President Donald Trump, considering Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, transferring embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and working to topple it. The Council considers that the US administration has lost its eligibility as a mediator and sponsor of the peace process and will not be a partner in this process unless the decision is reversed.
The Council stresses the rejection of President Trump’ policy aimed at presenting a project or ideas that contravene the resolutions of international legitimacy on resolving the conflict., which emerged in its essence by declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Central Council stresses the need to abolish the Congress’s decision considering PLO as a terrorist organization since 1987 and the state Department’s decision to close the office of the PLO general delegation in Washington on November 17, 2017.
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Second: The relationship with Israel (the occupation authority)
1- In light of the withdrawal of the occupying state from all agreements and revoking them by practice and imposing a fait accompli, and with the Central council stressing that the direct goal is the independence of the State of Palestine, which requires transition from self-governing to the stage of a state that is struggling for independence, with East Jerusalem as its capital and on the borders of 4 June 1967, in implementation of the resolutions of the National Council, including the Declaration of Independence in 1988, and relevant UN resolutions, including the General Assembly resolution 67/19 of 29/11/2012, as the political and legal basis for Palestinians reality, and the affirmation of adherence to the territorial unity of the State of Palestine, and the rejection of any divisions or facts imposed contrary to that The Central Council decided that the transitional period stipulated in the agreements signed in Oslo, Cairo and Washington, with its obligations no longer stand.
The Central Council calls upon the international community to assume its responsibilities on the basis of relevant UN resolutions to end the occupation and enable the State of Palestine to achieve its independence and to exercise its full sovereignty over its territory, including its capital, East Jerusalem, on the borders of 4 June 1967.
2- Assign the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization to suspend recognition of Israel until it recognizes the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders and revokes the decision to annex East Jerusalem and stops settlement activity
3- The Central Council renews its decision to suspend all forms of security coordination and to break away from the relationship of economic dependence established by the Paris Economic Agreement, to achieve the independence of the national economy. It requests the Executive Committee of the PLO and the institutions of the State of Palestine to start implementing this.
4- The Central Council should continue to work with world countries to boycott Israeli colonial settlements in all fields, to work on publishing the database for companies operating in Israeli settlements by the United Nations and to emphasize the illegality of Israeli colonial settlements since 1967.

 5- Adopt the BDS movement and call on world countries to impose sanctions on Israel to put an end to its flagrant violations of international law and to end its continued aggression against the Palestinian people and the apartheid regime imposed on them.
6- Reject and condemn the Israeli occupation and apartheid that Israel is trying to enshrine as an alternative to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, and affirm the determination of the Palestinian people to resist by all means.
7- Reject any proposals or ideas for transitional solutions or interim stages, including the so-called state with temporary borders.
8- Refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

Third: The internal Palestinian situation.

1- Adhere to the reconciliation Agreement signed in 2017 and its execution mechanisms, the latest of which is the Cairo agreement in 2017 and the provision of means of support for its implementation, and enable, the Government of National unity to assume its responsibilities fully in the Gaza Strip in accordance with the Amended Basic Law, and then conduct general elections and hold the Palestinian National Council session no later than the end of 2018 in order to achieve political partnership within the framework of the PLO, the legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people, and work to form a government of national unity in order to strengthen the political partnership and the unity of the Palestinian political system.
2- Affirm the right of our people to exercise all forms of resistance against the occupation in accordance with the provisions of international law and to continue to activate, support and strengthen the peaceful popular resistance.
3- Affirm the need to support Palestinians and their steadfastness in the eternal capital of the State of Palestine, Jerusalem and affirm the need to support their struggle against the Israeli measures aimed at Judaizing the Holy City.
4- Take all measures to support our people in the Gaza Strip, who faced the Israeli aggression and the Israeli siege and provide the support they need, including freedom of movement, access to health, the reconstruction and the mobilization of the international community to break the siege.
5- The Central Council condemns the leaking of the property by the Greek Orthodox Church to Israeli institutions and companies and calls for accountability of those responsible. It supports the struggle of the Palestinian people from the Orthodox community in order to preserve their rights and their role in administering the affairs of the Orthodox Church and preserving its property.

  Fourth: The Security Council the General Assembly and the International Criminal Court.
1. Continue to work to provide international protection to the Palestinian people in the territory of the occupied State of Palestine (West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip) based on the Security Council resolution 605 for the year (1987), 672 (1967) and (1990), 904 of (1998), and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 (Protection of Civilians in Time of War).
2. Continue to work to strengthen the status of the State of Palestine in international forums and activate the request for full membership of the State of Palestine in the United Nations.
3. Provide referral on various issues (settlement, prisoners, aggression on the Gaza Strip) to the International Criminal Court.
4. Continue to join to international institutions and organizations, including the specialized agencies of the United Nations.
Fifth: The Arab and Islamic levels

1. Call for activating the resolution of the 1980 Amman Summit, which obliges the Arab states to sever all ties with any state that recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or transfers its embassy to it, which has been reaffirmed in a number of other Arab summits with the request of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation member states to do the same.
2. Adhere to the Arab peace initiative and reject any attempts to change or alter it and maintain its priorities.
3. Work with the Arab countries (The Arab League), the Islamic countries (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement to hold an international conference with full powers to launch the peace process and in coordination with the EU countries, Russia, China, Japan and other international groups on the basis of relevant international resolutions and benefit from the outcomes of the 2017 Paris conference in a way as to ensure the end of the Israeli occupation and the empowerment of the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital on the 1967 borders and exercise its independence and sovereignty and to resolve the refugee issue on the basis of UN Resolution 194 and other final status issues in accordance with the resolutions of the international community within a specific time frame.
4. The League of Arab States, the OIC, the Non-Aligned Movement and the African Union must stand firm in front of world countries that violated the resolutions of these collective frameworks on voting against the United Nations General Assembly resolution on Jerusalem 21/12/2017.
5. The Central council condemned US threats to cut aid to UNRWA, which is seen as a way for the US to abandon its responsibility over a refugee crisis that it has aided in creating and calls on the international community to commit itself to securing the necessary funds for UNRWA, which would put an end to the continued decline in the Agency's services and instead improve its role in providing basic services to the victims of the Nakbah and ensure a decent life for refugees as a responsibility that the international community should fulfill in accordance with resolution 194.
6. The Central Council rejects foreign intervention in Arab countries and calls for a political solution and dialogue in order to end the crises and wars experienced by some Arab countries. It calls for maintaining the unity of these countries and defying attempts to divide and alleviating the suffering of Arabs.

 Sixth: Sixth: Develop mechanisms to implement the decisions of the previous Central Council to represent women by at least 30% in all institutions in the State of Palestine and to harmonize the laws in accordance with the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Seventh: The Central Council salutes the masses of Palestinians in refugee camps and exile camps in Syria, Lebanon and the Diaspora who affirm their adherence to the right of return every day. The Executive Committee is mandated to continue and intensify work with the Palestinian communities in the world and to communicate with international parties to mobilize support in facing decisions that aim to liquidate the Palestinian cause.
Eighth: The Central Council salutes the struggle and steadfastness of the prisoners in the Israeli jails and calls for their support in their daily confrontation and calls on national and international institutions to bring up their cases in all forums until their release.
The Council condemns the arrest and intimidation of children, including Ahed Tamimi, which has become a symbol of Palestinian pride in the face of occupation as well as dozens of other children.
It condemns the deliberate killings and field executions committed by Israel, as well as the killing of Ibrahim Abu Thuraya, and condemns the continued detention of the bodies of Palestinians in the numbers graves, and calls for their unconditional release.
Ninth: The Central Council salutes Palestinians for their mass uprising in response to President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and transfer the US Embassy to it. It salutes the souls of martyrs who rose for Palestine and al-Aqsa.

The chairman of the Palestinian National Council, the chairman of the Central Council, Saleem Al-Zanoon, said it was time for the Central Council to decide the future of the Palestinian National Authority and reconsider the issue of recognition of Israel.

Al-Zanoon added, during his opening speech to the 28th session of the Palestinian Central Council, which is taking place today and tomorrow in the city of Ramallah under the name of "Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the State of Palestine", that Jerusalem will only be the capital of the Palestinian state. And this fact will not changed by the American president assault. Jerusalem was built Six thousand years ago by our grandfathers.

He added that the city of Jerusalem is the center of our national cause and will not change this fact a decision made by an ignorant in history, an ignorant of the solidity of our people who did not and will not fold to the policies of extortion and intimidation. The policy of threatening to starve our people will not succeed in political strife, and called on the US administration to draw lessons from the steadfastness and the strong hold of Jerusalemites Muslims and Christians in front of the gates of the mosque Aqsa Mosque a few months ago.

He pointed out that the disgraceful position of the United States in the United Nations General Assembly and in the Security Council, which did not respect its status as a permanent member, completely isolated itself when 129 free countries voted for our right to Jerusalem. The president's decision was nullified and is a direct blow to the American blackmail and arrogance policy.

He pointed out that the United States is isolated even from its closest allies in the face of international law and against the nations of the world, especially in the face of the Palestinian rights, which showed that the US beyond doubt as being a party to the conflict and not a mediator that it claimed to be for decades. Al-zanoon emphasizeed that the US is not fit to manage any peace process, because it has overturned the entire process.

He stressed that basis on all this, we are required to prepare an integrated and programmed plan to confront the American decision, and to confront the policies and procedures of Judaization under occupation in the city of Jerusalem, and to strengthen the support for the steadfast people of Jerusalem that are defending the city despite the racism of occupation and daily pressures on them to force them to abandon their Holy City.

Al-Zanoon said that Israel, in partnership with the American administration, is destroying any possibility of establishing a Palestinian state on the borders of June 4, 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital, rejecting the right of return for refugees and recognizing the racist laws of which dropping Jerusalem from the final stages negotiations, the proposed legislation to execute political prisoners, permanently considering The Palestinian National Fund as a terrorist organization, and the decision of the ruling Likud party to annex settlement on Palestinian land.

He added that the Palestinian Central Council should reconsider the items of the current strategy. As long as Israel refuses to recognize our state and its capital is Jerusalem, we also have the right to reconsider and choose what protect and achieve our national goals.

He added "The time has come for our Central Council, which is acting on behalf of the Palestinian National Council which has decided to establish the Palestinian National Authority as the nucleus of the state, to decide its future and duties. And to reconsider the recognition of the State of Israel until it recognizes the State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital and the return of refugees in accordance with Resolution 194 ".

Al-Zanoon proposed to the Palestinian Central Council the establishment of the legal status of the State of Palestine as established by resolution 181 in 1947 and stipulated in UN General Assembly resolution 19/67 of 2012 in several aspects: preparation of a plan to transfer the functions of the Palestinian National Authority to the functions of the state. To deal with the Palestinian National Council as the parliament of the State of Palestine. To complete the discussion of the draft constitution of the State of Palestine and return it to the Central Council for approval after its presentation to Palestinian public opinion, the Presidency of the State and its Parliament, and the General Assembly of the United Nations under the heading: United for Peace to End the Israeli Occupation of the State of Palestine as a duty of the United Nations. Completion of the work for full membership status of the State of Palestine in the United Nations. The advancement of diplomatic, legal and judicial action by joining treaties and conventions and mobilizing legal proceedings against the occupation before the International Criminal Court and to reaffirm the legal right of our people to resist the Israeli occupation by all legitimate means, making the occupation very costly.

Al-Zanoon stressed that the Central Council should reject and confront any ideas that are circulating under the so-called "Deal of the Century" because it does not comply with rules of international law and resolutions of international legitimacy, and seeks to impose an incomplete solution that does not meet the minimum level of our legitimate rights.

He pointed out that the United States has declared its aggressive policy against us, and is practicing extortion by cutting off aid and linking it to conditions that affect the legitimacy of our struggle, the dignity of those who lost their lives defending their land and the sacrifices of the wounded and the political prisoners. The US also closed the PLO office in Washington and reduced its financial contributions to UNRWA, so how can we accept any American mediation, where it has chosen to be an adversary, and not an impartial mediator.

Al-Zanoon called for the search for other international channels to take care of resolving the Palestinian issue and to highlight the legitimacy of the UN General Assembly's recognition of the State of Israel, as Israel did not fulfill any of the conditions of its acceptance into the General Assembly, including the implementation of Resolution 181 of 1947 and the implementation of Resolution 194 of 1948.

He called for expediting the process with regard to International Criminal Court to try the leaders of the occupation for their crimes. Pictures of the burning of Mohammed Abu Khudair, the baby Ali Dawabsha and his family are still vivid in our mind, and the image of the murdered crippled Ibrahim Abu Thoria is hunting the war criminals in Israel. The whimpering of the murdered popular resistance minister, Zaid Abu Ain't, still calling us.

Al-Zanoon said: "Our success in dealing with these risks and challenges requires accelerating the steps of implementing the reconciliation, ending the division and developing a plan to strengthen the national partnership within the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization, as it is the supreme national political and legal reference for our people which requires activating the role of its institutions, and enabling them.

Al-Zanoon said that re-considering the role of the PLO should not be a mere slogan, but should be the central objective for us. We should all protect it as the founders did and maintained It. It is the one that safeguarded arms and maintained the independent national decision.

Saleem AL-Zanoon, speaker of the Palestinian National Council, said that Hamas and Islamic Jihad had received official invitations to participate in the Palestinian Central Council session, which will be held on the 14th of this month under the name of "Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the State of Palestine."

AL-Zanoon confirmed in a press statement issued on Saturday evening that the preparations are nearing completion, as he continued to send invitations to members of the Central Council residing inside and abroad, stressing that this session is of great importance by virtue of the fateful issues that will be discussed. As long as Israel chose aggression and refused to recognize our rights and our State with Jerusalem as its capital, it is our right to reconsider and choose alternatives that will achieve our legitimate national goals.

AL-Zanoon stressed that the stage is very delicate and the challenges and risks are increasing. This requires all of us to close ranks and unite our effects to stand up firmly to the crimes and terrorism of the occupation and those who support it. We aspire to come out of the Jerusalem session with resolutions that protect our national rights in establishing our independent State with Jerusalem as its capital.

AL-Zanoon called on the brothers in Hamas and Islamic Jihad to respond to the call of the nation and the invite of Jerusalem to participate in the Jerusalem session to face the American decision of considering Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the decision of the Israeli Knesset today to remove the occupied City of Jerusalem from final status issues. That move was preceded by the Likud party's decision to annex the Occupied Palestine territories, and the escalation of Israeli terrorism and aggression against our people and our land.

Ahed al-Tamimi is well-known across Palestine and the world for videos of her, since her childhood, defiantly resisting Israeli occupation soldiers who clash with Palestinians in her village of NabiSaleh nearly every week.

She was arrested by the Israeli occupation army on Tuesday 19 December, 2017 on charges of evicting a number of soldiers from herfamily’s home.

The mother of the Palestinian teenage girl NarimanTamimi was later detained when she was attempting to seek information about her 17-year-old daughter’s whereabouts. The mother was arrested five times and was wounded several times, most recently by live ammunition in the thigh on 20 November 2014. Ahed’s brother was martyred during the Prophet’s Saleh weekly march.

Ahed’s father was also arrested 11 times by the occupation army and subjected to severe torture resulting in a coma for ten days, and was injured several times.

In 2012 ,Ahed Tamimi received the “ Hanadzala for Courage “ award by the municipality of “ PashakShahir “ for her courage in defying the Israeli occupation army.

Al- Tamimi joined some 570 other children held in Israeli jails. On December 21, 2017, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that 64% of Palestinian minors detained by the Israeli occupation forces were beaten, according to a report by “ the military Court Watch “organizationwhich follows the arrest of Palestinian children.

The Palestinian National Council considered that the decision of the Likud Party, which leads the settler government in Israel to impose Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, is an open war against the Palestinian people and its inalienable rights.

The Palestinian National Council (PNC) said in a statement issued by its speaker Salim Al-Za'noun "that the decision represents the epitome of terrorism and aggression against the rights of the Palestinian people. It is a translation of the policies of colonialism, extremism and arrogance that is rooted in the mentality of the Likud party and its leaders."

The PNC stressed that this decision is a clear violation of our historic rights in our land and an attack on UN resolutions that considered the West Bank, including Jerusalem, occupied Palestinian territories that no party, president or government can change its legal character. Calling on the UN Security Council and the General Assembly to reject this resolution and condemn it, and put an end to this arrogance and reckless challenge, which is an explicit declaration against peace and stability in the region.

The PNC stressed that the Israeli occupation government led by the Likud party bears full responsibility for the repercussions of this decision, which was based on the offensive American Administration's decisions, which opened the door wide to the extremism of the Israeli government and its aggression and defiance of the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy that rejected all forms of colonial settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The PNC affirmed that the Palestinian people remain rooted in this land and will resist this decision and work on nullifying it to live freely in their homeland. And reaffirming the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent and sovereign Palestinian State on all the territories occupied in 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital, free of all aspects of settlement and its consequences, in addition to the refugees right of return to their homes.