Selangor Journal
Palestinians pray in front of the Dome of the Rock on Laylat al-Qadr during the holy month of Ramadan, at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque, known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old City, on May 8, 2021. — Picture by REUTERS

Palestinian PM calls on US Congress to recognise Palestinian state

RAMALLAH, Nov 9 — Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye on Monday called on the US Congress to recognise an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, reported Xinhua.

In a press statement issued at the end of a meeting with a delegation of US Congress members headed by Senator Ben Cardin, Ishtaye called on the US congressmen to work on amending the American laws which link both the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and the Palestine Liberation Organisation to terrorism.

The statement said Ishtaye discussed with the delegation the future of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process amid the Israeli government’s attempts to undermine the two-state solution by maintaining the Israeli occupation and violating the Palestinians rights.

He also asked the United States to implement the pledges it made to the Palestinians, mainly reopening the US consulate in East Jerusalem.

He also urged his visitors to help curb Israel’s settlement policy. “How can we continue to talk about the two-state solution when there are 720,000 settlers on the lands of the Palestinian state, and the settlement programme is continuing?” he asked.

“There is 62 per cent of the Palestinian lands under the direct control of Israel, and it deals with it as a geographical reservoir for settlement expansion,” he added.

Ishtaye also requested the delegation to pressure Israel to allow the PNA to hold general elections in all the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.

Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are claimed by the Palestinians, in the 1967 Middle East war, and has controlled them ever since. The Palestinians have been seeking to establish a Palestinian state on these territories together with the Gaza Strip.

— Bernama

Top Picks

Ground invasion of Rafah would be a tragedy, says Doctors Without Borders

Editor Selangor Journal

Indonesia fishing village grapples with trash brought in by tides

Matrade expands Paris office for improved trade ties

Editor Selangor Journal