Excellency,
As the Security Council continues to address the Palestine question month after month, amidst constant calls by the international community for responsible action in line with its Charter duties, Israel, the occupying Power, continues to exploit the Council’s inaction with the intensification of its illegal and destructive policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, further destabilizing the situation and further undermining the prospects for a peaceful solution.
Central to the pursuit of the occupation’s illegal agenda has been the use of inflammatory rhetoric and incitement, which persist with alarming intensity. In this regard, it is imperative to draw attention to recent provocative statements made by the director and founder of the Israel Land Fund, Mr. Arieh King, and a so-called “city councilman”. In a public statement on social media, King has called for demolition of parts of the walls of the Old City in Occupied East Jerusalem, constituting yet another of the ongoing, countless attempts by the occupying Power to illegally alter the character, identity and status of the City and entrench its illegitimate control over the entirety of the City. King stated that the removal of these historic walls, built during the time of the Ottoman Empire, would help reconnect the “old city to the rest of the city forever”. Such a statement is not only inflammatory, but stands in violation of international law, including numerous United Nations resolutions from General Assembly resolution 181 (II), Security Council resolution 252 (1968), and onwards up to resolution 2334 (2016) and resolution ES-10/20, and must be firmly denounced and condemned. [Read more…]
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