Dr. Erekat on latest Israeli evictions and confiscations in Silwan

PLO Executive Committee Member and head of the Negotiations Affairs Department Dr. Saeb Erekat strongly denounced the latest forced home evictions and confiscation in Occupied East Jerusalem. This morning, illegal Israeli settlers protected by occupation forces entered seven buildings in the neighborhood of Silwan. A total of seven Palestinian families were left homeless.

“What happened this morning is the reaffirmation of what was said by Mr. Netanyahu at the UN. By denying the occupation and providing settlers a ‘divine right’ to continue their daily attacks against Palestinians, Mr. Netanyahu simply endorsed the acts of those extremists who have never been as much supported by an Israeli government as now. This is a government by the settlers and for settlers. It serves the objective of altering the character of Jerusalem through isolating, containing and confining Palestinian existence, allowing for more Israeli land-grab and attempts at changing the identity and demography of Palestine and particularly of Occupied East Jerusalem.”

Dr. Erekat continued: “ We have been asking for international protection all over the Occupied State of Palestine in order to prevent more crimes like this, where Palestinian families are expelled from their homes in order to allow foreign occupiers to take over. This is our ongoing Nakba, a process of forced displacement that began in 1948 and that has continued uninterrupted until today. The 1988 Palestinian historic compromise of recognizing Israel over 78% of historic Palestine has not stopped the Israeli government from using all its strength to oppress Palestinians and impose a system of apartheid.”

Dr. Erekat concluded: “ This situation has to come to an end. We call upon the members of the Security Council to support our peace initiative to set a deadline for the end of the Israeli occupation. This initiative is simply a plan to implement decades of UN resolutions and to end Israeli violations of international law. We are simply asking the international community to uphold its responsibility to protect our people under occupation and provide a political horizon to end Israel’s systematic violations of international peace and security, and the rights of our defenseless people in particular.”