PALESTINIAN Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has condemned the Israeli army killing of four young Palestinians in the northern West Bank city of Jenin and demanded international protection for the Palestinian people living under the illegal Israeli occupation.
He called on the United Nations and international humanitarian organisations to condemn this ‘outrageous crime’ and provide international protection to the Palestinian people in light of the Israeli escalation of murder targeting Palestinian youths and children.
Shtayyeh warned against the continuing Israeli policies of murder, ethnic cleansing, demolition of homes, and appropriation of land and property, which have escalated recently.
He said these matters will be raised with the International Criminal Court in The Hague and added to the documentation of Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.
Meanwhile, Israeli bulldozers demolished a kindergarten in Beit Sfafa town, southwest of the occupied city of Jerusalem.
The WAFA news agency reported that Israeli forces escorted a Jerusalem municipality bulldozer to the al-Safeh area in the town, where it tore down a kindergarten belonging to Mohammad Jum‘a.
The kindergarten, adjacent the Jum‘a family’s house, was supposed to open at the beginning of the new school year.
Using the pretext of illegal building, Israel demolishes houses on a regular basis to restrict Palestinian expansion in occupied Jerusalem.
At the same time, the Israeli government builds tens of thousands of housing units in illegal settlements in East Jerusalem for Jews only, with a goal to shift the demographic balance in favour of Jewish settlers in the occupied Jerusalem.
Palestinians in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognised Palestinian Territory that has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, are being denied their citizenship rights and are instead classified only as ‘residents’ whose permits can be revoked if they move away from the city for more than a few years.
They are also discriminated against in all aspects of life including housing, employment, and services, and are unable to access services in the West Bank due to the construction of Israel’s separation wall.
Even the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has said that the Israeli High Court could be liable for war crimes for their policies that lead to the dispossession of Palestinians from their properties in Area C of the West Bank.
B’Tselem’s report, Fake Justice, shows that the court’s support for Israeli planning policy is tantamount to support for the dispossession and forcible transfer of Palestinians – a war crime under international law.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh described this month’s Israeli cut of more than $30 million from the funds it collects in taxes on goods destined for the Palestinian territories that enter through its ports as ‘illegitimate’ and ‘illegal’.
‘The continuation of these monthly deductions is a blatant violation of our rights and puts us in a very difficult financial situation and well as weakening our capability to meet our financial needs and responsibilities towards our people,’ said the Prime Minister.
He demanded that all the financial dues owed to the Palestinians, whether in taxes or fees collected at crossing points and in other forms be paid in full to the Palestine Authority (PA).
Israel said it had cut $30 million from the PA funds – which is equivalent to what the PA pays in stipends to families of Palestinian freedom fighters killed or imprisoned by Israel.
The international trade union movement must answer the call of the Palestinian Premier and take action to defend and protect Palestinians from Israeli death squads and murderous settlers.
The UK, US and EU trade unions must organise an international boycott of all Israeli goods, and call general strikes to force their governments to boycott Israel.
There have been two massive 250,000 strong demonstrations in the UK in support of the Palestinian people.
The UK’s TUC must now call a general strike to defend Palestinians and demand that Israel is prosecuted for war crimes, and that the UK government recognises the state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital!
