THE PALESTINIAN Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has issued orders to his cabinet members to immediately start work on implementing the decision of the Palestinian leadership regarding ending all agreements and understandings with Israel, as the only answer possible to the Trump-inspired Israeli plan to annex the occupied territories and liquidate the struggle for the independent state of Palestine.
Shtayyeh’s orders came during a Palestinian cabinet emergency meeting to discuss the implementation of the decision announced on Tuesday by President Mahmoud Abbas to break off all relations with Israel and the United States.
Prime Minister Shtayyeh confirmed the Palestinian government’s full support for the decision announced by President Abbas and the Palestinian leadership to scrap all signed agreements and understandings with the Israeli and American sides. He stressed that there would be consequences as ‘we work on translating this decision on the ground’.
He added: ‘The announcement of the annexation of Palestinian lands and the imposition of Israeli sovereignty over the settlements … reflects the agenda of the government coalition in Israel, which systematically works to destroy the establishment of the State of Palestine in addition to the siege on the Gaza Strip, the isolation and annexation of occupied Jerusalem, and the use of area ‘‘C’’ as a strategic reservoir to expand its settlements.’
Shtayyeh continued: ‘We want the world to stand for the moment of truth by recognising the State of Palestine. The Deal of the Century gave the green light to the Israeli government and opened its appetite for annexation.’
He stressed: ‘It is the Israeli government that ended all security, political, economic, and legal agreements, and therefore it is inconceivable to maintain a unilateral commitment. Israel has violated all agreements by annexation, colonisation, the siege on the Gaza Strip, and abuse of prisoners and their allocations, Jerusalem, and water. In addition to various violations in all areas of life, Israel has hit the authority’s sovereignty and restored the military rule of its civil administration.’
The Prime Minister concluded: ‘From the government’s side, we will remain in the service of our people with everything we can while facing the novel coronavirus, the annexation procedures, and every aggression against our people.’
Abbas announced in his statement on Tuesday that he intends not to abide by security agreements and understandings signed between Tel Aviv and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as well as cooperation with the United States.
‘The Palestine Liberation Organisation and the state of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the commitments based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones,’ Abbas said in the statement.
‘We place full responsibility on the US administration for the occupation of the Palestinian people, and consider it a key partner in Israel’s actions and decisions against the rights of the Palestinian people,’ Abbas underlined.
Earlier in the day, Germany and the Palestinian Authority released a joint statement expressing ‘grave concern’ over Israel’s declared intention to proceed with the annexation plan.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is facing a number of criminal indictments, has time and again announced that he would start plans for annexing more areas in the occupied West Bank on July 1st, in accordance with Trump’s peace scheme, further infuriating the Palestinians.
The workers of the UK and the world must respond to the revolutionary declaration of the Palestinian people. The UK, the European and the US trade unions must immediately boycott Israel. UK workers must demand that the UK government immediately stop arming Israel, and must recognise the state of Palestine.
If it will not, it must be brought down with a general strike and a workers’ government must be established that will recognise the State of Palestine and also arm the Palestinian people so that they can defend their state against Israel and its imperialist sponsors.
The Palestinian revolution is now set to explode. It must be supported in every way that it can by the workers of the world.
Victory to the Palestinian revolution! Forward to the Palestinian state, with its capital Jerusalem where Muslims, Christians and Jews will be able to live together side by side in peace!
