Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Palestinian Presidency Welcomes Gaza Ceasefire, Urges End to Israeli Occupation


Fri 21 May 2021 | 06:06 PM
Omnia Ahmed

Palestinian presidency welcomed on Friday the Gaza ceasefire and called for practical steps to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

In a press statement, the presidency commended the efforts of Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, the US administration, the European Union and the United Nations for reaching the ceasefire.

Moreover, it praised the Palestinian people for their sacrifices in Gaza, defiance of the forced expulsions in Sheikh Jarrah among other Israeli attacks in Jerusalem, as well as for their peaceful protests in the West Bank.

President Mahmoud Abbas initiated contacts from the very outset of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza and the West Bank, including contacts with US President Joe Biden, in order to bring the onslaught to an immediate end, the statement added.

It stressed that “it is the time for the US administration and the international community to take practical and serious steps to stop these ongoing Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people that gave rise to this grave escalation.”

Also, it urged the US administration in addition to other international actors to halt unbridled Israeli settler mob violence against Palestinians and encroachments upon the holy sites, particularly in Jerusalem.

The statement reiterated Abbas’ call for finding a political horizon towards ending the Israeli occupation of the territories of the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

“The current events have proven once again that the Palestinian question is the key to peace and security, and that the only clear path to this is Jerusalem, which lies at the center of the conflict and constitutes the path to peace and war,” it concluded.

The Israeli violence in Palestine resulted in killing at least 243, including 66 children, and wounding 1,910 others, including 90 severe injuries and 560 children.