Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said today that the upcoming meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) of donor countries must carry a strong and direct political message to protect the two-state solution, which Israel is destroying with its measures. Shtayyeh made the remarks during his meeting in Ramallah with Norway’s Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process Hilde Haraldstad. They discussed the preparations for the meeting scheduled to be held this month in New York, in conjunction with the United Nations General Assembly meetings, which marks the 30th anniversary of the Oslo Accords. The Prime Minister affirmed that the meeting must carry a strong condemnation of the Israeli measures and provide a vision for the future of the two-state solution under extremist Israeli governments. Shtayyeh stressed the meeting must come out with serious and effective results and must put pressure on Israel to stop all its unilateral measures, by stopping incursions into Palestinian areas, stopping killings and arrests, confiscating lands for the benefit of settlement expansion, demolishing homes and facilities, and stopping all unfair deductions from clearance funds. He called on Norway to lead a serious international effort to recognize the State of Palestine, its right to sovereignty and self-determination, and the necessity of adopting the Arab Peace Initiative in light of the absence of any serious initiatives. Shtayyeh stressed the necessity of emphasizing the mobilization of financial support and the resumption of international aid to Palestine, which decreased over the past ten years from 30% to 1% of the gross domestic product, as well as supporting the implementation of the reform agenda and the national development plan for the coming years. He also briefed Haraldstad on the progress of implementing the administrative and financial reform agenda, calling for supporting the files that Israel stands as an obstacle to implementing, most notably holding general elections that include all the governorates of the country and the illegal Israeli deductions from Palestinian tax funds. The Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for Norway’s continued and consistent role in supporting peace and achieving justice, towards ending the occupation and establishing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.
Source: Palestine News & Information Agency