Palestine: Israeli threats of sanctions not to discourage Palestinians from ICJ bid

Palestinian authorities say the Israeli regime’s threats of sanctions will not discourage Palestinians from pressing ahead with their bid at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

“Palestinian rights are non-negotiable, and our Palestinian people and its leadership are capable of protecting Palestinian rights that have been endorsed by the resolutions of international legitimacy, whatever the price,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement on Friday.

“We will continue our political, diplomatic and legal struggle to end the Israeli occupation of the land of the State of Palestine and its capital, East al-Quds,” Abu Rudeineh added.

The Palestinian president’s spokesman called on the international community to take immediate action to stop such Israeli threats, which are contrary to all resolutions of international legitimacy.

“The extremist … occupation is seeking to drag the region to the brink of explosion, and is blatantly ignoring international law and international legitimacy. This requires a firm international stance,” Abu Rudeineh said.

In a separate statement on Friday, Palestine’s foreign ministry also said such threats are a reflection of the new Israeli cabinet’s racist colonial policies against Palestinians, a flagrant violation of Israel’s obligations as an occupying power and persistence in Israel’s rebellion against international law and signed agreements.

The ministry stressed that these measures would not discourage our people and our leadership from continuing the struggle and the political, diplomatic, and legal action to provide international protection for our people and to put an end to Israel’s continued impunity from accountability.

It also called on the international community to intervene seriously to stop the implementation of the Israeli regime’s hostile policies against the Palestinian people.

ICJ to examine legal implications of continued Israeli occupation: Palestine’s UN envoy

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN says the International Court of Justice will examine the legal implications of the continued Israeli occupation of Palestine.

The statements were issued after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing cabinet decided to use Palestinian money to compensate the so-called “victims” of Palestinian retaliatory attacks and imposed a moratorium on Palestinian construction in some areas of the occupied West Bank.

Last week, following an appeal by the Palestinians, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) asked the Hague-based ICJ to give an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's 55-year-old occupation of Palestinian territories.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.

Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent state with East al-Quds as its capital.

The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks collapsed in 2014. Among the major sticking points in those negotiations was Israel’s continued illegal settlement expansion.

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