Cairo, Sept. 9 (Petra) -- Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy welcomed a decision by the United Kingdom to ban trade in goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements, along with intentions expressed by 12 other countries to impose similar restrictions on trade with settlements deemed illegal under international law.
Fahmy said the measures, set out in a clear statement by those countries, mark a "step in the right direction" toward confronting Israel's illegal settlement enterprise and restoring a policy of accountability rather than overlooking what he called the "rogue conduct" of the Israeli occupation government.
He stressed that concrete, practical measures against the settlement system, which he said aims to undermine the two-state solution, reflect a shared recognition among all parties of the gravity of developments in the occupied Palestinian territory. He cited an apartheid system established by the occupation, alongside settlers' free rein to carry out violence against Palestinian civilians under the protection and encouragement of the Israeli government.
Fahmy called on all countries that still believe in international law and the two-state solution as the only path to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to join the "courageous stance" taken by the United Kingdom, as reflected in the 12-country statement.
Concrete, practical measures against the racist settlement system will force the occupation to weigh the cost of its illegitimate practices after years without accountability or punishment, Fahmy said.
//Petra// NQ
