Jordan has welcomed a resolution adopted by UNESCO on old Jerusalem and its walls, which said all Israeli procedures aiming to change the identity of the holy city and its legal status quo are null and void…reports Asian Lite News
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Haitham Abu Al-Foul said the resolution was unanimously adopted by UNESCO Executive Board on Wednesday during its 214th session, according to a statement by the Ministry.
The official said the resolution is a result of Jordanian diplomatic efforts in coordination with Palestinians and the Arab and Islamic groups at the UN organisation, according to the statement.
The resolution calls on Israel to stop its provocations and unilateral illegal procedures against Haram Al-Sharif, also known as the Temple Mount, including the Al-Aqsa mosque, as well as the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls, Al-Foul said.
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The resolution calls for speeding up procedures to dispatch a monitoring mission from UNESCO to Jerusalem to inspect all violations committed by Israel, the statement indicated.
Al-Foul noted that the resolution is in line with the Jordanian stance towards the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls, Xinhua news agency reported.
Palestine has called on intervention from the international community to stop the recent tension between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Palestine called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to “investigate the violations and the assaults of the Israeli army and the Israeli settlers against the Palestinians”, Xinhua news agency quoted the Foreign Ministry here as saying in a statement.
“These crimes are an explicit call to explode the situation and ignite violence and chaos during the holy month of Ramadan,” the statement said.
The Ministry called on the international community to ensure international protection for the Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.
Since March 31, at least six Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, including three members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
The US-sponsored peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in 2014 following deep differences on borders, security, and Israeli settlement between the two sides.
Since then, there have been no diplomatic ties between Israelis and Palestinians because of the latter’s rejection of the Israeli expansion of settlements and measures in East Jerusalem.
Israel seized the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war and has controlled them ever since.
The Palestinians seek to establish an independent state on these territories with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye has said that the Palestinian Authority is following with concerns Israel’s latest moves in the region.
Ishtaye made the remarks as Israel is hosting a conference with the foreign ministers from the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt, as well as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Negev desert region in southern Israel.
“The Palestinian Authority follows with concerns the moves and actions Israel is taking in the region. It ignores the issues of a people: half of them are under the Israeli occupation and the other half live in refugee camps and the Diaspora,” Ishtaye said.
Israel’s attempts to disregard the rights of the Palestinian people, expand settlements, erect checkpoints, and kill, arrest and destroy opportunities for peace have made the Palestinians more determined to confront it, he noted.
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Speaking of the Arab normalization with Israel, the Palestinian prime minister said such normalization “without ending the Israel occupation is an illusion, a mirage and a free reward for Israel.”
“The Palestinian people can thwart all plans aimed at undermining their right to independence, sovereignty, and freedom,” he added.
The two-day conference starting on Sunday marks the first time Israel has hosted a meeting with Arab foreign ministers.
The Israeli public radio reported that the six officials would discuss the formation of a regional defense alliance to deal with Iranian drone attacks and other threats.
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