Secretary of the Arab States’ League, Mr. Ahmad Abuelgheit, expressed his concern, on Monday, over what he described as Israeli schemes to annex more Palestinian lands to Israeli boundaries, for the purpose of illegal settlement construction.
The high-ranking Arab official sent out letters to a number of key international players, including the United Nations’ (UN) Secretary-General, US Secretary of State, the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Britain, China and Germany, as well as the Foreign Policy Representative of the European Union (EU), expressing his alarm over those reported plans.
Abuelgheit, who is on top of the 22-member-state league, wrote that the Israeli government and some other Israeli leaders are apparently exploiting current international engagement in the fight against Coronavirus, by intensifying illegal settlement construction on occupied Palestinian territories and thus creating new facts on the ground, especially in the internationally-recognized occupied East Jerusalem.
In his message, the Arab official noted that the Israeli government of Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is going ahead with some annexation schemes, pertaining to the Jordan valley, mainly the Alghour area.
He also pointed out the current Palestinian economic difficulties that will constrain the Palestinian government’s efforts to fight the Coronavirus pandemic.
Mr. Secretary called on all relevant international bodies to exert greater efforts to prevent the region from slipping into a dangerous situation, with Coronavirus threatening Palestinian refugee camps, inside and outside of the Palestinian territories.
