Arab Peace Initiative Committee Holds Israel Responsible for Settlers' Crimes

Cairo /Information Office/ 05 August 2015/ The Arab Peace Initiative Committee held the Israeli government fully responsible for the crimes committed by the Jewish settler groups against the Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank. At the end of its meeting here this eevening, the committee cited the recent burning of the home of the Palestinian Al-Dawabsha family in Doma village in the West Bank which claimed the life of a baby as an example of the repeated atrocities against the Palestinians under the cover of the Israeli government. The committee stated support to the efforts of the Palestinian government to take the file of the incident to the International Criminal Court. The Israeli government persists in its racist policy which foments hatred, extremism and terrorism in the region, the committee said in the final statement of its meeting. The committee called on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to respond positively to the request of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for setting up a special system of international protection for the Palestinian people in the occupied territories. The committee highlighted the need to designate the Jewish settler groups as terrorist groups and bring their members to trial before international criminal courts. It suggested starting consultations with key international players to develop a draft UN Security Council resolution on the crimes of the Jewish settlers against the Palestinians and the settlement expansions in the occupied territories. They welcomed the outcomes of the probes conducted by the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict and the resolution of the 29th session of the UN Human Rights Council on the Israeli violations of the international law in the occupied territories including the holy city of Jerusalem. They urged the international community to adopt whatever measures needed to prevent recurrence of the Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians, particularly the Arab residents of Jerusalem, and end the unfair blockade on Gaza Strip. On the inter-Palestinian reconciliation, the committee urged all Palestinian factions to speed up the efforts to form a national unity government that could be able to face up to the current challenges. It also called on the international donors to honor their financial commitments to the UNRWA in order to enable the UN agency meet the needs of the Palestinians in the occupied territories and the refugees in the region.