Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) official Saeb Erekat said on Wednesday that the Israeli Knesset’s passing of the “Nationality Bill” “denies Palestinian citizens their rights to self-determination to instead be determined by the Jewish population.” Erekat said that the passing is “a dangerous, racist law par excellence.”
Erekat added that “The ‘Jewish Nation-State Bill’ officially legalizes apartheid and legally defines Israel as an apartheid system.”
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah also condemned passing of the law saying that it “strips Arabic of its designation as an official language, downgrading it to a ‘special status.'”
“The Israeli Apartheid law speaks of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the Occupying Power, which clearly encourages colonial activities in the occupied lands,” a statement by the PM’s office said.
The statement added that this violates all international laws, signed agreements and United Nations (UN) resolutions guarding the Palestinian rights.
“This is the last nail in the coffin of the two-state solution.”
“Palestinians will be stripped from their political, legal and cultural recognition in their own land,”
Hamdallah said, as the law will affect 1.8 Million Palestinians holding an Israeli citizenship, 2.8 Million Palestinians living in the West Bank, surrounded by 700,000 Israeli settlers, and 1.9 Million Palestinians living under Israeli military blockade in the Gaza Strip.
Hamdallah called upon the international community to act quickly, stop this apartheid law, and hold Israel accountable for legalizing its crimes against humanity, saying that “Israel, the Occupying Power is threatening all international and humanitarian values, principles, and laws of security and peace.”
[source: Maan news]
