Sixty United Nations experts on Tuesday (June 16th) called on the international community to oppose the Israeli plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.
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"The international community has the solemn legal and political responsibility to defend a rules-based international order, to oppose violations of human rights and fundamental principles of international law , " said the experts in a statement.
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“States have a duty not to recognize, aid or assist another State in any illegal activity whatsoever, such as the annexation or the creation of civilian settlements in occupied territory. The lessons of the past are clear: if not acted upon, criticism will neither prevent annexation nor end the occupation, ” they warn. The signatories are UN experts appointed by its Human Rights Council, whose 43rd session is currently meeting in Geneva.
UN laments the behavior of the United States
Among them Michael Lynk and Tomas Ojea Quintana, respectively special rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Palestine and North Korea. Israel to unveil July 1 strategy for US administration plan for the Middle East, which includes the annexation by the Hebrew state of its settlements and the Jordan Valley to the West Bank, the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 The Palestinians reject this plan, which also provides for the creation of a state on fragmented territory without East Jerusalem as its capital, contrary to what they wish.
UN experts say they regret "the role of the United States in supporting and encouraging Israel's illegal projects" in this matter. Washington "should vigorously oppose an imminent attack on a fundamental principle of international law rather than participate in its violation," they concluded.
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