TEL AVIV – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will in the coming months exert pressure on the international community to take actions against Israel, a senior adviser to Abbas said on Tuesday.
According to diplomatic affairs adviser Majdi al-Khalidi, Abbas’ address to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday was just the beginning of a new diplomatic initiative to place the Palestinian issue on the forefront of the international agenda, the Hebrew news site nrg reported.
“There cannot be any discussions regarding human rights without condemning the dark Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people and the holy [Muslim] sites,” al-Khalidi was quoted as telling Palestinian media outlets.
Al-Khalidi said that the PA president’s address received widespread support among foreign ministers from various states as well as the heads of human rights organizations.
He added that the time has come for the recent “UN Security Council resolution [against settlements] to be implemented against the Israeli occupying state which sees itself above international law, using its army to operate in the most arrogant and racist manner, scorning the world.”
In his address Monday, Abbas accused Israel of moving toward an “apartheid solution” to the conflict. He also warned against the transfer of embassies to Jerusalem, a direct jab at President Donald Trump who during his campaign promised to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to the country’s capital.
“Palestine will remain the litmus test for this council … and whether it succeeds or not, will be crucial for the credibility of the human rights system throughout the world,” Abbas told the UNHRC according to a translation by Al Jazeera.
Last week, Politico reported the Trump administration has been considering pulling the U.S. out of the Human Rights Council over anti-Israel bias at the international organization.
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