Shtayyeh: We will provide the ICC with all the data to expedite the investigations
Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh called on the new US administration to translate its words into action and to work seriously to curb settlement expansion.
Jerusalem24 – In his speech at the start of the cabinet session, today, Tuesday, the Prime Minister said, “In addition to our confrontation with the deadly Corona virus, we are facing an escalation in the settlement virus, which is trying to undermine international efforts to preserve the chances of establishing a Palestinian state, as settlement has become an electoral card in the midst of the electoral debate between Various Israeli parties in the upcoming elections on the twenty-third of this month.
He condemned the intention of the occupation authorities to evict the Jerusalemite families, the original residents of the city, from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, for the benefit of the settlers, and called for international human rights organizations to urgently intervene to stop the eviction of citizens from their homes, and called on the countries of the world to condemn these plans and compel Israel to stop them immediately.
On the other hand, the decision of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into the Israeli crimes committed against our people, the Prime Minister welcomed the decision and praised its courage to open the investigation despite the challenges that preceded and followed its announcement.
Shtayyeh added that the public prosecutor’s decision reflects her belief in the values of justice and fairness that the court was established in order to implement, just as the decision affirms that the hand of justice will reach the perpetrators of crimes and hold them accountable, and that no one will escape punishment and that crimes are not subject to the statute of limitations.
He stressed that we will cooperate with the court and provide it with all data that would help speed up investigations to bring the perpetrators of crimes to justice.
About Corona, the Prime Minister indicated that the third wave of the Corona pandemic continues to affect our Palestinian society, and hospital occupancy rates in some areas have reached more than 100 percent, taking into account that many hospitals and medical centers have opened since the Corona pandemic, he added. In addition to that, the centers specialized in Corona disease, the occupancy rates of intensive care units also exceed 100 percent, despite the doubling of the number of units since the start of the pandemic.
The Prime Minister said: In light of the global supply chains for vaccines delaying their deadlines due to competition from countries and their attempt to acquire vaccines, and about 75% of the vaccines are concentrated in ten rich countries, while 130 countries have not received a dose of the vaccine according to UN reports, “the only available weapon is between Our hands today are the masks and the physical distancing, so by adhering to this, we protect ourselves and our society from the risks of infection with the new strains of the virus.”
He called on friendly countries, vaccine-producing companies, and the global Kovacs Group to fulfill their obligations and work to supply the vaccines that we were promised to receive as donations or those that we paid for and whose supply dates were delayed so that we can provide a safe environment for the legislative elections scheduled to take place on the twenty-second of next May.
The Prime Minister confirmed that he will head the crisis cell meeting on vaccinations tomorrow, Wednesday, in order for these international bodies to fulfill the obligations they have made towards us.
