Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh today hailed the decision of Saudi Arabia to appoint Ambassador Nayef al-Sudairi as non-resident ambassador to Palestine and as consul general in Jerusalem stressing its political significance.
Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting held in Ramallah, Shtayyeh said this step bears significant political meanings and implications in facing the Israeli occupation measures.
Al-Sudairi submitted on Saturday at the Palestine embassy in the Jordanian capital, Amman, his credentials as non-resident ambassador to Palestine and as the Kingdom’s consul general in Jerusalem to Majdi al-Khalidi, Diplomatic Advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas. Saudi Arabia operated a consulate general in Jerusalem’s Sheik Jarrah neighborhood since 1947 but was closed after the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Shtayyeh also hailed the Australian government’s announcement last week that it will resume calling the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip as Occupied Palestinian Territories, and that the Israeli settlements are illegal according to international law, stressing that this important Australian government step is consistent with international law and United Nations resolutions.
He said he looks forward to Australia’s recognition of the State of Palestine.
Shtayyeh also hailed the position of more than 200 organizations in North America, including institutions, unions and churches, under the title “A Society Free of Apartheid”, opposed to the ongoing crimes of the Israeli occupation authorities against the Palestinian people.
He also welcomed the launch of more than 1,200 international academics and figures of a petition opposed to the Israeli apartheid regime, which resulted from the long and illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, calling for re-activating the Special Committee against Apartheid in the United Nations.
Source: WAFA
