Ramzi Rabah, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, head of the Anti-Apartheid Department, recently met with the Middle East Department official.
In the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Herbert Corman”, as part of the department’s delegation’s visit to several European countries, to discuss “forming a global front against apartheid and Israeli settler colonialism.”
The meeting was attended by Frederick, responsible for the Palestine file at the Belgian Foreign Ministry, Counselor Hassan Balawi, the Consul of the Palestinian Embassy in Belgium, Director General of the Department Dr. Maher Amer, and a member of the European Palestinian Initiative Against Apartheid Dr. George Rishmawi.
A member of the Executive Committee of the PLO presented the situation in the Palestinian territories under the extremist Israeli “troika” government, which pursues a policy of annexation, ethnic cleansing and settlement strengthening in the West Bank, calling for besieging this government, and the need to expose its brutal and racist policy and practices, and link the Palestinian struggle in the face of apartheid With other means of struggle, until the occupation is defeated and its demise, and its independent state is established with Jerusalem as its capital.
Escalation of killings, arrests and land confiscation
Ramzi Rabah explained, “The racist, far-right occupation government, led by Netanyahu, continues its aggressive policy against the Palestinian people, noting that the years 2022 and 2023 were among the bloodiest years against the Palestinian people, according to the testimony of international human rights and humanitarian organizations, as killings, arrests, and land confiscation escalated, And the expansion of settlements, in addition to the demolitions and destruction of homes, the enactment of a number of racist laws in the Israeli Knesset and the Israeli courts, and the demand of this racist government to impose the death penalty on Palestinian prisoners, and other racist laws that violate international humanitarian law and human rights law.
The head of the Anti-Apartheid Department referred to “the important European role in confronting the apartheid system, by unifying the efforts of all European human rights and humanitarian institutions, in order to achieve accountability for the Israeli apartheid state.”
A member of the Executive Committee of the PLO explained, “The anti-apartheid department’s work strategy is represented by building a global front to end apartheid and settler colonialism, and to work with everyone who advocates international human rights law and Palestinian national rights.”
Problems faced by UNRWA
The head of the Anti-Apartheid Department addressed “the problems faced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), and the pressures it is exposed to from some parties to reduce its budget and reduce its services related to the needs and rights of Palestinian refugees, noting the need for European support to maintain the continuity of its provision.” Health, education and relief services.
In turn, the official of the Middle East Department at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tarbit Kormana, affirmed his government’s “continuous support for the Palestinian cause, to preserve the option of a two-state solution.” The official in the Middle East department pointed to “the importance of holding the Palestinian general elections, and improving and strengthening democratic performance in the internal issues of the Palestinian people, as they are a key to self-determination and state building for the Palestinian people.”