The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States vehemently denounces the heinous crimes and terrorist attacks perpetrated by settler militias on 22 June 2023 against Palestinian villages in the West Bank, notably in Beitin Turmusaya, Hawara, Burqa, Al-Luban Al-Sharqiya, Al-Luban Al-Gharbiya, Al-Sawiya, Yasuf, Duma, Deir Sharaf, and other Palestinian cities. These despicable acts, which entailed the discharge of live ammunition, arson of homes and vehicles, resulted in numerous injuries and extensive property damage, all transpiring under the watchful eyes of the Israeli occupation forces.
The General Secretariat strongly condemns the aggressive and criminal escalation of colonial settler gangs, which represents a continuation of their previous crimes, such as the burning of the town of Hawara, carried out under the auspices and support of the extreme right-wing Netanyahu government. This escalation reflects a systematic policy of intimidation, criminality, and displacement, aimed at subjugating the Palestinian people and intensifying past Israeli policies of settlement expansion, exemplified by the recent approval of constructing a thousand new settlement units.
Consequently, the General Secretariat holds the Israeli government fully accountable for these systematic, grave, and atrocious crimes, along with their regional and international repercussions. These actions impede any international or regional efforts to resolve the crisis situation and find a political path that would lead to the resumption of peace talks, revitalising the prospects for a two-state solution. The General Secretariat urges immediate action to prevent the situation from deteriorating further, emphasising the importance of finding a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue before it becomes too late.
The General Secretariat calls upon the international community, particularly the Security Council, to assume its political, legal, and moral obligations towards the Palestinian people by compelling the Israeli government to put an immediate halt to these ongoing and grave crimes, including providing international protection for the Palestinian people and ensuring that the perpetrators are held accountable before international courts. The General Secretariat stresses the importance of the international community's intervention to put an end to this injustice, which has persisted for far too long, and to safeguard the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people. The General Secretariat urges all parties to abide by international law and relevant UN resolutions, to refrain from any actions that could further escalate the situation and to work towards finding a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue.
