Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit vehemently condemned the Israeli cabinet decisions to withdraw the powers of the Palestinian Authority in Area B, punish some Authority officials by restricting their movement, and launch Israeli settlement construction in various areas of the West Bank. He stated that these decisions represent a complete and final overturn of the Oslo Accords, reverting the situation to a pre-agreement state and reinforcing a blatant occupation.
Gamal Roshdy, the spokesman for the Secretary-General, stated that Mr. Aboul Gheit called on the international community to recognise the Israeli government as a right-wing, racist administration uninterested in peace. He emphasised that the government seeks to dismantle any semblance of the Palestinian Authority, solidify the occupation throughout the West Bank, and eliminate any Palestinian control over their lives, including in Area B, which, according to the Oslo Accords, is under Palestinian civilian control.
The spokesman explained that the recent decisions reflect the Israeli government’s complete submission to the extreme right, represented by the Minister of Finance. These decisions aim to embarrass and insult the international community, which has shown a trend towards expanding recognition of the Palestinian state, by undermining all components of the two-state solution. He stressed that such actions further inflame the situation in the West Bank, turn back the situation to before the Oslo Accords, and seek to subjugate the Palestinians under a direct occupation regime that can only be described as apartheid.
