Amnesty: US legitimization of illegal settlements will not change the law which is crystal clear
Occupied Palestine (QNN)- In a statement issued on Monday to respond to the US announcement which legitimizes Israeli illegal settlements, Amnesty International described the move as being an announcement to the rest of the world that the U.S. and Israel are above the law.
““Today, the United States government announced to the rest of the world that it believes the U.S. and Israel are above the law: that Israel can continue to violate international law and Palestinians’ human rights and the U.S. will firmly support it in doing so”, stated Amnesty International USA’s advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Philippe Nassif.
The statement stated that the efforts of the United States to legitimize Israeli settlements will not change the fact that they are illegal under the international law and constructing them amounts to war crimes.
“Today’s announcement does not and will not change the law which is crystal clear: the construction and maintenance of settlements in the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, breaches international law and amounts to war crimes”, the statement said.
“The U.S. announcement not only goes against the international consensus on the illegality of Israeli settlements but also goes against the U.S.’s legal obligation to respect and ensure respect for the Geneva Conventions”, it added.
Amnesty International pledged to “work hard to ensure that international law and human rights are respected, protected, and those perpetrating violations will be held to account”.
The human rights organization called on the occupation state to immediately cease all settlement activity as a first step to dismantling all Israeli settlements and related infrastructure.
