FOREIGN MINISTRY PRAISES ADVISORY OPINION OF JUSTICE COURT, STRESSES NEED FOR ACHIEVING INDEPENDENT, SOVEREIGN and VIABLE PALESTINIAN STATE

In an issued statement on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants commended the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice on July 19th on the legal consequences arising from Israel’s settlement policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem. The Ministry considered that "this advisory opinion confirms the illegality of Israel's settlement policies and occupation of Palestinian lands, and supports the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, and the necessity of achieving an independent, sovereign, and viable Palestinian state." It therefore called on the international community and concerned countries to “take advantage of this legal basis to exert pressure on Israel to end its attacks, violations, and displacement policies, obliging it to immediately cease all settlement activities, evacuate all settlers, and end the occupation of the Palestinian territories." The Ministry added that this step would "prepare for launching a serious political path that pushes in the direction of a two-state solution based on the relevant international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative launched at the Beirut Summit in 2002." Source: National News Agency - Lebanon