Palestinian PM Urges Int'l Recognition of Palestine

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh gestures during an interview with Reuters in his office in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh gestures during an interview with Reuters in his office in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
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Palestinian PM Urges Int'l Recognition of Palestine

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh gestures during an interview with Reuters in his office in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh gestures during an interview with Reuters in his office in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh has urged the international community to recognize the Palestinian state and to put an end to Israel's annexation plans.

His statement was made during the meeting of Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee for Palestine, which was attended by more than 40 states and international institutions, including European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell.

The PM said: “The issue of annexation is no more an issue of announcement. Implementation measures have already started on the ground.”

“Israel started to send electricity and water bills to our villages in the Jordan Valley.”

The Israeli move is “in contravention of international law” and would “undermine peace and security in the region”, he said, adding that “annexation, if implemented, will be a grave violation of international law, UN resolutions, and the bilateral agreements we signed with Israel.”

The plans of annexation are in full harmony with the peace plan presented by the US, he said.

“Israel is not committed to the agreements that have been signed with us. Consequently, the Palestinian leadership has decided that we are no more bound to these agreements,” Shtayyeh stated.

He also called the meeting’s attendees to recognize the state of Palestine based on the borders of 1967 with Jerusalem as the capital, stressing that this state should be viable, sovereign and independent.



Trump’s Middle East Envoy Says Progress Being Made on Israeli Hostages in Gaza

Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump’s Middle East Envoy Says Progress Being Made on Israeli Hostages in Gaza

Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)

President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday he hopes to have good things to report about Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza by the time Trump is sworn in as president on Jan. 20.

Witkoff, at a press conference held by Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, said: "I'm really hopeful that by the inaugural we'll have some good things to announce on behalf of the President."

Republican Trump said of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas in the Oct. 7 2024 attack on Israel: "If the hostages are not back by the time I'm in office, all hell will break out in the Middle East, and it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone."