RAMALLAH, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riyad al-Maliki, called today upon Ireland to press the occupying state of Israel to allow Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem to participate in the upcoming Palestinian elections, as well as to allow the entry of international observers to Palestine.

His call came in a phone call with his Irish counterpart Simon Coveney which discussed the importance of holding the Palestinian national elections in all of the Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

“The test before us is the legal status of Jerusalem which is unnegotiable, as set forth by international law which considers it [Jerusalem] an occupied territory and [which we consider as] the eternal capital of the State of Palestine,” said al-Maliki.

He stressed that “the decision to hold elections is an irreversible Palestinian decision, consistent with the Palestinian consensus on the importance of holding them and their necessity this time, but on the condition that they take place in East Jerusalem.”

Coveney brief al-Maliki of the ongoing efforts by all actors, including the European Union, to press Israel to abide by its commitments under signed agreements concerning the Palestinian elections.

Both ministers also discussed the situation in Palestine in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts made to provide vaccines to the Palestinian people.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency