BRUSSELS, Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh today called on the European Union (EU) to pressure Israel to stop its violations and its displacement and expulsion plans against the Palestinian people.

The call came during his meeting in Brussels with the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

During the meeting, Shtayyeh briefed the EU official on the latest political developments in Palestine, as well as the Israeli violations against the Palestinian people.

Shtayyeh also briefed Borrell on the situation in Jerusalem and the Israeli violations against it, in addition to settlers’ repeated storming of al-Aqsa Mosque, urging the EU to pressure Israel to stop these measures.

The prime minister further highlighted the importance of preserving the historical existing status of the al-Aqsa Mosque.

He called on the EU to pressure Israel to stop the displacement plans against the Palestinian people, the latest of which was the Israeli Supreme Court’s rejection of the petition submitted by the residents of the “Masafer Yatta” area in southern Hebron to stop the occupation government’s decision to demolish 12 villages and Bedouin communities, which is home to around 4000 people.

Shtayyeh as well discussed with Borrell the financial situation and the crisis that the government is facing as a result of the decline in foreign aid and the ongoing unjust Israeli deductions from Palestinian tax revenues.

He called on the EU to accelerate the provision of financial support to Palestine and put pressure on Israel to release the withheld funds and stop all forms of financial deductions from the Palestinian tax revenues.

Shtayyeh also stressed the importance of reviving the peace process in light of the absence of a political horizon and working towards protecting the two-state solution.

Source: Palestine News Agency