Palestine Blasts US for Softening Language on Israeli occupation

• 03.14.2019, 14:31
•  America,  Near East,  World

Palestine has blasted the United States for omitting the term “occupation” in describing the Israeli-occupied Palestinian and Syrian territories, saying the “hostile” move will not change the established reality.

Palestine has blasted the United States for omitting the term “occupation” in describing the Israeli-occupied Palestinian and Syrian territories, saying the “hostile” move will not change the established reality.

In an annual global “human rights” report released on Wednesday, the State Department ceased to refer to the West Bank, Gaza Strip and the Syrian Golan Heights as “occupied” and called the latter territory “Israeli-controlled”, Iran Daily reported.

Reacting to the report, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said on Wednesday that “these American titles will not change the fact that the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 and the occupied Arab Golan are territories under Israeli occupation in accordance with UN resolutions and international law.”

The Palestinian official further said that the US move to drop the term “occupation” in reference to Palestinian territories was part of Washington’s efforts “to allow what is called ‘the deal of the century’ to liquidate the Palestinian people to come to pass.”