Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Secretary-General Saeb Erekat
The Palestinian Authority (PA) will “gradually” sever ties with Israel in line with a decision adopted late Monday by the Palestinian Central Council (PCC), according to Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Secretary-General Saeb Erekat.
Erekat told the Voice of Palestine radio station on Tuesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas planned to convene a meeting later Tuesday of the Higher National Committee, which is tasked with implementing decisions adopted by the PCC.
“The National Committee consists of members of the PLO’s Executive Committee and Fatah’s Central Committee, along with government and security officials,” he explained.
“The committee will begin implementing this decision [to cut ties with Israel] gradually… and in all areas,” Erekat added.
On Monday, the PCC (which functions as part of the PLO) announced that it would suspend recognition of Israel until the latter officially recognized a state of Palestine based on pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Following a two-day meeting in Ramallah (the Palestinian government’s administrative capital), the PCC announced that both the PLO and the PA also planned to end security coordination with Israel while also suspending economic agreements made within the context of the 1994 Paris Economic Protocol.
The Israeli army has launched a criminal investigation into the killing of Palestinian medic Razan al-Najjar during anti-occupation protests in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media on Tuesday.Al-Najjar was shot in the chest by Israeli snipers last June while running to help a wounded Palestinian in the southern city of Khan Younis.A preliminary probe by the Israeli army concluded that Israeli soldiers did not fire directly at the Palestinian medic.But the findings were rejected by the army’s Military Advocate General, Brigadier-General Sharon Afek, who ordered a criminal investigation into the killing, according to Israeli daily Haaretz.Israelis vote in local polls, amid Palestinian boycottFor the last seven months, Palestinians in Gaza have been staging regular demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone to demand the right to return to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948.They also demand an end to Israel’s 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.Since the rallies began on March 30, more than 200 Palestinians have been martyred-- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli troops deployed along the other side of the buffer zone.Video: ‘Angel of mercy’ Razan al-Najjar becomes symbol of Palestinian resistanceIsrael arrests 12 Palestinians in West Bank raidsIsrael martyrs Palestinian amid protests in GazaPLO suspends recognition of Israel
Israel orders criminal probe into Gaza medic’s death
Israeli voters went to polling stations on Tuesday in the country’s municipal election, amid a boycott by Palestinian residents.Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. local time and will close at 10 p.m. local time.More than 6.6 million Israelis are eligible to cast their ballot in the vote.According to the Israeli Interior Ministry, around 11,000 polling stations have opened in 251 municipalities across Israel for the vote.Druze on Golan Heights protest against Israeli municipal electionA total of 863 candidates are vying for some 251 city, town and regional councils nationwide during the vote.Local elections are held every four years in Israel amid partisan rivalries.Like every year, attention is drawn to the Israeli-occupied city of East Jerusalem, where the vast majority of Palestinians boycott the vote since Israel captured the city during the 1967 Middle East war.Palestinians, who are considered as "permanent residents" under Israeli law, are entitled to cast ballot, but not to run in the vote.Israel arrests 12 Palestinians in West Bank raidsAccording to Israeli official figures, Palestinians make up around 40% of Jerusalem's population in its both eastern and western parts.In the recent weeks, Palestinian religious figures have urged Palestinian residents in Jerusalem to boycott the vote.The Palestinians view the participation in the Israeli election as an endorsement of the Israeli occupation of the holy city.Meanwhile, hundreds of Druze Arabs in the village of Majdal Shams in Israel-occupied Syrian Golan Heights demonstrated against the Israeli polls.The municipal polls in the village have been already cancelled after all candidates withdrew from the vote.Israel martyrs Palestinian amid protests in GazaPLO suspends recognition of Israel
Israelis vote in local polls amid Palestinian boycott