Erekat: "Israel’s Closure of the Orient House in East Jerusalem an Illegal Act of Piracy"
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- Published on Wednesday, 01 August 2012 16:31
PNN
On Wednesday 1st August, the Negotiations Affairs Department in the Palestine Liberation Organization(PLO) said in a press release that the Chief Palestinian negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat condmned Israel's renewed closure of the Orient House, the primary Palestinian institution in Occupied East Jerusalem.
Erekat described the closure as an "act of piracy" and reaffirmed that all "such illegal Israeli measures are considered null and void by the international community."
According to the press release, Mr. Erekat sent a letter to Foreign Representatives in Palestine saying that Israel was violating international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, including UNSC 1515 by continuing to close Palestinian institutions in occupied East Jerusalem, particularly the Orient House.
Erekat said that Israel's decision to renew the closure of this institution, means that Israel directly violates the said resolution endorsed the Roadmap, which considered the opening of these institutions an Israeli obligation.
It is worth mentioning that the Orient House, which functions as an umbrella institution for most of the civil institutions in Occupied East Jerusalem, was first closed by the Israeli Public Security Minister Hanegbi in 2003. The Israeli military subsequently confiscated Orient House records, including maps and Palestinian land titles to property in West Jerusalem.
