Iran Speaker Urges Parliamentary Action against Israeli Annexation Plan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf called on his foreign counterparts to take concerted action against the Israeli regime’s threats to annex parts of the occupied Palestinian territories.
In a message to his foreign counterparts on the occasion of June 30, the International Day of Parliamentarism, Qalibaf condemned the Zionist regime’s provocative and hostile plan for annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank.
He also called on parliaments across the world to condemn the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and keep supporting the people of Palestine.
“Parliaments are expected to play an active role against the annexation of the West Bank, because today the Palestinian nation needs support from the world’s freedom-seekers more than ever to counter the expansionist policies of the Quds-occupying regime,” Qalibaf added.
The Iranian speaker also expressed concern about the consequences of the Israeli regime’s arbitrary moves in the West Bank, stressing the need for parliaments in different countries to defy the American and Israeli decisions and employ the capacities available to maintain stability and ensure sustainable security in the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set July 1 for the start of cabinet discussions on extending “Israeli sovereignty” to Israeli settlements, illegal under international law, in the occupied West Bank and annexing outright the Jordan Valley.
The Palestinians have already threatened to cancel existing peace agreements if Netanyahu moves forward with his plan, while the European Union foreign policy chief said annexation would be a violation of international law and force the bloc to “act accordingly”. The UN's Middle East envoy said such a step would "ignite" the region.