Abbas to Award Khalaf with Palestinian Highest Medal

PALESTINE - ISRAEL, 3 Apr 2017

Middle East Monitor – TRANSCEND Media Service

UN Under-Secretary General and ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf on March 15, 2017
[Ratib Al Safadi / Anadolu Agency]

President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday [18 Mar 2017] said he would award the highest Palestinian medal to former UN official Rima Khalaf for her courageous stand for Palestinians, local media reported.

Abbas informed Khalaf about his decision in a telephone conversation in which he congratulated her for standing for humanity, true values and loyalty to international law, state news agency Wafa reported.

Rights group: UN pressured to withdraw report saying Israel ‘apartheid’ state

Khalaf resigned Friday from her post as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Western Asia (ESCWA) after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres forced her to withdraw a report that accused Israel of operating an “apartheid” regime.

Abbas said Palestinians appreciated Khalaf’s humanitarian and national stances as she refused to cover up crimes committed by the Israeli occupying authority against the Palestinian people.

The ESCWA report released Wednesday said Israel “established an apartheid regime that dominates the Palestinian people as a whole” and that there was “overwhelming evidence” Israel had committed the “crime of apartheid”.

On the same day of the report’s release, Khalaf said the “ignorance of the international community” in recent decades had “encouraged Israel to continue its abuses of international law”.

The ESCWA report was prepared by Richard Falk, an international law expert and former UN human rights rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories and, Virginia Tilley, a political science professor and Israeli affairs expert.

Established in 1973 to promote economic and social development among member states, ESCWA is currently comprised of 18 Arab nations.

Download the full UN ESCWA report

Go to Original – middleeastmonitor.com

Join the BDS-BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, SANCTIONS campaign to protest the Israeli barbaric siege of Gaza, illegal occupation of the Palestine nation’s territory, the apartheid wall, its inhuman and degrading treatment of the Palestinian people, and the more than 7,000 Palestinian men, women, elderly and children arbitrarily locked up in Israeli prisons.

DON’T BUY PRODUCTS WHOSE BARCODE STARTS WITH 729, which indicates that it is produced in Israel. DO YOUR PART! MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

7 2 9: BOYCOTT FOR JUSTICE!

Share this article: email mastodon facebook 🔗 copy link

DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Comments are closed.