Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh today stated that the most formidable challenge is how to preserve the two-state solution in light of its systematic destruction at the hands of Israel. The biggest challenge is how to preserve the two-state solution in light of the systematic destruction carried out by Israel, as the number of settlers in the West Bank has reached 751,000 living in more than 285 colonial settlements, which poses the real threat to the two-state solution, Prime Minister Shtayyeh stated while expressing his confidence that the Netherlands stands with the law and condemns colonial settlements. He made his remarks during a ceremony marking the King’s Day (Koningsdag) in the presence of the Netherlands Representative to Palestine, Michel Rentenaar along with a host of ministers, ambassadors and consuls at the Dutch Representative Office in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Premier Shtayyeh pointed that not only is Israel expanding its colonial settlements, but also it also continues to systematically destroy the two-state solution, besiege the Gaza Strip, construct the apartheid wall around Jerusalem, and further fragment the territorial contiguity of the West Bank and, thus, seriously undermining the prospects for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Stressing the importance of bilateral relations with the Netherlands, directly and through Europe as well, the Premier noted that the Netherlands has played an important role in making Palestine a member of the Euro-Mediterranean neighborhood and strengthening direct bilateral relations through offering political support for the two-state solution as well as financial and technical support, while expressing hope for more progress and bilateral cooperation. Commenting on Israel’s new far-right government, deemed the most racist and fundamentalist ever, he said that the Israeli government is not only extremist, but also a criminal government, since it has cold-bloodedly killed over 110 Palestinians since the beginning of 2023, the latest victim was Khader Adnan, who died following the occupation authorities refusal to release him and due to deliberate medical negligence. He extended congratulations to the Dutch King, King Willem-Alexander, on the occasion of the National Day, on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas as well as the Palestinian government and people, while voicing hope that the King’s Day would be celebrated next year in Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Palestine. He concluded by expressing his hope that the international community and friends of Palestine would halt all the crimes of this extremist Israeli government and guarantee that international law is indivisible and must be applied here like anywhere in the world.

Source: Palestine News & Information Agency (WAFA)