Tunisian President emphasises importance of Palestinian state

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said on Sunday that an Arab League summit being held in Tunis needed to send a message on the importance of establishing a Palestinian state.

Regional and international stability should come through “a just and comprehensive settlement that includes the rights of the Palestinian people and leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” Essebsi said.

The Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory (the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip) is currently in its fifth decade.

In contravention of international law, Israel continues to expand settlements and use draconian restrictions on the movement of Palestinians with some 600 roadblocks and checkpoints.

Arab leaders at the summit alsounited to condemn a U.S. move to recognise Israel's sovereignty over the Syrian Golan Heights, saying that stability in the Middle East hinged on creating a Palestinian state.

This comes after President Donald Trump's signed a proclamation last week recognising the Golan Heights as part of Israel, which annexed the area in 1981 after capturing it from Syria in 1967.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who addressed the meeting in Tunis, said any resolution to the Syrian conflict must guarantee the territorial integrity of Syria “including the occupied Golan Heights“.

(CGTN)