Ashrawi Welcomes Global Call by International Women Leaders Against Israeli Annexation

Ramallah, MINA – The Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Hanan Ashrawi, welcomed today the global call by international women leaders against Israeli annexation plan of occupied Palestinian territory, WAFA reported.

“We welcome the letter signed by over 40 international women leaders in response to an appeal by Palestinian women for action to stop annexation and end the occupation. These principled voices of reason provide hope in such dark times and reaffirm women’s leading role in advancing peace, justice, and freedom. This letter highlights the power and global reach of our inter-sectional and joint struggle as women for these universal values in Palestine and around the world,” said Ashrawi in a statement.

“Israel’s colonial project in Palestine is a threat to the international rules-based order and Palestine. In particular, it will have a devastating effect on Palestinian women’s rights and lives. Stopping annexation and ending the occupation is a moral imperative of all human rights and women’s rights defenders. This letter reflects commitment to our shared values,” she added.

“Like women activists worldwide, Palestinian women have been at the forefront of the national Palestinian struggle for self-determination. We trust that our collective efforts and mutual solidarity will be a crucial agent of change that opposes oppression and injustice while advancing our collective struggle for equality and self-determination of women and peoples worldwide.”

The female political leaders called in their letter for the international community to exert efforts to stop the Israeli annexation of occupied West Bank land.

“Such a move would unravel half a century of efforts for peace in the region and the vision of two sovereign states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, based on the pre-1967 borders, with far-reaching consequences,” said the female leaders.

“We have received urgent appeals against annexation sent by both Palestinian and Israeli women,” said the statement, adding that the calls resonated as annexation “is an existential threat … to an already fragile global order”.

The statement is signed by former heads of state, parliamentarians, Nobel Peace Laureates and senior UN and human rights officials, including: Micheline Calmy-Rey, the former President of Switzerland; Tarja Halonen, former President of Finland; Roza Otunbayeva, former President of Kyrgyzstan; Mary Robinson, former UN Commissioner for Human Rights and former President of Ireland, and Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand.(T/R3/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)