PLO: ‘Cleansing’ Arab region of Daesh begins with ending Israeli occupation

The secretary of the PLO Executive Committee, Saeb Erekat, said on Sunday that the project of “cleansing” the Arab region from the stain of Daseh must begin by putting an end to the Israeli occupation, Anadolu reported.

After speaking with the Egyptian foreign minister and head of the Arab League regarding the latest situation in the Palestinian territories, Erekat told a press conference that: “Israel alone is to blame for the continuous aggression in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip.”

“Israel’s crimes [against Palestinians] begin with the burning of children and babies sleeping in their homes in the West Bank and end with opening fire on Palestinian farmers and protecting settlers attacking Palestinians.”

Erekat said that he asked the head of the Arab League Nabil Al-Arabi to activate the Arab Committee, which was formed during the last Arab League meeting and assigned to follow up international moves in support of Palestine’s statehood efforts at the UN Security Council.

“We handed over five files, including videos and pictures to the US Secretary of State John Kerry,” the PLO official confirmed. “They document all recent crimes committed against the Palestinians. We asked him to update the international community regarding the real image on the ground.”

He continued: “Israel commits war crimes as it faces unarmed victims defending themselves from an occupation, and uses all barbaric acts including field executions, collective punishment, ethnic cleansing and the expropriation of land to build settlements.”