H. E. Sr. Nabil Fahmy warns of the dangers posed by Israeli plans in Negev and Galilee and the targeting of Arab citizens’ rights

His Excellency Mr Nabil Fahmy, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, expressed grave concern over the statements and plans announced by Israel’s far-right Finance Minister concerning the expansion of new Jewish communities in the Negev and Galilee and increasing their Jewish populations, alongside measures affecting the status of Arab towns and the powers of planning and land authorities.

The Secretary-General said that the discriminatory elements of these plans, based on identity and national affiliation, reflect a dangerous escalation of racist tendencies within Israeli society and reinforce a pattern of discrimination and exclusion at the expense of the principles of equality and the rights of Arab citizens.

He warned of the grave social and political consequences of institutionalising such tendencies and turning them into public policy.

H E Mr Fahmy noted that these developments form part of a broader set of Israeli policies aimed at imposing new realities on the ground, foremost among them settlement expansion and the erosion of the foundations for Palestinian statehood.

Such policies, he stressed, run counter to international law and undermine prospects for a just and lasting political settlement.

He affirmed the need for the international community to fulfil its responsibilities in addressing these policies and preserving the conditions necessary for the establishment of an independent Palestinian State along the 4 June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, stressing that the two-State solution remains the path to security, stability and lasting peace in the region.