Tarique slams new Israeli annexation in West Bank

Expressing
unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people, BNP acting chairman Tarique
Rahman yesterday voiced deep concern over Israel's latest plans to expand
illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
In a statement on his
verified Facebook page, he warned that this move would further erase hopes for
a viable Palestinian state and push the region closer to chaos.
"I
strongly call upon the international community to condemn and put pressure on
the Israeli government for their settlement plans and ask that the
International Court of Justice not delay their verdict of a clear genocide in
Gaza by the Israeli government while Palestinians suffer even more," the
BNP leader said.
He said Bangladeshis around
the world have always stood in solidarity with their brothers and sisters in
the Palestinian Territory against violent colonial oppression and erasure, and
continue to do so proudly.
"Recent news of plans to
expand settlements in the occupied West Bank that would make any future
Palestinian state virtually impossible is heartbreaking," Tarique said.
He said the continued
apartheid and attack on the people of Palestine, their culture, their land,
their history by Benjamin Netanyahu is no less than genocide and planned ethnic
cleansing of Palestinians. "It is abhorrent."
The BNP leader also voiced
concern for the safety of millions of Bangladeshis living and working in the
Middle East and Gulf regions.
"Many Bangladeshis live
and work within the Middle East and Gulf region. I am deeply concerned for them
and their families' safety and security because of how this Israeli government
is pushing the entire region towards an abyss," he said.
Israel last month approved a
new illegal settlement just east of Jerusalem, known as E1, a key area that the
international community says, if implemented, would jeopardise a future
Palestinian state.
The move will nearly bisect
the West Bank, and according to Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel
Smotrich "bury the idea of a Palestinian state".















