RIYADH: Gulf Cooperation Council ministers on Thursday affirmed their position for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, amid increasing illegal occupation by Israeli settlers of Palestinian territories.
In a statement issued at the close of its 57th session in the Saudi capital, the GCC Ministerial Council condemned Israel's continued construction of settlement units in the occupied Palestinian territories, “in clear violation of international legitimacy resolutions, including UN Security Council Resolution No. 2334.”
KHAN YOUNIS: Israel closed the main commercial crossing in the Gaza Strip, effectively banning exports from the coastal territory after saying it had uncovered explosives in a shipment of clothes to the occupied West Bank. Gaza’s fishermen, with their perishable exports, were among the first to feel the pain.
The new restrictions choke off the territory’s already ailing economy. They come on top of the punishing 16-year blockade that Israel and Egypt have maintained since the Islamic militant group Hamas seized control of the enclave in 2007.