PLO official lauds EU settlement ban as positive move for peace

Hanan Ashrawi welcomes European Union decision labeling it "effective policy" says Israeli gov't focusing on settlements, not peace.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
PLO Executive C'tee member Hanan Ashrawi 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS)
PLO Executive C'tee member Hanan Ashrawi 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS)
PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi on Sunday welcomed the EU directive banning dealings with Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, calling the decision a move that would increasing the likelihood of peace in the region.
“The EU has moved from the level of statements, declarations and denunciations to effective policy decisions and concrete steps which constitute a qualitative shift that will have a positive impact on the chances of peace," Ashrawi said in a statement. 
In a meeting with British officials also on Sunday, Ashrawi asserted that the Israeli government was placing priority on settlements and not on peace.
She continued to called for Israel to return to the pre-1967 lines, cease settlement activities and recognize east Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.
"The agreed terms of reference – United Nations resolutions 242 and 338 and the land for peace equation, as well as signed agreements and international law – must be respected and upheld," Ashrawi stated.
The Palestinian leader said Israel "holds the key to peace; it can either pursue the path of impunity, entitlement, and oppression, or it can relinquish the territories it occupie[d] in 1967 and join the global community as an equal and not as a rogue state.”