Arab League official says Israel is ‘abnormal’ state

CAIRO – Anadolu Agency

AP photo

The Arab League’s assistant secretary-general for Palestinian affairs, Mohamed Sobeih, has branded Israel as an “abnormal” state, saying the pan-Arab body was seeking to issue a resolution from the U.N. Security Council to end the decades-long Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Sobeih said Arab League members were holding consultations with a view to issuing a U.N. resolution to end the Israeli occupation and halt settlement activities.

“The Arab League will go to the U.N. Security Council this time in order to [prevent] Israel from evading its obligations,” he said.

Describing Israel as an “abnormal” state, Sobeih said the Arab League does not trust the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.      

“Israel is neither compatible with the two-state solution nor international law,” he said. “Israel is moving on a dangerous path to its own demise.”

Peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators ground to a halt last year. 

In December, the Palestinians had failed to win support for a bid to issue a U.N. Security Council resolution for setting a two-year deadline for ending the Israeli occupation of their lands.

Meanwhile, Sobeih also said Israeli settlers had committed 11,000 assaults against the Palestinians since 2004.

In recent weeks, a Palestinian baby was burned to death in an arson attack by settlers near the West Bank city of Nablus. The baby’s father died a few days later of wounds he sustained in the attack.