Father Atallah Hanna ha strongly denounced the Israeli court decision to banish Human Rights Watch (HRW) representative Omar Shaker from Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, describing the step as “politically motivated and arbitrary par excellence.”
In press remarks on Thursday, Father Hanna, Archbishop of the Palestinian Orthodox Church in Occupied Jerusalem, said that such Israeli step reflected the Israeli occupation authority’s “racist approach and its contempt for international and humanitarian laws and norms.”
“This decision against a personage defending undeniable Palestinian rights shows again the occupation authority’s hostility towards international and local human rights groups, especially when they make clear positions supporting the Palestinian people and condemning the occupation and its policies,” the Archbishop said.
He also said that the decision was not fair as other similar arbitrary decisions taken against figures supporting the Palestinian cause, stressing that need for serious international action against the occupation in this regard.
The Christian cleric urged HRW to continue its great role in monitoring and exposing human rights violations, especially the crimes that have been perpetrated for decades against the Palestinian people, their land and holy sites.
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