Erekat: Jewish settlers' provocations at al-Aqsa undermine peace

Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat urged Wednesday putting an end to Jewish settlers' provocative acts at Al-Aqsa Mosque, which "could ignite the situation and undermine the prospects of peace in the region." The International Quartet must take full necessary measures to force Israel into preventing the evection of Palestinians from their homes, the demolition of their homes excavation works in the Old City of Jerusalem, he urged. Erekat, the Palestinian chief peace negotiator, made the appeal in identical letters to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and EU High Representative Catherine Ashton. He added that Israel's continuation of excavations and drillings in the Old City threatens safety and sacredness of the holy shrine as it also a violation to the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the destruction of property, and orders the occupying power to ensure basic services to people under its control. The Israeli systematic and provocative acts threatens any prospect for making a peaceful settlement that are based on negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, Erekat pointed out, adding that they are also destructive in these times, during which each side seeks to engage into a negotiation process in order to reach an agreement to the final solution.