18 organizations urge Malta’s FM to support ban on trade with Israeli settlements

VALLETTA, July 26 (YPA) – A coalition of 18 Maltese organizations has sent a letter to Maltese Foreign Minister Ian Borg, urging him to support an EU-level proposal to impose restrictions on trade linked to illegal Israeli settlements and to enact domestic legislation mirroring such a ban.

Palestinian Ambassador to Malta Fadi Hanania said Malta is obliged to support this position following its official recognition of the State of Palestine and its stance that the settlements are illegal, stressing the need to translate that recognition into concrete measures.

The letter follows Malta’s failure to support a proposal on the issue, while an EU proposal to impose trade restrictions on the settlements failed to secure the required majority during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

Malta justified its position by saying it prefers foreign policy decisions on the matter to be taken unanimously, while insisting that it would not obstruct the imposition of restrictions if other countries chose to pursue such a course.

The signatories included human rights, religious and humanitarian organizations, cultural bodies, and the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta.

Kurt Borg, head of the organization Moviment Graffitti, said Malta had recognized Palestine and described the settlements as illegal, but had failed to translate that position into concrete action.

“The government says it prefers a path that everyone knows will lead nowhere. This is a choice Malta has made amid an ongoing genocide. We are calling on the minister to make a different choice,” he added.

@E.Y.M