PLO chief voices concern at Kenyan president’s visit to Jerusalem, Jordan Valley

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Friday 26 Feb 2016 - 14:34 Makkah mean time-17-5-1437 PLO chief Saeb Erekat Ramallah (IINA) – Secretary General of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat on Thursday expressed his concerns over Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley, WAFA reported. Erekat expressed his concerns over Kenyatta’s visit to occupied East Jerusalem and an Israeli settlement bloc in the Jordan Valley in the context of an official visit to Israel. “This visit breached Kenya's obligations not to recognize as lawful a situation created through the illegal use of force and other violations of peremptory norms under international law,” Erekat said, adding that he would raise this issue within the context of the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Kenyatta on Wednesday visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Western Wall, both located in occupied East Jerusalem, as part of his three-day official visit to Israel. Kenyan media reported Kenyatta’s visit is aimed at “deepening ties between the two countries”. Kenyatta’s visit came after he was prevented by Israel from going to Ramallah to meet President Mahmoud Abbas. East Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley are part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), including the West Bank and Gaza Strip, occupied by Israel since June 1967. Israeli settlements violate Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which establishes that the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies. International bodies, namely the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly and the International Court of Justice have all confirmed that the construction and expansion of Israeli settlements and other settlement-related activities in the OPT are illegal under international law. AB/IINA