Palestinian envoy calls for economic sanctions against Israel

Abuja: The international community should impose economic sanctions on Israel over its continued occupation of Palestinian territories, Palestinian ambassador to Nigeria Montaser Abuzaid said. "We need economic punishment for Israel. When you don`t cooperate with Israel economically, it will understand what it means," Abuzaid told a press conference to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinians Friday. "They don`t care about the UN resolutions as they have excellent economic relations with the international community," Xinhua quoted Abuzaid as saying. He called for an end to Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories and creation of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. The ambassador called on the international community not to relent in its support for the Palestinian people and expressed delight that the UN General Assembly had declared 2014 as the "International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People". Abuzaid also commended Nigeria and other African nations for their support to the Palestinian cause. He said Nigeria`s principled stance was demonstrated by its vote at the UN General Assembly which upgraded the status of the Palestinians to a non-member observer. The ambassador also criticized the US for consistently blocking the UN resolutions seeking Palestinian statehood.