In his opening statement, during the weekly Cabinet meeting held in Ramallah today, Prime Minister Dr. Mohammed Shtayyeh held the Israeli Government responsible for the repeated settlers' incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the attack against worshipers in a flagrant and systematic violation that contradicts the freedom of worship and the protection of religious places. Dr. Shtayyeh also warned against the dangers of such practices and turning the current conflict into a religious conflict. In addition, The Cabinet condemned the settlers' attacks against Palestinian farmers as well as expelling them from their lands, and preventing them from accessing their trees. In this context, Dr. Shtayyeh called on the international community and Arab and Islamic countries to shoulder their responsibilities for stopping such practices and for providing international protection for the Palestinian people and our sanctities.
In a separate context, the Cabinet discussed the mechanism for forming an economic Palestinian- Saudi committee and a joint Palestinian- Saudi business council. This came in accordance to the visit of President Mahmoud Abbas to Saudi Arabia to strengthen the historic bilateral relations between both nations, especially in the economic sector.
The Cabinet, moreover, followed up on the efforts that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates exerts on the international level, international organizations and the Human Rights Council on the issues of prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons, particularly prisoners on hunger strike.
To conclude, the Cabinet ratified a cooperation agreement in the education sector between the State of Palestine and the Republic of Argentina that aims at deepening and strengthening bilateral relations between both countries in the fields of education and higher education. Additionally, the Cabinet ratified a cooperation agreement between the State of Palestine and the Republic of Chile in the technical field to open up new horizons for the exchanging technical expertise. Finally, the Cabinet ratified the accession of the State of Palestine to the Memorandum of Understanding between the regulators of capital markets in Arab countries in order to implement the best international standards and practices to achieve economic stability and attract investments.
