Former Prime Ministers Warn of Palestinian Extinction Amid Israeli Impunity

Kathmandu. Two former prime ministers from the international group 'The Elders', founded by Nelson Mandela, warned on Friday of the potential extinction of Palestinian territories if Israeli 'impunity' is not ended.

The former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson, and former prime minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, made this statement after their visit to Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, Jordan, and Lebanon.

They said in a statement, "The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to 'destroy Palestine physically, economically, culturally, and politically'."

Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem on Thursday, they said, "The international community must make further efforts to end Israeli 'impunity' in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want to make the future capital of a sovereign state."

"I think, if we have to summarize the main message we heard from the West Bank and the civil society here, they are looking for accountability and not impunity," Clark said.

Robinson said she was 'ashamed' that the European Union has not taken a strong stance on this issue and called on Brussels to suspend the trade part of the cooperation agreement with Israel and ban the trade of products originating from Israeli settlements.

The two leaders said they had seen a serious deterioration in the situation in the West Bank since their previous visit in 2023. They warned that continuous settlement expansion would lead to a situation where 'Palestine is disappearing before our eyes'.

The Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now has reported that Netanyahu's government has allowed the establishment of 102 new settlements in the West Bank since taking office.

The United Nations has reported a sharp increase in violence against settlers since the Gaza war began in 2023, while some Israeli ministers are demanding the annexation of all or parts of the occupied West Bank.

More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, which Israel has occupied since 1967. About 3 million Palestinians live there.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. During the visit, the two met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. "We met with President Herzog, but we disagreed on some of the issues he raised," Robinson said.