LONDON: Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, the foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority, met Yvette Cooper, the UK’s foreign secretary, in London on Monday to discuss developments in the Palestinian territories.
Shahin said that last year’s recognition of Palestine by the UK had been a crucial step toward ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
She said that recent sanctions on Israeli settlers, the resumption of funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, and facilitating study and medical treatment in the UK for individuals from the Gaza Strip had all been positive steps, according to the Palestine News Agency.
She warned against an Israeli policy that would impose taxes on churches and church-owned lands in Jerusalem, which could lead to a change in the city’s multi-religious character and its historic and legal status quo.
Cooper and Shahin also discussed the latest reforms initiated by the Palestinian Authority to invigorate its political ranks, as well as the planned elections for the Palestinian National Council and the Legislative Council in November. They will be followed by the presidential elections in 2027.
