- H.E. President Mahmoud Abbas chaired the Cabinet meeting convened today, where he affirmed our right to Jerusalem as the capital of our state and the ongoing pursuit for holding the elections in all of occupied Palestine, including East Jerusalem.

-The President directed the government to exert every effort and pay more attention to all aspects related to Jerusalem and its peripheries.

He stressed his and the government's interest in land greening, especially inside cities, to provide more space for our citizens. In addition, the President demanded the government to pay greater attention to issues related to helping the poor, promoting the education and health sectors in terms of improving the quality of education and health services, as well as accelerating the pace of the COVID-19 vaccination program across all age groups to reach herd immunity.  The President affirmed the strategic partnership between the State of Palestine and the European Union based on cooperation and the permanent European position regarding the realization of the national rights of the Palestinian people and Europe's respect for and defense of international law and human justice.

-Today, we launch the Palestinian development plan: 41 documents were the outcome of hard work and continued efforts over the past two years. Despite the unprecedented political, epidemiological, financial, and economic challenges the government faced, it managed to achieve the goals included in the National Development Plan, which was launched when the government assumed its duties. The plan consists of the cluster-based development plan, sectoral strategies, and development plans prepared by all ministries to strengthen our citizens' steadfastness by providing all needed requirements for their survival in the face of Israel's colonial policies. Israel's settlement expansion undermines our people's right to self-determination, in a free and independent State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, as well as all international efforts towards achieving our rights.

-I thank all civil society institutions, the private sector, international partners, United Nations organizations, and the employees in all national institutions that contributed to this achievement in promoting and advancing development in the State of Palestine. I call on government institutions and our local and international partners to work together to continue facing the challenges and achieving the aspired goals.

-We welcome the report of Human Rights Watch, which accurately and explicitly documented the Israeli policies of apartheid and persecution and described them as "crimes against humanity". The Cabinet will discuss possible mechanisms for following up on this report.

-We condemn all attacks committed by the Israeli occupation authorities against Palestinians in Jerusalem, including the worshipers in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher during the Holy Fire Saturday.  We also call on the United Nations and all international organizations and bodies to intervene urgently and stop the forced eviction of Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem to replace them with settlers.  We consider Israel's ethnic cleansing policies against the indigenous Palestinians a war crime and a clear violation of international law, humanitarian law, and all international resolutions that reject the seizure of lands belonging to others by force. We will file this case in the International Criminal Court as a war crime per the Rome Statute. We also call on the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to take serious measures that compel Israel to halt the forced eviction and displacement of our people in Sheikh Jarrah.

-We also condemn the cold-blooded killing of Rehab Al-Zaoul, 60 years old, near Bethlehem. We extend our deepest condolences for her family, and we call on the international human rights organization to condemn all Israeli crimes and impose sanctions on Israel.

-We reject the intention of the Israeli occupation authorities to establish a tourist center at the Al-Buraq Wall, the western wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in a move that aims to Judaize the city and to remove its historical monuments. We call on UNESCO to intervene and prevent this Israeli colonial project.

-Attacks on our people in Beita, Jaloud, and Qusra villages by the occupation soldiers and settlers during the past two days caused injuries, arrests, and lands burns. These are all examples of the racist and repressive policies documented in the latest report issued by Human Rights Watch.

-On World Press Freedom Day, marked on 3 May, we renew our commitment to the laws and legislations that regulate freedom of the press. We condemn the attacks of the occupation soldiers against journalists and we recall the martyrs among them who were killed while carrying out their duty to reveal the truth about the crimes of the occupation.

-The citizens' adherence to preventive measures has led to a decrease in the epidemiological curve and the percentage of bed occupancy rates in hospitals. With the continued provision of vaccinations to the most vulnerable groups (the ill and elderly), we will discuss facilitating further measures in the last ten days of Ramadan and Eid holiday.