Shaath: Highest Medal of Honour award to Khalaf challenges those who pressured to pull her report

The Palestinian Presidential advisor for Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Nabil Shaath, has awarded Palestine’s Highest Medal of Honour to Rima Khalaf, the President of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and has praised her courage in standing up against those who pressured her to withdraw the committee’s report which stated that Israel had established “an apartheid regime.”

“President Abbas’s decision to honour Khalaf is a bold step and a challenge to those who pressured the Secretary-General to withdraw the report, and a message that confirms what Ms. Khalaf has done is absolutely right and deserves the highest Palestinian medal,” Shaath said in an interview with Palestine TV.

“A UN official who does not have the courage to stand up to US pressure would lack credibility,” he said.

Shaath stressed that withdrawal of the complete report from the UN official website will not affect the reality of its content. He stressed the need to publish and distribute its findings widely.

He added that the report, which discusses Israel’s violation of international law, has been withdrawn in a bid to protect Israel from a ‘scandal’.

Download the full UN ESCWA report