Attacking Holy sites “phenomenon that has to be stopped”

Italian Foreign Minister, Giulio Terzi, said Thursday regarding the arson of a monastery in Latrun, an area west of Jerusalem, by Jewish settlers and attacking holy sites, during a meeting with Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki in Ramallah, “ It is a phenomenon that has to be stopped.” He said that “the core element of the Italian foreign policy is the protection of regional minorities in every part of the world,” adding that these actions are forcing the Christian minorities to leave the region where their families reside. After welcoming the Italian minister, al-Malki said “I explained the situation on the ground and how much we are disappointed and worried about deterioration of the situation, especially settlers’ actions and violence against Palestinian rural areas and holy sites.” He added that it’s very important that international community takes action against these attacks. Al-Malki stressed that PA is going to UN at the end of this month to seek non-member state status in the General Assembly and that it had all the support from all the Arab countries. He stressed that “this approach doesn’t intend in any way to put our relations with the international community, especially US administration, into jeopardy, on the contrary, we feel obliged to take such move in the absence of any development in the peace process.” Terzi, whose visit is part of increased efforts to strengthen Palestinian- Italian political ties and bilateral relations, said that the solution to this situation is through “reactivating direct negotiations without preconditions.”