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RAMALLAH. — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has demanded the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) representative at UN to request protection for the Palestinians, a senior official said Saturday. Saeb Erekat, the PLO Secretary General, told reporters at his Ramallah office in the West Bank that Abbas has issued the aforementioned directives to the representative, in light of the continued Israeli assaults on the unarmed protestors in Gaza.

“The president instructed our ambassador Riad Mansour to go to the Security Council and the Secretary General with another letter requesting an Arria-formula or any form to begin a serious discussion of providing international protection for the Palestinians,” confirmed Erekat.

He said that it is needed because the US protection for Israel is becoming the main instrument to encourage Israelis to continue murdering, sniping and killing Palestinians.

Commenting on the US State Department’s use of term “occupied territories” in the annual human rights report released on Friday, the senior PLO official slammed the US intervention in the situation and accused the US administration of speaking on behalf of the Israeli government.

Erekat also accused Israel of murdering 15-year-old Palestinian Mohammad Ayoub during last Friday’s rally in the Gaza Strip, saying “what is required is an investigation by Fatou Bensouda, the Attorney General of the International Criminal Court, instead of an internal probe by Israeli army.”

He also mentioned the issue of the PLO National Council, which is scheduled on April 30, urging all political factions to take part in “to achieve the political decisions of the last Central Council session which called for severing ties with Israel.” – Xinhua