MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
As we've reported, there is no high-level Palestinian participation at President Trump's Board of Peace meeting in Washington, D.C. So we've called Husam Zomlot for his perspective. He is the Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom. Previously, the ambassador served as an adviser to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and as a Palestinian envoy to the United States. Good morning, Ambassador. Thanks for joining us.
HUSAM ZOMLOT: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So the United States says it's committing billions of dollars to the Board of Peace for its stated goal of providing security and redeveloping the Gaza Strip. What's your take on this?
ZOMLOT: Well, our absolute top priority has been for the last 2 1/2 years, at least, is the stub of the mass murder and the destruction. And that's why we welcome the announcement of a ceasefire, President Trump's 20 points that included the ceasefire, the phase one and two and all that you follow, and included that this all has to go towards the right to self-determination and statehood of the Palestinian people. And we also welcomed all international efforts, including the U.N. Security Council resolution, and all the structures that were built.
However, all this cannot be in any way or shape in an absence of fundamental things, cannot be detached from reality. Number one, Israel is delivering its final act of erasure, both in Gaza and the West Bank. And you all have followed the recent decisions by the Israeli government effectively annexing the West Bank, delivering a lethal blow to any prospect of President Trump's promise to - for self-determination and statehood and a lethal blow to President Trump's promise that annexation will not happen.
MARTIN: So it sounds to me like you're saying this board could be constructive, but it's not sufficient. Is that what I'm hearing you say?
ZOMLOT: It needs to focus on the fundamentals. Number one, on the ground, while we are discussing, having a conversation in Washington, Israel is erasing Palestine, not only contemporary Palestine, but even old Palestine. And you've heard the Israeli foreign minister in the Security Council only two days ago. But also, it has to focus. This is not a technical or a humanitarian issue. This is about a people's inalienable rights. This is a struggle for a hundred years. This is not a natural disaster.
We will not accept Palestinians to be fed but not freed or to manage the population, not end the occupation. So number one, we need to focus on stopping Israel's acts of erasure all over Palestine, including the West Bank and Jerusalem. Number two, we need to make sure this is discussed as a historic, political and legal cause for a rooted people and their rights. And number three, we need to make sure that the Palestinian people are represented via their legitimate national institutions for years, Michel.
MARTIN: OK.
ZOMLOT: The world is talking about us without us, negotiating around us. Gaza is inseparable from Palestine. No such a thing as Gazans. There is the Palestinian people in Gaza, in the West Bank and in exile.
MARTIN: We have 40 seconds left. How are you going to ensure that that happens? As we already mentioned, and as you know, these meetings are taking place, and the president says that he is proceeding with these plans.
ZOMLOT: We will work with all of our international partners to make sure that this is about rights, about justice, about a political solution, about the centrality of international legality and law. And we have global partners, and we have unprecedented support by the international community and the public opinion, including in the U.S., and we intend to continue working with all these international partners so it is done in the right way.
MARTIN: That is Husam Zomlot. He's a Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom. Ambassador, thank you for your time.
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