ADDIS ABABA (PIC)– Dr. Ahmed Bahar the acting speaker of the PLC along with representatives of 14 countries and the Arab parliamentary union boycotted the speech of Israel’s representative during the 120th meeting of the inter-parliamentary union (IPU) held in Addis Ababa in protest at the Israeli war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip.
Dr. Bahar stood in the presence of representatives of 155 countries in the 120th IPU assembly saying: “We on the behalf of the families of martyred children of Gaza and Palestine who were killed by the Zionist occupation through using internationally-banned phosphorous bombs declare our boycott of the speech of the Zionist occupation’s representative.”
In a statement received by the PIC the PLC presidency said Tuesday that at the same time the representatives of eight countries and the Arab parliamentary union left their chairs carrying photos of slain Gaza children adding that six other countries had already left the conference room in protest at the atrocities committed in Gaza.
For his part Israel’s representative Silvan Shalom who was in a state of unrest and confusion expressed shock at the attendance of Hamas at the meeting and declared Israel’s withdrawal from the IPU demanding other countries to follow suit but his call did not receive any welcome from all attendees.
Being embarrassed Shalom left the conference room while the protesting delegations who boycotted the speech returned to their chairs.
The PLC statement pointed out that the PLO members who participated in the meeting including Tayseer Quba’a and Azzam Al-Ahmed refused to participate in the protest or leave the room.
For his part Dr. Marwan Abu Ras a Palestinian lawmaker said that what happened in the IPU meeting is a victory for the Palestinian people and a response to the Israeli crimes adding that the refusal of all participating countries to withdraw from the meeting at the request of Israel’s representative is clear evidence that Israel is ostracized by the world.
