Gaza Strip: Press coverage of a recent conference given in Gaza City by Mustafa Barghouthi, the General Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI), reflected the focus he placed on the deterioration of internal and external security in the Palestinian Territory, the implications of this for any future peace process, and the failure of the Palestinian Authority to respond to the current crisis facing the Palestinian people.
During the conference, Dr. Barghouthi highlighted the plight of the peoples of Gaza under renewed bombardment by Israel, underlining the failure of the international media to focus sufficiently on the human dimension of recent attacks. He drew attention to the forms of collective punishment being re-imposed on the Gazan population, that have included a continuous series of sonic booms resulting from the breaking of the sound barrier during mock air raids; the killing of six civilian bystanders, including three children, in the assassination of two members of Islamic Jihad; and the ongoing closure of the Rafah Crossing, which has left tens of Palestinians, amongst them women and children, stranded on the Egyptian side of the border without adequate food or shelter, or appropriate clothing to guard against falling temperatures. The Rafah Crossing acts as the only point by which Gazans can exit the Strip for travel to Egypt and other countries. As such, its closure effectively imprisons the 1.4 million Palestinians living in Gaza.
Against such a backdrop, Dr, Barghouthi emphasised that Israel’s recent ‘disengagement’ from the Gaza Strip, hailed as an historic step towards peace by the international community, has proved little more than high-level fraud. He pointed to the fact that, while 8,500 settlers have been moved from Gaza, the settler population of the West Bank has grown by an estimated 15,000 since the beginning of 2005. In addition, Israel seized more land in the West Bank in July alone (60 square kilometres), than it relinquished in Gaza (49 square kilometres). This, together with Israel’s continued control over all entry and exit points to the Strip, illustrate that the Disengagement has simply seen the Occupation take on a new guise by transforming Gaza into one large prison, rather than a series of small, dislocated ones.
Dr. Barghouthi talked further about the campaign of assassinations, arrests, movement restrictions and land confiscations that continues in the West Bank. He stressed that Israel is using the Disengagement as a smokescreen to expand and entrench the Occupation of the West Bank. By transforming the facts on the ground in such a way, Ariel Sharon is hoping, as he himself put it, to “strengthen the control over areas that will constitute an inseparable part of the state of Israel”, including East Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and land on which illegal settlements have been built, thereby pre-empting the creation of any viable Palestinian state.
In contrast, the Palestinian Authority remains locked in the position of reacting to unilateral strategies adopted by the Israeli government, unable to gain the upper hand, or even to initiate negotiations. This serious shortcoming is indicative of a general lack of political vision to bring the peace process forwards. Dr. Barghouthi proposed an international peace conference as one means of doing so. He also suggested that responsibility for the implementation of the ICJ ruling on the illegality of the Apartheid Wall be placed in the hands of the United Nations in order to compel Israel to abide by international law.
Dr. Barghouthi also focused on the failure of the Palestinian Authority to reign in armed groups and to preserve internal security. He cited the failure of last week’s meeting of the Legislative Council to procure a solution to growing lawlessness as just one further example of this.
He also pointed out that the primary cause of the breakdown of internal security lies partly with the security forces themselves, and emphasised that this had less to do with security itself, and everything to do with politics. He underlined that a healthy democracy cannot be characterised by security institutions that hold direct and indirect powers over politics, the economy and the media. The first step that needs to be taken in addressing this issue, and which has yet to be undertaken following Presidential Elections in January 2005, is a complete reform of the what the government itself has described as a “centre of power struggles”. He also questioned the efficacy of devoting 27 percent of the overall PA budget to security, a sum that Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has complained of as being too low. Dr. Barghouthi stated that more obviously efficient strategies might include ensuring adherence to the rule of law, the establishment of an independent judiciary, and reform of the numerous security services.
He emphasised that a lack of unity between Palestinian political factions was further hindering the development of a joint strategy to address problems of internal and external security. He linked this to the need to build a democratic and fair political system, one with the capacity and willingness to address the problems that continue to plague the Palestinian people.
Contact:
Press Service
almubadara@almubadara.org
www.almubadara.org
(972) 02-2970110
(972) 0599-293006
During the conference, Dr. Barghouthi highlighted the plight of the peoples of Gaza under renewed bombardment by Israel, underlining the failure of the international media to focus sufficiently on the human dimension of recent attacks. He drew attention to the forms of collective punishment being re-imposed on the Gazan population, that have included a continuous series of sonic booms resulting from the breaking of the sound barrier during mock air raids; the killing of six civilian bystanders, including three children, in the assassination of two members of Islamic Jihad; and the ongoing closure of the Rafah Crossing, which has left tens of Palestinians, amongst them women and children, stranded on the Egyptian side of the border without adequate food or shelter, or appropriate clothing to guard against falling temperatures. The Rafah Crossing acts as the only point by which Gazans can exit the Strip for travel to Egypt and other countries. As such, its closure effectively imprisons the 1.4 million Palestinians living in Gaza.
Against such a backdrop, Dr, Barghouthi emphasised that Israel’s recent ‘disengagement’ from the Gaza Strip, hailed as an historic step towards peace by the international community, has proved little more than high-level fraud. He pointed to the fact that, while 8,500 settlers have been moved from Gaza, the settler population of the West Bank has grown by an estimated 15,000 since the beginning of 2005. In addition, Israel seized more land in the West Bank in July alone (60 square kilometres), than it relinquished in Gaza (49 square kilometres). This, together with Israel’s continued control over all entry and exit points to the Strip, illustrate that the Disengagement has simply seen the Occupation take on a new guise by transforming Gaza into one large prison, rather than a series of small, dislocated ones.
Dr. Barghouthi talked further about the campaign of assassinations, arrests, movement restrictions and land confiscations that continues in the West Bank. He stressed that Israel is using the Disengagement as a smokescreen to expand and entrench the Occupation of the West Bank. By transforming the facts on the ground in such a way, Ariel Sharon is hoping, as he himself put it, to “strengthen the control over areas that will constitute an inseparable part of the state of Israel”, including East Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and land on which illegal settlements have been built, thereby pre-empting the creation of any viable Palestinian state.
In contrast, the Palestinian Authority remains locked in the position of reacting to unilateral strategies adopted by the Israeli government, unable to gain the upper hand, or even to initiate negotiations. This serious shortcoming is indicative of a general lack of political vision to bring the peace process forwards. Dr. Barghouthi proposed an international peace conference as one means of doing so. He also suggested that responsibility for the implementation of the ICJ ruling on the illegality of the Apartheid Wall be placed in the hands of the United Nations in order to compel Israel to abide by international law.
Dr. Barghouthi also focused on the failure of the Palestinian Authority to reign in armed groups and to preserve internal security. He cited the failure of last week’s meeting of the Legislative Council to procure a solution to growing lawlessness as just one further example of this.
He also pointed out that the primary cause of the breakdown of internal security lies partly with the security forces themselves, and emphasised that this had less to do with security itself, and everything to do with politics. He underlined that a healthy democracy cannot be characterised by security institutions that hold direct and indirect powers over politics, the economy and the media. The first step that needs to be taken in addressing this issue, and which has yet to be undertaken following Presidential Elections in January 2005, is a complete reform of the what the government itself has described as a “centre of power struggles”. He also questioned the efficacy of devoting 27 percent of the overall PA budget to security, a sum that Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has complained of as being too low. Dr. Barghouthi stated that more obviously efficient strategies might include ensuring adherence to the rule of law, the establishment of an independent judiciary, and reform of the numerous security services.
He emphasised that a lack of unity between Palestinian political factions was further hindering the development of a joint strategy to address problems of internal and external security. He linked this to the need to build a democratic and fair political system, one with the capacity and willingness to address the problems that continue to plague the Palestinian people.
Contact:
Press Service
almubadara@almubadara.org
www.almubadara.org
(972) 02-2970110
(972) 0599-293006