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Gaza City, 15-01-06: A press conference held today by the Independent Palestine coalition as part of its first trip to Gaza during the election campaign, addressed key issues facing the Gaza Strip, including poverty, unemployment, and internal disorder.
Coalition head, Mustafa Barghouthi, was joined by other Independent Palestine candidates, Amal Khreishe, Talal Sharif, Mohammad Dahman, and Kamal Zeid.
Dr. Barghouthi addressed issues of critical importance in Gaza, including the current dire internal security situation.
He placed the disorder currently reigning in Gaza in the context of the ongoing Israeli occupation of the Strip, but pointed out that the occupation cannot be solved without first resolving internal Palestinian problems.
He underlined that the chaos in Gaza was well illustrative of the leadership vacuum plaguing Palestinian politics, and the critical need for profound internal reforms, including an end to corruption, nepotism and political patronage; ensuring the actual separation of powers between the executive, judiciary and legislative branches; enforcing the rule of law; and the complete overhaul of the numerous security forces.
Barghouthi also condemned the kidnapping of internationals working in, and visiting the Strip. He stated that such incidents simply serve to undermine the development of the democratic process in Palestine, and to damage the credibility and justness of the Palestinian cause in the eyes the international community.
He added that internal insecurity in Gaza was symptomatic of the acute levels of poverty and unemployment in the Strip. Recent World Bank figures indicate that the unemployment rate in Gaza exceeds 30 percent. As a result, OCHA reports that 65 percent of Gazans are now living below the poverty line of US$ 2.20 per day.
Again, whilst placing his criticisms in the context of Israeli border closures, which stop workers from accessing their former jobs in Israel, and which prevent the import or export of goods, he also berated the Palestinian Authority (PA) for its failure to invest in essential basic services such as health, education and sanitation, and in employment generation schemes.
Barghouthi partly attributed this to the misuse and misallocation of government resources, and the PA’s failure to address the real needs of the Palestinian people.
He added that the overblown public sector, which constitutes a massive 142, 000 employees, acts as severe drain on government finances. He also highlighted that security personnel make up 62, 000 of all public sector employees, absorbing 27 percent of the overall PA budget, in the context of an increasing lack of security for ordinary Palestinians. He pointed out that security forces themselves were responsible for 90 percent of incidents of internal disorder.
Dr. Barghouthi ended the press conference by stating that Legislative elections represent the opportunity for ordinary Gazans to bring about a transformation in government policies through utilizing their votes for change.
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***Contact***
Ms. Diala Ghassan
Press Officer (Arabic and English)
Tel: 0599-674411
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