Ramallah, 14-02-06: Parliamentarian and General Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, today condemned Israeli movement restrictions in the Jordan Valley which are being seen as an attempt to sever the area from the rest of the West Bank.
The MP added that Israel is using local and regional events as a diversion under which to force unilateral changes on the ground, leading to the confiscation of more than 40 percent of the lands of the West Bank in clear violation of United Nations resolutions and international law.
He also stated that the measures were aimed at re-drawing the borders of an eventual Palestinian state by creating a series of cantons and ghettos of remaining Palestinian lands.
Dr. Barghouthi called on the international community to end its policy of silence on Israel’s overt attempts to jeopardize the creation of a Palestinian state, and thus, the chance of achieving a lasting peace in the region.
Israel has introduced a system of permits and checkpoints in recent months effectively preventing thousands of Palestinians from accessing the area, including farmers whose lands lie inside the Valley. Many see the moves as an attempt to de facto annex the Jordan Valley, leaving any future Palestinian entity in the West Bank entirely surrounded by Israeli territory and isolated from any direct link with the rest of the West Bank.