Sunday, August 06, 2006, the chairman of the Palestinian parliament, Dr. Aziz Dwaik, was arrested and kidnapped from his home in Ramallah by the Israeli occupation forces. Israel justifies his arrest on the fact that he is a Hamas-leader…
This kidnapping comes after Israeli occupation forces already arrested and kidnapped 27 democratically elected Palestinian parliamentarians, including 8 Palestinian ministers on June 29, 2006.
This latest act is just another violation by Israel against the rights of the Palestinian people.
Dr. Moustafa Barghouti, general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative and member of the Palestinian Parliament condemns the Israeli arrest and kidnapping of his colleague, the president of the PLC.
Dr. Barghouti considers this act as an unacceptable Israeli piracy operation, attacking and aiming to undermine Palestinian democracy. By arresting democratically elected Palestinian members of parliament and ministers, Israel is actively working towards disabling the legitimate and international recognized Palestinian official institutions in the occupied Palestinian Territories, working towards the collapse of the PA.
Dr. Barghouti further asks the International Community to support Palestinian democracy and to urgently demand from Israel for the immediate release of Dr. Dwaik, in addition to the other thousands of Palestinian political prisoners. Israel is using the Palestinian political prisoners as blackmail against the Palestinian people, while violating all rules of International Humanitarian Law by abducting them to interrogation centers and prisons in Israel, depriving them of legal support and holding them without clear charges against them.
Dr. Barghouti also asks the International Community not to forget the humanitarian crisis imposed by Israel upon Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip. 1.5 million people are subjected to complete closures while being military aggressed, leading to enormous destruction of civilian and public infrastructure in addition to the high numbers of civilians killed, including children and women. The International Community needs to move forward and demand from Israel to respect International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. More urgent than ever the International Community needs to call for an International Conference working for sustainable and just solutions for the Palestinian people.