Madrid, 06-09-06: Palestinian National Initiative General Secretary, Mustafa Barghouthi MP, met with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos in Madrid today.
Dr. Barghouthi briefed Mr. Moratinos on the current situation on the ground in Palestine, including the issues of the ongoing Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and the humanitarian crisis that this has provoked; the undermining of democratically-elected Palestinian institutions through the kidnapping and continued detention of 46 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, including 5 Cabinet Ministers; and Israel’s continued construction of the Separation Wall and expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The two men discussed the idea of forming a Palestinian national unity government on the basis of the Prisoners’ Document [1] as the most effective means of addressing the current situation in Palestine, an initiative for which Mr. Moratinos voiced his support.
They also talked of calling for an international peace conference based on the Arab Peace Initiative [2] in order to revive moves towards seeking a just, non-violent end to the conflict, and to bring its resolution back to a basis in international law and United Nations resolutions.
[1] For the full text of the Prisoners’ Documents, please see: http://www.almubadara.org/new/edetails.php?id=1540.
[2] For the full text of the Arab Peace Initiative, please see: http://www.almubadara.org/new/edetails.php?id=1203.