Europe plays a crucial role in protecting Palestinian democracy, leftist member of government Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi said on Saturday. ‘If the siege is not lifted after the formation of a government of national unity, the entire Palestinian Authority will collapse.‘
Dr. Bargouthi told a group of Swedish parliamentarians and the Danish representative to the PA on Saturday that a supportive European role is crucial in moving forward.
‘Current Israeli violations against the Palestinian people aim to thwart efforts at forming a unity government,‘ the Legislative Council member and head of the Palestinian National Initiative said.
He also pointed out that the siege has several manifestations. ‘The humanitarian crisis in the southern Gaza Strip‘s Rafah has again reached devastating proportions as the border crossing with Egypt is infrequently open and suddenly closed.
The Palestinian people cannot live in a prison, not only in the Gaza Strip, but also in the West Bank, Dr. Barghouthi told the Europeans in Ramallah. The Wall, settlements, the isolation of Jerusalem and the cantons that are becoming the West Bank ‘are preventing the establishment of a viable state.‘
He said that if there is no freedom of movement between Palestinian cities and no control over any international border, the state of siege will destroy what remains of a functioning system. ‘We call for an international conference to end the occupation and restore the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. And we ask that Israel not be dealt with as if it were above international law.‘