Ramallah, 16-08-07: The Israeli government has once again returned to its oft-repeated "anti-Israel" refrain in attempting to undermine a seminar being held in Brussels from 30-31 August by the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People at the premises of the European Parliament.
The conference, entitled "Civil Society and Parliamentarians Working Together for Peace in the Middle East", seeks to give civil society representatives and other participants from all regions of the world, and especially from Europe, "a timely opportunity to discuss the situation on the ground, to highlight their work and coordinate their response to the recent developments." Particular attention will be given to "the role of elected representatives in advancing the cause of Middle East peace in concert with civil society."
Israeli Foreign Ministry representatives have labelled the event "anti-Israeli" because of its aim to critically analyse the impact of 40 years of Israeli occupation and 60 years of dispossession on Palestinian society.
Israel‘s spin doctors have been working hard to market misguided coverage of the conference. Government sources reported to the Israeli left-wing daily Ha‘aretz that the event will include a workshop on "increasing the resistance to the Israeli occupation.‘ In reality, the workshop in question is entitled "Strengthening Campaigns to End Occupation, including Grassroots Campaigns against the Wall, rallying around Bi‘lin."
The village of Bi‘lin, which is advocating peaceful, non-violent forms of protest, has become a symbol of the non-violence movement worldwide after more than two years of peaceful protests against construction of the Apartheid Wall on village lands, protests which have been consistently met with massive use of force by the Israeli military.
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, said today that the Israeli government‘s response to the conference illustrated just how rattled it was by such efforts to expose the reality of its ongoing occupation and to seek a just solution to the Palestinian question on the basis of international law and United Nations resolutions. He urged the conference‘s organisers not to be put off by manipulative campaigns of this nature.