Ramallah, 24-09-07: An analysis of current events on the ground would illustrate that talk of peace rings hollow as the date of the November meeting to be facilitated by the United States looms, said Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi today. He addressed five key issues that threaten to render the meeting a failure even before it has begun:
Gaza an "Enemy Entity"
Dr. Barghouthi supported the chorus of international condemnation against Israel‘s decision to declare Gaza an "enemy entity". He added that in the context of Israel‘s ongoing occupation of the Strip, the decision betrayed a chilling and wilful disregard for the impact electricity and fuel cuts will have on the lives of Gaza‘s 1.5 million inhabitants.
He underlined that the implementation of this resolution will lead to five dangerous developments that will further destabilise the situation in the region:
1. Impose collective punishment - illegal under international law - on ordinary Gazans, who are already suffering the dire impacts of economic sanctions imposed in January 2006;
2. Create further lawlessness in Gaza;
3. Deepen the existing humanitarian and economic crisis in the Strip;
4. Consolidate the complete separation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, thereby precluding the outcome of any final status negotiations before they begin; and
5. Undermine the creation of a viable Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and West Bank (including East Jerusalem), transforming it instead into a series of disjointed Bantustans.
Dr. Barghouthi urged the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organisation to seek the adoption of a United Nations Security Council resolution to overturn the Israeli decision, in that the declaration has no legal basis in international law.
Ongoing Killings and Injuries of Palestinians by Israeli Military
Continued killings and injuries by the Israeli military since mid-June 2007 further demonstrate Israel‘s lack of commitment to real peace. Dr. Barghouthi pointed out that from June 16 to 20 September, 121 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army (29 in the West Bank and 92 in Gaza), including 7 children, while some 385 were injured (221 in the West Bank and 146 in Gaza) including 59 children.
In comparison, 2 Israeli soldiers were killed during the same period (1 in Gaza and 1 in the West Bank) while participating in the invasion of Palestinian cities.
Deepening Movement Restrictions
Despite recent statements made by Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak to Condoleeza Rice that the number of physical movement restrictions in the West Bank would be reduced, Dr. Barghouthi highlighted that the number of barriers actually increased from 543 in August 2007 to 572 in September 2007. This pattern is reflected in the increase in the number of movement restrictions over time, which has seen the number of barriers rise by 52% since 2005, from 376 barriers in August 2005 to the current 572.
Isolation of Jerusalem
Compounded by increasing movement restrictions, Israel is consolidating the separation of Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank by imposing blanket restrictions on the movement of Palestinians to and from the holy city. This was evidenced last Friday when Israeli soldiers prevented thousands of worshippers from reaching Jerusalem to participate in prayers for the second consecutive Friday since the Muslim celebration of Ramadan began.
He appealed to all Palestinians observing Ramadan to peacefully march on Jerusalem next Friday in their thousands, not only as a religious, but also as a national duty to demonstrate the right of the Palestinian people to enter their capital city and to practice their right to worship.
November ‘Peace‘ Meeting
In the context of the above mentioned violations, Dr. Barghouthi stressed the glaring gap between events on the ground and issues up for discussion at the upcoming November ‘peace‘ meeting. As such, he called on the Palestinian Authority to link its participation in the meeting to the implementation of 3 key preconditions by Israel:
1. The retraction of the Israeli government‘s decision to declare Gaza an "enemy entity", and an end to Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people;
2. A comprehensive, complete freeze on all settlement activities, including the expansion of settlements and outposts, the confiscation of land and the seizure and destruction of Palestinian property; and
3. An end to the construction of the Apartheid Wall, which will irreversibly undermine the creation of a viable, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian state.
Dr. Barghouthi ended by warning that the current situation in Palestine is becoming worse than that on the eve of First Intifada in 1987 in terms of pervasive violence, unprecedented levels of poverty and unemployment, deteriorating standards of living, and the absence of a political horizon. He said that the continuation of this situation will lead to an explosion, and called for a national strategy based on the following points in order to avoid such an outcome:
1. Continue and expand peaceful, popular, non-violent protests against Israel‘s occupation;
2. Strengthen Palestinian steadfastness, particularly in areas most badly affected by the occupation;
3. Draw upon the support of the international solidarity movement advocating an end to the occupation and to Israel‘s Wall; and
4. Re-build unity between Palestinian political parties and factions.