Forty Times More Palestinians Killed than Israelis in 2007; Rate of Israeli attacks against, and killing of Palestinians doubles since Annapolis

Ramallah, 09-01-08: On the eve of US President George Bush’s visit to Ramallah, PNI Secretary General Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP exposed the extent of Israel’s aggression against the Palestinian people in 2007, a year characterised by the highest ever ratio of Palestinian to Israeli killings, and unabated settlement expansion.

Large-Scale Killings of Palestinians under the Pretext of Security

On the issue of Israeli attacks, and killings, injuries and arrests in 2007, Dr. Barghouthi presented data showing that Israeli military killings of, and attacks against Palestinians have soared by 100% since Annapolis confirming an intensification of Israeli military violence against the Palestinian people even after the meeting on 27 November 2007. 

He highlighted that the ratio of Palestinians to Israelis killed in 2007 had risen to 40:1, up from 30:1 in 2006 and 4:1 from 2000-2005.

“We do not want anyone to die, Israeli or Palestinian, but this ratio is alarming.  It is unacceptable to justify such large-scale killings under the pretext of security,” said Dr. Barghouthi, adding that 5 of the Israelis killed in 2007 were soldiers who died whilst carrying out attacks inside the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 

“Israel uses security as a pretext to step up its aggression against Palestinians and to evade any commitments to peace,” he went on.  “The question here is about security for everyone not only Israelis, and about equality and the equal rights of all peoples to life.  The facts on the ground show very clearly that the Israeli government and its military do not believe in this most basic and universal right when it comes to Palestinians.”

Reframing the Debate: Focusing on Outposts Ignores the Core Issue of Settlements

The MP also focused on Israel‘s expansion and construction of, and refusal to dismantle any settlements, saying that this was a further indication of Israel’s sense of absolute impunity with regard to international law and United Nations resolutions, and of the disturbing lack of international criticism of Israel’s actions. 

He warned that while there is much talk about Israel’s 105 illegal outposts, with a combined population of 3,000 settlers, it also maintains 133 settlements in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) which have population of 447,500, and which are equally illegal under international law.  Moreover, Israel continues building in 88 of these settlements. 

He cited just two examples of this: (1) Har Homa settlement between Jerusalem and Bethlehem where the Israeli Housing Ministry announced plans to build an extra 307 housing units on 4 December 2007; and (2) Modin Illit settlement built on the lands of Bil’in village, where settlers tried to install two more pre-fabricated settlement houses on 2 January 2008.  Abdullah Abu Rahme and Mohammed Al Khatib from Bili’in’s Popular Committee Against the Wall were badly beaten by the settlers whilst peacefully resisting the expansion.

The real issue with settlements is not only the outposts, but also the 133 main settlements built on confiscated Palestinian land, and which are dissecting the West Bank into a series of Bantustans.  The American focus on outposts is misguided: all settlements are illegal under international law and Israel is simply trying to mislead global public opinion while expanding its colonial project.

Exposing Apartheid: Israel’s Segregated Roads and Tunnels Network

Dr. Barghouthi stressed that settlement expansion is being facilitated by Israel’s ‘Roads and Tunnels’ Plan, an Apartheid road system in the West Bank made up of 2 separate transportation networks: one for Palestinians and the other for Israeli settlers, consisting of a series of 24 tunnels and 56 roads to separate Palestinian traffic from Israeli traffic.  Israel is also constructing a separate highway network to link settlements on both sides of the Apartheid Wall with Israel and to each other.

Currently, there are some 768 km of bypass roads built on confiscated Palestinian land within the West Bank to facilitate the movement of settlers and the Israeli miitary: 17 roads (120 km) are completely prohibited for Palestinians; 10 roads (245 km) are partially prohibited; while Palestinian travel is restricted on 14 roads or sections (365 km). 

“Tell me of any other case in the world where roads are segregated on the basis of ethnicity?  This is a practical manifestation of Apartheid to an extent never before witnessed, not even at the height of the Apartheid regime in South Africa” said Dr. Barghouthi.

Road 443: A Case Study of Apartheid

He referred specifically to Road 443 as a prime example of Apartheid in practice.  Route 443 used to be the main artery connecting nine Palestinian villages (population: 37,000) to each other, and to Ramallah.  In 2002 however, the Israeli military closed off all the feeder roads to Road 443 from these Palestinian villages and Palestinians are now prohibited from travelling by car or on foot on the 14 km of the roadway that lie in the West Bank.

Villagers must now travel to Ramallah using a worn, single track route, passing through a tunnel under Route 443.  The journey now takes from 60-90 minutes, compared to 12 minutes when Road 443 was open. Several villagers have died due to delayed access to health services, and in the absence of adequate local health services, while villagers have been cut of from their land, places of employment, businesses, and markets and the access of students to educational institutions has been obstructed.

Negotiations must be tied to Implementation of Key Pre-Conditions

Dr. Barghouthi made a clear call to link negotiations to the implementation of the following three preconditions by Israel:

1. A comprehensive and complete freeze on all settlement activity, including the expansion of settlements and outposts, the confiscation of land, and the seizure and destruction of Palestinian property
2. An end to the construction of the Apartheid Wall; and
3. The lifting of the siege on Gaza which is causing a humanitarian crisis; the retraction of the Israeli government‘s decision to declare Gaza a "hostile entity"; an end to Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, the release of Palestinian prisoners; and the implementation of a comprehensive, reciprocal ceasefire.

He concluded that only a peace process based on adherence to international law, and which respected Palestinian national rights, the rights of refugees and the right to freedom from Apartheid could yield a just and lasting peace.  He emphasised the importance of dialogue and reconciliation to establish a unified leadership with a unified political platform which respects democracy.