Ramallah, 09-02-09: Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP, the Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, said today that recent opinion polls ahead of the Israeli elections show a clear shift in the Israeli society towards increased racism and hatred of Arabs and Palestinians.
Said Dr. Barghouthi, "Lieberman is collecting more and more votes, and he says frankly what all Israeli leaders think but do not say: that there should not be a Palestinian state for the Palestinians, and that their existence must be temporary."
"The Israeli elections held tomorrow will no doubt confirm that a transformation has taken place in the Israeli society, and will confirm their extremist apartheid attitudes which are worse than even those that prevailed in South Africa."
"The barbaric and brutal behaviour of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip during the recent war reflected the degree of racial prejudice against all that is Palestinian", the Deputy continued.
"What is happening now in Israel reflects the reason of the failure of the Annapolis peace process, and highlights their strategy which was from the start until the finish unwilling to compromise and negotiate. What is now required is re-organisation and a comprehensive review of our strategy. We must stand united in our national struggle against the Israeli apartheid regime, which affects not only the Palestinians in the occupied territories, but also the Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, and the future of the Palestinians in the Diaspora."
"After these developments in Israel, there is no reason for the continuation of the internal division. The Oslo process has been brought to its end by the Israeli attacks on Gaza, Israel has completely turned its back on the Arab initiative, and the developments and the wide scale support for the aggression on Gaza prove that there is no partner for peace in Israel. It is time to build a unified national leadership for the management of the Palestinian national struggle."
Contacts:
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi: 0599/ 201 528
Or: 0599/ 940 073