Palestinian schools in Gaza will be closed for 3 days because of shortages of fuel in the Strip. The Israeli siege on Gaza, which began immediately after Hamas’ electoral victory in January 2006, has been worsening ever since. Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, called the siege “collective punishment on 1.5 million human beings, whose effects are felt most by the most vulnerable: patients, disabled, elderly and children.”

Former US president Jimmy Carter, who arrived yesterday in Jerusalem, will visit the Middle East for a week, including the occupied East Jerusalem and West Bank. Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, declared that “Jimmy Carter is welcomed in the region by all the Palestinians. The Israeli occupation of Palestine has now evolved into a full-fledged Apartheid against all Palestinians. We trust Mr Carter to continue to courageously report the truth.”

"Executive authority, executive government cannot continue to function without control (checks and balances), cannot take on itself the responsibility of legislation, and substitute itself for the Legislative Council, and cannot continue to act without being accountable to the Legislative Council."

The killing of 8 Palestinians - including 4 children - and 3 Israelis in separate attacks yesterday has brought the number of Palestinians and Israelis killed since Annapolis to 350 and 18 respectively. Among the victims are 44 Palestinian children.

Beyond all that hypocrisy, distortion of truth and self-deception, Israel’s triple-laurel, made up of the fastest ethnic cleansing operation, the longest occupation and the worst apartheid, has not only inflicted an unpardonable injustice on the Palestinian people, it has also inflicted an unforgivable offence against Jews themselves and against the memory of their suffering and persecution at the hands of the Nazis and in earlier chapters of history.

PNI Secretary General Mustafa Barghouthi MP said today that negotiations with Israel are meaningless until it meets basic conditions that reflect a genuine commitment towards peace.

Palestinians will mark the 32nd anniversary of Land Day this year with a week-long series of peaceful demonstrations throughout the West Bank. Land Day commemorates the killing of 6 Palestinians by Israeli troops in the Galilee on March 30, 1976 during peaceful protests over the confiscation of Palestinian lands to facilitate the "Judaization" of the Galilee, by building more housing for Israeli Jews on Palestinian land, and by squeezing out its Palestinian population.

PNI leader, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP, today welcomed steps towards restoring national unity currently being taken by President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leaders, and stressed that this new initiative cannot be missed. He underlined that the democratic process – free and fair elections, respect for the separation of powers and the rule of law, and the equality of all Palestinians before the law - was the key to restoring national unity.

Israel is set to open its Jerusalem police headquarters built on occupied West Bank land on Monday, in a move that PNI Secretary General Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP said "flew directly in the face of peace."