Opinion Editorials, November 2003, www.aljazeerah.info
Human Price of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine
Israeli daily aggression on the Palestinian people
Mission and meaning of Al-Jazeerah
Cities, localities, and tourist attractions
Meaningful moves demanded
Jordan Times, Sunday, November 30, 2003
MUCH NOISE is being made about eminent Israeli moves that ostensibly aim to accelerate the stalled peace process with the Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is now saying out loud that his government has decided to dismantle a few isolated Jewish settlements as a show of good faith. Upon closer scrutiny, the targeted settlements are small outposts scattered all over the Palestinian territories that are barely inhabited by Israelis. This makes this particular gesture devoid of all substance and no one can be deceived about where Sharon's real intent lies. Instead of dismantling unpopulated outposts on the top of hills and mountains, Sharon should give more credence to his initiative to breathe new life into the derailed peace negotiations by dismantling the bigger and more ominous settlements and stop the construction of the infamous wall that seeks to separate the Israelis from the Palestinians at the expense of Palestinian territories. Jewish settlements, which violate UN Security Council Resolution 465, the Fourth Geneva Convention and The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, number 130 in the West Bank, 16 in the Gaza Strip, 11 in East Jerusalem, and 33 in the Golan Heights.
This is no time for Sharon's petty antics guise as "sacrifices" to be made by Israel. What is demanded here are meaningful plans that may impact the current situation on the Palestinian front. Naturally, both sides are engaged in behind-the-scenes talks in preparation for more substantive talks between Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qureia. The four previous heads of the Israeli Mossad have already sent a warning to Sharon that he must move and move fast to settle the Palestinian question. They also warned that continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands will bring calamities to Israel and may eventually lead to the end of Israel as they know it. These four wise men should know better than anyone else where Israel' long-term national interests lie and they now worry about the very survival of Israel as a Jewish state. Sharon should heed the sounding of alarms issued by knowledgeable Israelis and take more realistic moves in the direction of ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands in a bid to facilitate the creation of an independent Palestinian state that would bring peace to both peoples.
Four years ago, Khalil Shikaki, associate professor of political science at Bir Zeit University and director of the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah predicted: "Unless there is willingness in Israel to change its mentality or to evict settlements, and not only the isolated ones; unless Israel seriously considers going back to the 1967 borders — some minor adjustments here and there will be fine — then the conflict will continue for a very long period of time."
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, like a Python. (Alquds,10/25/03). |
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