Opinion, July 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
Repeating rejections
Jordan Times
Thursday, July 31, 2003
ISRAELI MEDIA like to repeat that the US is about the only true friend their country has. But why then doesn't the Israeli government do anything to protect such a friendship? It seems that every time a US president decides to open the Middle East file and rolls up his sleeves to push forward peace talks, the Israeli premier of the day – either right- or left-wing – will do all he can to sabotage US attempts and discredit the White House.
Whereas his predecessors at least tried to keep up appearances, Ariel Sharon, the sworn-enemy of any meaningful peace process, on Tuesday was even more blunt in brushing off the American administration's concerns on the future of the region and dismissing George W. Bush's recommendations to keep the political process on track.
Sharon took the podium in the Rose Garden to hurl accusations at the Palestinian Authority and at Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, re-exhuming the same old mantra: Palestinian security services, which were all but destroyed by Israel, should do more to dismantle terrorist groups in Palestinian villages and towns, which are under total Israeli military occupation.
The Israeli premier yet again declared his refusal of peace: No to stopping the wall of shame dividing Israeli and Palestinian areas, no to an immediate and complete settlement freeze.
Sharon's statements were outright slaps in the face for a US president who, after having unilaterally waged war against Iraq under shakier and shakier pretexts, now is in desperate need of credibility in the Arab world and elsewhere.
As Abu Mazen said during talks with His Majesty King Abdullah here yesterday, the so-called security fence that Sharon is building is not only yet another violation of Palestinian rights and international legitimacy, but also the embodiment of Israel's racism.
Continuing construction of the wall and dismantling “unauthorised outposts,” without freezing immediately and completely all settlements, will condemn to death the peace process that started only a few weeks ago.
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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 (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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