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News :: Israel / Palestine |
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Peace Now calls for Disengagement from Gaza |
Current rating: 0 |
by gehrig
(No verified email address) |
15 Jun 2004
Modified: 11:53:00 AM |
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Some comments and some excerpts from Americans for Peace Now's press release |
The Israel/Palestine news for the last few days has been terrible -- Sharon off the hook in the bribery scandal, and Sharon openly breaking his promise to the Bush administration that the security fence won't enclose the settlement Ariel -- but the good news is that the disengagement plan is gaining steam.
There are two main problems with the disengagement plan, though.
One is the long time frame, which won't complete the disengagement from Gaza until the end of next year -- offering plenty of time to look for an excuse to end the disengagement because of some Palestinian action.
The second is that Sharon has made it a quid pro quo with keeping, permanently, some of the settlements on the West Bank adjacent to the Green Line. Now, it was an open secret that Israel was going to lay claim to them anyway, in exchange for a like amount of land _within the Green Line_, the meanderings in and out of the Green Line to be negotiated with the Palestinians. But Sharon has gotten the US to support the meanderings where Israel gains land without an equal promise to support the Palestinians in the parts where Palestine gains land.
However, the disengagement plan is supported by 60% of Israelis, and Americans for Peace Now has also now come out in support of it.
From their press release:
"APN's support for the Sharon plan does not exist in a vacuum. APN's support is founded in the recognition that settlements threaten the interests of Israel, the United States, and all those in the region and around the world whose welfare, security, and hope for the future are impacted by the continuation of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Settlements are a security liability for Israel and an impediment to future prospects of achieving peace. They stretch Israel's lines of defense, fuel Palestinian anger, despair, and violence, drain precious budgetary resources, and erode international goodwill towards Israel. They also threaten Israel's future as a Jewish, democratic state by making disengagement from the occupied territories and a two-state solution impossible, meaning that soon Israel will be forced to choose between remaining a democracy and losing its character as a Jewish state; or remaining a Jewish state, and forsaking democracy in favor of an apartheid-style government."
Also from their press release, some notes about Israel's responsibilities and committments to the US:
"Israeli commitments include those made in the April 18, 2004 letter from Prime Minister Sharon's Chief of Staff Dov Weissglas to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. That letter enumerated Sharon government commitments to impose restrictions on settlement growth; prepare a list of unauthorized outposts with indicative dates of their removal and take continuous action to remove those outposts in the targeted dates; provide the U.S. Ambassador with a map indicating roadblocks and other "transportational" barriers in the West Bank, along with a timetable for removals of some barriers; and urge the State's Attorney's office to take any possible legal measure to expedite the rendering of decisions regarding the continuous Israeli confiscation of Palestinian tax revenues.
"In addition, on May 25th, 2003, the Israeli Government formally undertook to implement the Road Map. Under stage I of the Road Map, Israel is required to undertake a series of steps, including the "immediate" evacuation of settlement outposts established since March 2001 and a freeze on settlement growth (including natural growth); refraining from actions undermining trust, including deportations, attacks on civilians, confiscation and/or demolition of Palestinian homes and property, as a punitive measure or to facilitate Israeli constructions, destruction of Palestinian institutions and infrastructure; implementing measures to improve humanitarian the situation, including lifting curfews and easing restriction on movement of persons and goods, and allowing full, safe, unfettered access of international and humanitarian personnel and other measures specified in the Tenet Work Plan;Â and resuming security cooperation with the Palestinians."
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See also:
http://www.peacenow.org/nia/pr/06142004.html
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This work is in the public domain |
