Mandy Turner
(Mandy Turner has just returned from the West Bank.)
guardian.co.uk, Friday August 29 2008
"The Israeli ambassador's article yesterday was astonishing in its disregard for the facts. To argue that Israel is not to blame for the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is an incredible attempt to rewrite history. Israel largely controls the purse strings of the Palestinian Authority, it controls goods and services into and out of the occupied Palestinian territories, and it controls all borders. This was enshrined in the Paris Protocols and the Oslo Accords. The PA was supposed to be the first step towards an independent state. The cruel truth is that it is more akin to a ship in a stormy sea with no engine or navigation tools......
The current focus on Gaza is because we are witnessing a man-made humanitarian crisis. But while the eyes of the world are on Gaza, there is a tightening of Israel's occupation in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) through the creation of a "matrix of control" which to all intents and purposes looks like a colonisation of Palestinian lands.....
The potential for a two-state solution is being destroyed because the basis for a viable Palestinian state is rapidly being undermined. With all focus on the failings of Hamas, Israeli settlement activity and the construction of the '"separation barrier" have continued unabated. The Quartet has failed to put pressure on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and the peace agreements. The reference to Iran as the mysterious secretive puppet master pulling strings from Tehran is a red herring. The only puppet master I see from where I am standing is Israel."
(Mandy Turner has just returned from the West Bank.)
guardian.co.uk, Friday August 29 2008
"The Israeli ambassador's article yesterday was astonishing in its disregard for the facts. To argue that Israel is not to blame for the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is an incredible attempt to rewrite history. Israel largely controls the purse strings of the Palestinian Authority, it controls goods and services into and out of the occupied Palestinian territories, and it controls all borders. This was enshrined in the Paris Protocols and the Oslo Accords. The PA was supposed to be the first step towards an independent state. The cruel truth is that it is more akin to a ship in a stormy sea with no engine or navigation tools......
The current focus on Gaza is because we are witnessing a man-made humanitarian crisis. But while the eyes of the world are on Gaza, there is a tightening of Israel's occupation in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) through the creation of a "matrix of control" which to all intents and purposes looks like a colonisation of Palestinian lands.....
The potential for a two-state solution is being destroyed because the basis for a viable Palestinian state is rapidly being undermined. With all focus on the failings of Hamas, Israeli settlement activity and the construction of the '"separation barrier" have continued unabated. The Quartet has failed to put pressure on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and the peace agreements. The reference to Iran as the mysterious secretive puppet master pulling strings from Tehran is a red herring. The only puppet master I see from where I am standing is Israel."
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