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The
majority of Israeli MPs, including Sharon’s son, voted in favor
of the Likud draft
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RAMALLAH,
July 16 (Islamonline.net & News Agencies) - Dealing a strong blow to
peacemaking efforts rekindled by the roadmap plan and the truce declared
by Palestinian resistance groups, the Israeli Knesset ratified late
Tuesday, July 14, a draft legislation claiming the West Bank and Gaza
Strip were not territories occupied by Israel.
The
draft, submitted by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud Party,
alleged that according to history, international law and agreements
signed by Israel the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are not occupied
lands.
The
bill was approved by a majority 26 lawmakers, including 17 Likud members
topped by Sharon’s son Omri, while opposed by only eight legislators.
The
law outlined to the Israeli government red lines that must not be
crossed in any future peace negotiations including full Israeli
sovereignty over the holy city of Jerusalem and absolute opposition to
the return of Palestinian refugees into their homes inside Israel, said
the Israeli Yediot Aharonot daily.
As
many as four million Palestinian refugees, most of whom live in
surrounding Arab countries since being expelled in 1984 Israeli-Arab
war, hope to return to their homeland.
But
the Jewish state has categorically refused,
saying an influx of millions of Palestinians would destroy the country's
Jewish character.
The
new law also stressed that dismantling the infrastructure of what it
termed as Palestinian terrorism and the cessation of anti-Israel
incitement are preconditions for negotiations on any political
agreements.
Observers
see the ratification as a blow to all efforts seeking to push forward
the roadmap plan, which charts out a number of reciprocal
self-confidence measures leading to the establishment of a Palestinian
state by 2005.
It
also came as embarrassing for Sharon, now on a tour of European
countries to mend fences and beautify the image of Israel.
Although
non-binding, the new legislation further erodes Sharon's credibility as
a man of his word, especially that he had recently signaled Israeli
readiness to end "occupation"
of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
"I
think that the idea of keeping 3.5 million Palestinians under occupation
is the worst thing for Israel, for the Palestinians and also for the
Israeli economy," Sharon said in statements carried by the Israeli Maariv
newspaper on May 25.
In
Norway, where the now-failed Oslo Middle East peace accords was inked in
1993, Sharon was greeted by jeering crowds shouting slogans as
"Ariel -- go to Hell".
The
Knesset turned down two proposals submitted by the opposition Labor
Party to support Sharon's political plan, and the Democratic Front for
Peace and Equality to back his statements on an end of the Israeli
occupation of Palestinian territories.
Sharon's
newfound willingness of compromise had been then seen by his critics as
merely a political maneuver because he does not expect it to be put to
the test, according to the BBC News Online.
'Stumbling
Block'
The
Palestinian Authority condemned the Knesset move as another stumbling
block to the settlement of the decades-old conflict.
"Such
decisions are dangerous, destructive for the peace process and
roadmap" the Authority said in a statement quoted by Reuters news
agency on its website.
Palestinian
Information Minister Nabil Amr lamented the ratification as a disservice
to peace overtures.
"The
ratification muddied atmosphere conducive to making progress in the
political perspective and discouraging to confidence-building
steps," Amr told al-Arabiya satellite channel.
Disbanding
In
another development, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a Fatah offshoot,
Wednesday pressed for the dissolution of Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas'
government and vowed a "shuddering" retaliation after Israel abducted
three of its members a day earlier.
"We
call on Abbas to disband the government and stop security coordination
with the Zionists," the Brigades said in a statement obtained by
Islamonline.net.
The
abductions came in violation of the truce recently declared by Palestinian factions, according to which Israel
should have stopped all aggressions against the Palestinians and the
resistance activists.
The
incessant Israeli breaches of the truce put the credibility of Abbas on
the line, as he endeavors to convince Palestinian factions of the
seriousness of talks with Israel and into abiding by the ceasefire.
"No
agreement, no hudna, until all detainees are released," read the
statement, referring to another bone of contention between the
government and resistance groups.
Israel
decided last week to release
just 350 of the estimated 6,000 Palestinians held in its jails, but not
a single member of the resistance groups Hamas or Islamic Jihad was
among them. The ceasefire is also conditioned on setting free all
detainees in Israeli jails.
