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"It has no credibility as he (Sharon) goes on with his policy to build the barrier and the settlements," Khatib said.
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GAZA
CITY, September 16, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) –
Palestinian officials blasted on Friday, September 16, Israeli Premier
Ariel Sharon's speech at the United Nations as only a PR stunt to
cover up for settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and make
diplomatic gains from the Gaza Strip pullout.
"This
was a public relations speech to exploit the withdrawal from Gaza and
to realize diplomatic gains, no more," Palestinian Planning
Minister Ghassan Al-Khatib told Agence France Presse (AFP).
Sharon,
a 77-year-old ex-general, told the UN General Assembly on Thursday,
Sharon, that it was now up to the Palestinians to prove their desire
for peace after Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
"The
most important test the Palestinian leadership will face is in
fulfilling their commitments to put an end to terror and its
infrastructure (and) to eliminate the anarchic regime of armed
gangs," he said.
Khatib
branded the speech as "deceptive".
"Israel
is asking us to assume our responsibilities in the Gaza Strip when the
fact is that Israel has maintained its domination on its borders and
its movements, making Israel responsible as an occupation force,"
he said.
Israel
completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip on Monday, September 12,
ending its 38 year-old military presence in the impoverished area.
It
closed the Rafah border crossing to Egypt, Gaza's only exit to the
rest of the world, and plans to open a new crossing where it can still
monitor the passage of goods.
The
Palestinians insist that even after the departure of the last Israeli
soldier, the Gaza Strip would remain occupied as long as Israel
retained control of land borders, air space and territorial waters.
Al-Quds
The
Palestinians also lambasted Sharon's statements regarding the status
of Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem).
Sharon
told the UN the Palestinians have the right to establish their
independent state but maintained that Al-Quds would remain the capital
of Israel.
There
are around 230,000 Palestinians living in Al-Quds, home to Al-Aqsa
Mosque, the third holiest shrine in Islam.
The
status of the holy city has long been one of the thorniest issues of
the Arab-Israeli conflict as Jews claim that their alleged Haykal
(Temple of Solomon) exists underneath Al-Haram Al-Sharif, whish was
the first qiblah (direction Muslims take during prayers).
Israel
captured and occupied Al-Quds in the six-day 1967 war, then declared
its annexation, in a move not recognized by the world community or UN
resolutions.
Settlement
Building
Khatib
said Sharon's speech lacked credibility given Israeli plans to expand
settlements and its West Bank separation barrier.
"It
has no credibility as he goes on with his policy to build the barrier
and the settlements," he told AFP.
Palestinian
national security advisor Jibril Rajoub agreed, reported the Israeli
daily Haaretz.
"The
message that everyone in the street got was building settlements,
what's happening in Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the separation wall,"
he said.
Palestinian
experts have warned that Israel is exploiting its Gaza pullout to
multiply settlements in the occupied West Bank, scuppering the already
stumbling peace process.
According
to the Israeli Interior Ministry, the population of Jewish settlements
in the West Bank has grown by 9,000 since the beginning of this year
taking the overall number of settlers to 246,000 scattered across 116
settlements surrounded by up to 2.4 million Palestinians.
An
Israeli spokesman recently said his government issued confiscation
orders to seize Palestinian-owned lands to link Maale Adumim, the
biggest Jewish settlement in the West bank, to occupied Al-Quds.
The
Israeli occupation army has since January issued more than 150 decrees
confiscating some 13,350 square meters of Palestinian land in the West
Bank, including the holy city.
Palestinians
have repeatedly vocalized fears that Sharon devised the Gaza plan as a
ruse to cement Israel's hold on most of the occupied West Bank, where
246,000 settlers live among 2.4 million Palestinians.
Sharon
has made no secret of his intention to cement control over parts of
the occupied West Bank, especially on the outskirts of Al-Quds, in
exchange for the Gaza withdrawal.
Actions
Not Words
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"It's not enough to make declarations. You have to end the occupation and settlements on Palestinian territory," Erekat said.
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Khatib
said the Palestinians were hoping Sharon would announce Israeli
readiness to go back to peace talks on the basis of the
internationally-backed roadmap peace blueprint.
Sharon
told the world body that Israel was committed to the peace plan but
did not talk about the resumption of negotiations to implement the
blueprint.
The
peace plan, which calls for an end to all Israeli settlement activity
and paves the way to the creation of a Palestinian state, has made
next to no progress since its launch in 2003.
Chief
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the Palestinians need to see
actions rather than words.
"The
Palestinian Authority calls on the Israeli government to re-launch the
peace process with a view to a permanent solution that establishes
frontiers as well as the status of Jerusalem and of Palestinian
refugees," he told AFP.
"It's
not enough to make declarations. You have to end the occupation and
settlements on Palestinian territory."
