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Meretz:
US Pro-Sharon Bias Hurts Israel
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| Israel
tightens its Iron fist over Palestinians in East Jeurusalem |
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, Jan. 29 (IslamOnline) – Latif Dorry, Member of
Central Leadership of Israeli Meretz Party, and a member of
Israeli-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, criticized Tuesday the
obvious U.S. bias towards the hard-line policy adopted by Israeli
Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon.
In an interview with Radio Monte Carlo broadcast Tuesday, January
29, Dorry asserted U.S. policy was not in Israel’s interest in the
end, and it played down chances for peace while making war fears
more of a reality.
“As a close ally of Israel, the U.S. should change its biased
stance towards Sharon,” Dorry said, adding that such policy “has
brought nothing but destruction and damage to the Israelis, not the
other way around as others may think.”
Dorry reiterated that “the more biased to Israel the U.S. gets,
the more Arab and world condemnation Israel suffers.”
“We call upon the United States to take an honest stance as far as
the Middle East is concerned. We call on the Bush administration to
play America's primary role as a peace sponsor. We want the U.S. to
effectively seek the implementation of Mitchell Report and Tenet’s
recommendations. We call upon them to send back their peace envoy
(Anthony Zinni) to resume his peace mission in the region,” Dorry
added.
Dorry explained that Palestinian President “Arafat may be in deep
waters now, however, Sharon is facing a tougher problem.”
“He (Sharon) promised the Israelis security and stability, but
events on the ground proved otherwise. Many voices inside Israel
started raising condemning Sharon’s policy, and reminding him of
his promised security.”
Dorry said that the number of suicide attacks against Israel is
increasing due to Sharon’s “blind policy,” adding that “the
latest statement signed by 50 Israeli army officers and soldiers, on
Friday, January 29 [in which they refuse to serve in the occupied
Palestinian territories], is a clear sign of Sharon’s decreasing
popularity.”
“I think there is growing awareness inside Israeli society
refusing the death policy,” Dorry said, citing what happened in
Lebanon.
Meretz is a leftist Israeli movement, formed in the wake of 1992
elections, integrating three parties: El-Mabam, Wratz, and Shiniwy.
Among its objectives are complete equality within Israel, social
justice, and preservation of Israel’s security.
Meretz represents an open-minded, liberal approach, adopting the
values of globalization, and accepting dialogue and reconciliation
with the Palestinians.
In another sign of mounting criticism of Sharon’s hawkish policies
even at home, Israeli parliamentary speaker, Avraham Burg caused
uproar at a special Knesset session marking the 53rd anniversary of
the chamber when he publicly denounced Israel's occupation of
Palestinian territory.
"An occupying people, even if it was led into being an occupier
against its will, ends up being harmed by the occupation and its
stains, which change and disfigure it," Burg said, reported
AFP.
"We should not forget that the jailer and his prisoner remained
locked up for most of the day behind the same walls and without
hope," he said.
"To put it in other, more stark terms, respected members, the
occupation corrupts," he stressed.
His speech was met with boos and cries from the assembled deputies,
in particular from the right-wing which backs Jewish settlements in
Palestinian territories seized in the 1967 war and only partially
ceded in the 1993 Oslo peace accords.
Burg, who lost out in last year's elections for the leadership of
the Labor party to hard-line Defense Minister, Binyamin Ben Eliezer,
also caused a stir last week when he said he would accept an
invitation to address the Palestinian assembly despite objections
from the government.
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