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When Bush came into office one of his declared intentions was to not get involved in the Middle East. Now the Bush Administration has begun to micromanage the so-called "Peace Process" with a project dubbed "Road Map to Peace." The title and tone of the project is a throwback to the days of colonialism. The Bush administration is treating Palestinians in the same racist manner previous colonizers treated their colonies, and to the same ends: profit. Israel has been an important ally to the US in the oil-rich but politically unfriendly Middle East. That friendship has cost Palestinians their land, their homes, and their lives. Bush's "Roadmap" is more of the same.
Consider the Billions of dollars the US sends in Aid to Israel, or the discounts on weapons systems the US sells to Israel, which Israel in turn uses to kill Palestinians (2400 have been killed in the last 1000 days). Consider the methods the US uses to vilify Palestinian political parties, and yet those Israeli parties that openly call for genocide go about unpunished and unsullied by the United States labels of terrorist.
The United States never acts in good faith towards the Palestinians. The US has never supported the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), or any other Palestinian government or grassroots organizations. Most of them have always been treated as terrorists. A true Roadmap for Peace would have to recognize Palestinians as a legitimate party in the conflict, working to address human rights violations, land theft and political rights.
There are many serious problems with the proposed "Roadmap to Peace". The Roadmap provides no provisions for respecting the "Right of Return", which is an essential need for the Palestinian people and is guaranteed under the Geneva Conventions as well as United Nations resolutions. 4 million Palestinians live as refugees in other countries; the U.S. must respect their right to return home.
In addition, the Roadmap does not
end Israeli settlement in Palestinian lands. Hundreds of settlements have been
established, usually taking the best land in an area, and surrounding Palestinian
villages. They serve as military outposts - every week there are reports of
armed Israeli settlers attacking Palestinian civilians. Israeli Settlements
are illegal under the Geneva Conventions, which both the United States and the
Israeli governments are signatory to, any peace accord that does not address
the removal of Israeli settlements legitimizes them and contravenes international
law. The issue of the Settlements is a pressing issue for Palestinians. As they
exist there can be no peace.
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Facts about Settlements: 1- Settlements are directly involved in destroying Palestinian ecology and living space through deforestation, desertification, dumping of hazardous waste materials, and dumping of industrial waste. http://www.palestinecenter.org/cpap/pubs/20000314ib.html 2- Settlers participate in attacking Palestinian civilians without provocation, murdering them, injuring them, and in some cases, even torturing them. In addition to the killings there are reports of theft and willful damage to property. http://www.btselem.org/English/Settlers_Violence/Settlers_Violence.asp http://www.phrmg.org/monitor2001/apr2001.htm 3- The settlement network is not just a loose group of Israeli radicals, but exists to control and segregate the Palestinian population through a network of settler-only highways and roadblocks. http://www.passia.org/palestine_facts/MAPS/Separation-Wall-WB-2003.htm |
Facts about the Right of Return: 1- The State of Israel created over 700,000 Palestinian Refugees in 1948 and destroyed over 500 Palestinian villages. 2- The 1967 occupation of the West Bank caused another 60,000 refugees. 3- Today there are about 6.5 million refugees. Some are refugees within Palestine, but the vast majority are Refugees forced to living abroad. Most refugees live within 100 miles of their former homeland. 4- The State of Israel does not allow the refugees to return to their homes. This is in contravention of International law. |
Anti-War
Committee |