Events In Palestine 02 June - PMC

Events In Palestine 02 June - PMC

The News in Brief

02 June 2002 Palestine Media Center -PMC http://www.palestine-pmc.com

Find in Today's Brief:

- Solana: President Arafat Determined to Achieve Peace

- Britain Likens Israeli so-called 'Security Zones' to South African Bantustans

- Iceland's Parliament calls for Israeli Withdrawal from Occupied Palestinian Territory

- UNESCO to Re-build Destroyed Palestinian Educational and Cultural Institutions

Solana: President Arafat Determined to Achieve Peace

Mr. Javier Solana, Secretary-General and High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, stressed that President Yasser Arafat "is determined to achieve peace, which will bring an end to regional suffering".

Following his meeting with the President in Ramallah yesterday, Mr. Solana reiterated that the European Union, US, Russia, and the United Nations would continue their efforts to "restore the peace process in order to put an end to suffering of the Palestinian People".

Britain Likens Israeli so-called 'Security Zones' to South African Bantustans

In light of Israel's division of the West Bank into eight isolated fenced-off cantons, senior British Foreign Office Officials condemned the racist measure, comparing to South Africa's Apartheid regime.

While Israeli occupation authorities have alleged that this process comes as a step towards establishing 'security zones', the British officials stressed that such a measure aims to control all movement of Palestinian people and goods. They also likened such zones to the 'Bantustans' created during the South African apartheid regime.

The Officials added that Britain is pressing the EU to protest against this Israeli action, which will eradicate the Palestinian economy.

The Israeli occupation's segregation plan compels all Palestinians to get Israeli permission from the so-called "Civil Administration", in order to move within the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Under this apartheid system, the Palestinian People are only allowed to travel within cities between 5 am and 7 pm. In addition, movement of goods between Palestinian towns and cities will be subject to a "back-to-back" system, wherein goods would have to be unloaded from incoming trucks and then reloaded into local trucks.

An even more rigorous regime is envisaged in the Gaza Strip. The transport of goods into Gaza will be allowed only for humanitarian purposes (mainly food). It is worth noting that this policy, which highlights Israel's increasingly visible apartheid regime, is illegal under international law.

Iceland's Parliament calls for Israeli Withdrawal from Occupied Palestinian Territory

The Parliament of Iceland called for the immediate Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It also reiterated the need for immediate resumption of negotiations between both sides in accordance with UN Resolutions, to provide for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with internationally recognized borders.

Members of Parliament also expressed their concern over the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and called for the deployment of a fact-finding committee to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, according to UN Security Council Resolutions.

UNESCO to Re-build Destroyed Palestinian Educational and Cultural Institutions

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, has dedicated a sum of 1,135,000 US Dollars for rebuilding Palestinian educational and cultural institutions destroyed by the Israeli Occupation Army in the past few months.

On the 27th of May, the executive board, in its 164th session, issued a resolution concerning the continuous Israeli incursions into Palestinian-controlled areas.

The resolution stipulated that the UNESCO Program launched aims to strengthen the various institutions of the Palestine National Authority through organizing training workshops for Palestinian youth and professionals. It further aims to rebuild Palestinian institutions and infrastructure in the fields of culture, communication, and education that were either destroyed completely or partially by Israeli occupation troops in the most recent months.

The Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization Condemns Israeli Aggression

The Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization (AAPSO) condemned today the continuous "racist Israeli measures" against the Palestinian People.

In press release issued today, the organization also called upon the international community to condemn and stand against such measures.

AAPSO further called for the immediate release of all Palestinian detainees, especially the Palestinian Legislative Council Member, Mr. Marwan Al-Barghouthi, who was detained during the Israeli reoccupation of Ramallah City last April.

a.. STATEMENTS

Israel Disregards Palestinians' Right to Education

Dr. Carmela Armanious-Omary, the Vice President for Administrative and Financial Affairs at Birzeit University, expressed her deepest concern and outrage at the illegal Israeli policy of closure of the Ramallah-Birzeit road, which prohibits 5,000 students and 600 staff members from reaching Birzeit University.

http://www.palestine-pmc.com/statments/2002/june/stat-2-6-02.html

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