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ADC Press Release: Mitchell Commission Report Positive But Flawed |
May
21, 2001
Washington, DC, May 21 – The
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) described the report
by the Mitchell Commission about the causes of the conflict in the
Palestinian territories occupied by Israel as positive but flawed, and
having been overtaken by recent events. ADC President Hala Maksoud
said “While there are many positive aspects to the Commission's
report, especially the demand that Israel halt all settlement activity,
it fails to adequately address the root cause of the conflict, which is
Israel's occupation of Palestinian land.”
The most positive aspect of the report is the call for Israel to
“freeze all settlement activity, including the 'natural growth' of
existing settlements.” Since the beginning of the Oslo peace process
in 1993, Israeli settlements increased vastly, with at least 80,000
additional settlers introduced into the occupied territories. A
report issued yesterday by the Israeli group Peace Now says that Israel
has created at least 15 new settlements since January. The avowed
purpose of the settlements is to make Palestinian independence and
statehood impossible. They are in complete violation of Article 49
of the 4th Geneva Convention, which prohibits all settlement activity in
occupied territories, defining them as a human rights abuse against the
occupied population. They are also prohibited by numerous UN
Security Council resolutions. The International Committee of the
Red Cross recently stated that Israeli settlement activity constitutes a
“war crime.”
The Commission report completely dismisses Israeli claims that the
uprising was organized and orchestrated by the PNA, and recognizes that
Israel's use of deadly force against unarmed protesters was the key
factor in sparking and fueling the rebellion. However, the report
fails to acknowledge the urgent need for international protection for
the Palestinian people, arguing that even an international observer
force, the minimum one would expect under such circumstances, cannot be
created without Israeli approval. This logic is in marked contrast
to approaches taken in other conflicts, such as those in the Balkans, in
recent years. Recent Israeli escalations, including the illegal
use of American-supplied F-16 warplanes to bomb defenseless Palestinian
towns under Israeli occupation has made the need for such protection
crystal clear. In light of these developments since the report was
submitted, ADC calls upon the Bush Administration to support
international efforts to provide protection to the Palestinian people
and to suspend further weapons sales to Israel.
Maksoud observed that “The Commission calls for a resumption of
negotiations without specifying that what is to be negotiated is an end
to the occupation, as required by international law and numerous UN
Security Council resolutions. For the Palestinian people, the
occupation has meant 34 years of political disempowerment,
impoverishment, dependence on work and travel permits, curfews, land
confiscations, house demolitions, torture, and living under separate and
unequal legal systems, all enforced by a hostile foreign army.
Such oppression cannot continue. Simply calling for an end to
violence, without acknowledging that the occupation imposes a system of
violence on every aspect of the daily lives of the Palestinian people,
misses the point entirely. Israel must be told in no uncertain
terms by the United States and the international community that the
occupation must end quickly and completely.”
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