Statement by Dr.Mustafa Barghouti the leader of the Palestinian National Initiative ( PNI)

Pic Courtesy: MEMO

The Israeli government is escalating the situation in a very dangerous manner in both the West Bank and Gaza, threatening to drive the situation into a full-scale war.

First, the Israeli defense minister has declared that the Israeli army is pushing tanks into the West Bank, especially into the Jenin area. They also announced that they will not allow the 40,000 Palestinians who were displaced by Israeli army from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nour Shams to come back to their homes.

They declared that it was their intention that the army would stay at these refugee camps and prevent people from coming back to them. It’s in association with their declaration of banning UNRWA activities in these camps and in general. This is a clear intention to liquidate the presence of Palestinian refugee camps in an act of liquidating the whole refugee issue of Palestinians.

Second, they are escalating their attacks everywhere in the West Bank. The attacks are by the Israeli army, which has increased its military presence in the West Bank from 24 to 27  battalions . The increased of the number of Israeli army soldiers makes it the largest military Israeli presence in the West Bank since 2002. Practically, Israel is reinvading the West Bank and re-establishing full military occupation, completely marginalizing the Palestinian Authority and its presence.

Third, the Israeli government has violated the ceasefire agreement by not releasing the 602 Palestinian prisoners who were supposed to be released today, including 47 Palestinian prisoners who have been re-arrested after being released in the Shalit deal before. This violation is very serious, it could mean that Israel is preparing to go back to full-scale war in Gaza by not only refusing to negotiate the second stage of the ceasefire agreement but by undermining the first stage of the ceasefire agreement, preventing these prisoners from being released. This is a very grave violation of the ceasefire agreement and it should be met with condemnation by the international community because it could mean that we will go back to full-scale war in the Gaza Strip which has been subjected already to genocide, collective punishment, and ethnic cleansing before. The situation is very serious and if Netanyahu is allowed to continue with the invasions in the West Bank and blocking the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, that could mean the end of the two-state solution forever. It’s so much needed for the whole international community to stand up to Israeli measures and threaten Israel with sanctions if they continue this path.