Friday 11 July 2003
PLAID MP CONDEMNS ISRAEL'S "CASUAL CRUELTY"
During his visit to Israel and Palestine, Plaid Cymru MP, Simon Thomas, today condemned the "casual cruelty" of the Israeli Defence Force, where communities are being bulldozed and separation fences erected, ghettoising the Palestinians through a "form of apartheid".
Mr Thomas also presented a plaque to the Mayor of a Palestinian town as a sign of friendship from the Mayor of Aberystwyth. Mr Thomas, the MP for Ceredigion, is visiting Israel and the occupied territories with a cross-party delegation from the House of Commons.
Speaking from Jerusalem, Mr Thomas said,
"No words can prepare you for the sheer misery of the lives of the Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel has imposed a virtual complete shutdown of the daily lives of Palestinians leading to rocketing rates of unemployment and lack of basic services such as hospitals and schools.
"This misery is reflected in the fears of terrorism in the minds of the Israeli people that I have been speaking with and the whole situation appears to be a desperate and tragic cycle of repression and violence.
"When I visited Qalqilya today I was amazed at the casual cruelty of the Israeli Defence Forces actions. Farmers have been cut off from their fields and their water supplies, and communities where Arabs and Jews could once mix have literally been bulldozed to make way for a wall. This separation wall is a form of apartheid by any other name and divides Arab from Arab and Jews from Arabs.
"The only result will be further mutual mistrust and less opportunity for peace. I have no doubt that the current Israeli government is breaking-up Palestinian territory into ghettoised settlements. It is a form of collective punishment and is totally outside international law. Furthermore, the Israeli government is sanctioning tacitly the grabbing of Palestinians' land and water by illegal settlers.
"It is clear from the conversations I have had with Israelis that they support these policies out of fear of terrorism and violence. I hope to ask Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas tomorrow what steps they are taking to cut down on Palestinian incitement, however, as the occupying force the Israeli government is clearly not living up to its obligations under the Geneva treaties and when I return to the UK I will be taking up these issues in Parliament."
Notes for Editors:
Mr Thomas has already visited a number of Palestinian towns and villages, visited the British Consulate in Jerusalem and met with the British Ambassador.
The village of Qalqilya has a population of 40,000 and is surrounded by a wall with only one exit. Palestinians are not allowed to take their cars outside of the town.
Tomorrow, Mr Thomas will visit Ramallah, and Bethlehem, and will meet Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Mahmoud Abbas the PLO's Prime Minister.
Mr Thomas will return to the UK next Tuesday evening (15 July).
PLAID MP CONDEMNS ISRAEL'S "CASUAL CRUELTY"
During his visit to Israel and Palestine, Plaid Cymru MP, Simon Thomas, today condemned the "casual cruelty" of the Israeli Defence Force, where communities are being bulldozed and separation fences erected, ghettoising the Palestinians through a "form of apartheid".
Mr Thomas also presented a plaque to the Mayor of a Palestinian town as a sign of friendship from the Mayor of Aberystwyth. Mr Thomas, the MP for Ceredigion, is visiting Israel and the occupied territories with a cross-party delegation from the House of Commons.
Speaking from Jerusalem, Mr Thomas said,
"No words can prepare you for the sheer misery of the lives of the Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel has imposed a virtual complete shutdown of the daily lives of Palestinians leading to rocketing rates of unemployment and lack of basic services such as hospitals and schools.
"This misery is reflected in the fears of terrorism in the minds of the Israeli people that I have been speaking with and the whole situation appears to be a desperate and tragic cycle of repression and violence.
"When I visited Qalqilya today I was amazed at the casual cruelty of the Israeli Defence Forces actions. Farmers have been cut off from their fields and their water supplies, and communities where Arabs and Jews could once mix have literally been bulldozed to make way for a wall. This separation wall is a form of apartheid by any other name and divides Arab from Arab and Jews from Arabs.
"The only result will be further mutual mistrust and less opportunity for peace. I have no doubt that the current Israeli government is breaking-up Palestinian territory into ghettoised settlements. It is a form of collective punishment and is totally outside international law. Furthermore, the Israeli government is sanctioning tacitly the grabbing of Palestinians' land and water by illegal settlers.
"It is clear from the conversations I have had with Israelis that they support these policies out of fear of terrorism and violence. I hope to ask Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas tomorrow what steps they are taking to cut down on Palestinian incitement, however, as the occupying force the Israeli government is clearly not living up to its obligations under the Geneva treaties and when I return to the UK I will be taking up these issues in Parliament."
Notes for Editors:
Mr Thomas has already visited a number of Palestinian towns and villages, visited the British Consulate in Jerusalem and met with the British Ambassador.
The village of Qalqilya has a population of 40,000 and is surrounded by a wall with only one exit. Palestinians are not allowed to take their cars outside of the town.
Tomorrow, Mr Thomas will visit Ramallah, and Bethlehem, and will meet Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Mahmoud Abbas the PLO's Prime Minister.
Mr Thomas will return to the UK next Tuesday evening (15 July).
