Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs, and in charge of Disengagement file, Mohammad Dahlan warned on Thursday of a third Intifada if current Israeli policies including settlements, wall construction and the isolation of Jerusalem continue.
Additionally, Dahlan blamed Israel for the weakness of the Palestinian Security forces.
ÂÂ
‘The Palestinians are in a very difficult situation,’ Dahlan added. ‘Israel has destroyed our security forces and their headquarters and the international community has given us nothing but advice,’ he said. ‘How can they ask us for full results while they haven’t given us anything? Israel’s current actions are paving the way for a third intifada.’
ÂÂ
He also warned Israel against missing the ‘historic’ opportunity with Mahmoud Abbas in power, to reach a reasonable settlement in the Middle East.
ÂÂ
Dahlan’s major complain was that Israel still refuse to hand to the Palestinians vital details related to the disengagement plan even despite the 10 meetings already held between the two sides over the past few months.
ÂÂ
‘We have asked the Israelis if they want a serious and successful withdrawal and they still haven’t answered us,’ he said. ‘Therefore we consider their reply to be negative.’
ÂÂ
So far, the Palestinians do not have information about the future of the crossing into and out of the Gaza Strip after the pullout
ÂÂ
‘They are refusing to answer us regarding the Rafah border crossing,’ he added. ‘They are also refusing to give us permission to reopen the (Palestinian) airport in the Gaza Strip.’
ÂÂ
Dahlan rejected Israel’s proposal to build a railway to connect the West Bank with the Gaza Strip and insisted that Israel reopens the “safe passage” opened based on Oslo accords and closed shortly after the Intifada started.
ÂÂ
‘These are basic issues that need to be tackled immediately,’ he said. ‘If Israel fails to deal with them, the withdrawal won’t succeed and we won’t be prepared to coordinate anything.’
ÂÂ
Dahlan accused Israel of wasting time and arguing so that they blame the Palestinians for an “expected” failure of the disengagement.
ÂÂ
‘This Israeli policy of foot-dragging does not surprise us,’ he said. ‘Sharon does not want to coordinate with the Palestinians. He wants to delay the coordination so that he could accuse the Palestinians of thwarting the withdrawal.’
ÂÂ
Dahlan said Palestinians are ready to take over, adding that a special task force has been formed for this, including a security force to preserve the settlers’ houses when evacuated.
