Sheikh Yousef: `“Truce, peace, do not exist with settlements and the wall`

Sheikh Hasan Yousef, one of Hamas’ political leaders in the west Bank demanded the Palestinian Authority to reconsider the truce approved by the P.A and the Palestinian factions, in protest to the continuous Israeli violations, settlement expansion and the construction of the Separation Wall.

“The popular campaign against the Wall is necessary, but the Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority should not wait until Israel creates new realities and forced conditions”, Sheikh Yousef said. 

The statements of Sheikh Yousef came during a press conference held at the Palestinian Media center in al-Biereh, near Ramallah, on Saturday morning.  

Palestinian legislator and member of the Popular Committee Against the Wall, Qaddoura Fares, and Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi representative of the committee also spoke at the conference.

“Israel continued it policies against the Palestinians people, and their land, it is trying to force them out of their country by making their live very tough, living under closure, surrounded by settlement sand the Wall”, Yousef added.

Also, Sheikh Yousef criticized UN Secretary General, Koffi Anan, after stating that the Palestinians should be compensated for the land and property they lost as a result of the construction of the Wall, saying that “Anan should have demanded Israel to remove the Wall, which is illegal and against the International Law, instead of demanding to compensate the residents”.

Yousef said that the Palestinian people will continue their resistance against the Seperation Wall and settlements in the Palestinian terrotories, and that their struggle is legitimnate since they are defending their land, and resisting the occupation.  

PLC member, Qaddoura Fares, said that the Palestinians and every nation which is fighting for freedom in this world expressed their rejection to the Separation Wall and the Israeli violations against the Palestinian people.

“The continuous protests against the Wall are clear indications of the Palestinian unity, and rejection to the Israeli polices of annexation, land grab and separation, Internationals come from arround the golbe to express their solidarity with the Palestinians ”, Fares said. 

Also, Fares added that the Israeli government in trying to affect the decisions of the Israeli High Court, by attempting to make its decisions coherent with the Israeli policies of occupation and separation. 

Dr. Barghouthi said that the advisory decision of the International Court of Justice one year ago, is considered one of the basis of the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation, and that the “claimed withdrawal from the Gaza Strip aims to divert the international attention from the Wall.

“The International solidarity Movement achieved important goals; its members are demanding their countries to stop any form of military cooperation with Israel, and stop all economical agreements an investments with Israel as long as it continuous its policies against the Palestinian people”, Dr. Barghouthi added.

150 peace activists in Brussels launched a campaign to collect millions of signatures demanding their government to stop its cooperation with Israel.

Interviewed by, Rashid Hilal, PNN