Thousands of demonstrators marched throughout the Gaza Strip, West
Bank and parts of Jerusalem on June 9, the 30th anniversary of the
Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands. Demonstrators demanded
the immediate withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from the areas and the
cessation of all settlement construction.
In Gaza, over 3,000 demonstrators marched to a road recently shut off
by Israeli soldiers so it could be turned into an access route to a
planned-for settlement. The demonstrators planted olive and fruit
trees at the site. Israeli troops ordered them to leave and when they
refused, responded with tear gas and gunfire. One Palestinian died and
several others were injured.
At another demonstration point, Palestinian truckers blocked the
entrance to a Gaza settlement bloc where a memorial to an Israeli
soldier killed last fall was being unveiled. Three Palestinians were
wounded when soldiers and settlers opened fire on the demonstrators,
with two in serious condition in the hospital.
On the same day, Ahmed Qureia, speaker of the Palestinian Legislative
Council, said the Palestinians would not agree to any resumption of
peace talks if the United States moves to recognize Jerusalem as
Israel's capital. The House of Representatives passed a resolution
calling for the shift on June 7. Jerusalem is the heart of Palestine
and the Palestinian people want it as the capital of an independent
Palestinian state.
In related developments, the United Nations' Committee on the Exercise
of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People used the 30th
anniversary as an occasion to call on the international community to
"recommit itself to ending the decades-long illegal occupation by
Israel of the Palestinian Authority, including Jerusalem and other
Arab territories."
In a statement approved June 6 at the conclusion of a special meeting
at the ambassadorial level marking the thirtieth anniversary of the
Israeli occupation, the Committee said that as a direct result of the
Israeli occupation, the Palestinian people were living as hostages in
their own land and had not been able to enjoy their inalienable rights
under the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
CPC(M-L)
Shawgi Tell
Graduate School of Education
University at Buffalo
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
