The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
4 Aug 2010
In a speech to an international audience, Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative presents the reality of the situation in Palestine.
He traces the history of the dispossession of Palestinian land in past decades and more recently the carving up of the West Bank as Jewish settlements expand into Palestinian territories. Barghouti's presentation includes maps that graphically demonstrate the displacement of Palestinians and the shrinking of their territory.
As a result of a strategic Israeli plan which resulted in encroachment on and the breaking up of Palestinian land -- over the years, the whole idea of Palestinian statehood has been reduced to the idea of clusters of ghettos and Bantustans. By 2005, any notion of Palestinian statehood based on the reality on the ground translated into Palestinians occupying just 11% of the land that they were originally dispossessed of.
He also reveals the tragic circumstances of Palestinians living in the shadow of the apartheid wall, which contrary to popular belief is not just a wall separating the West Bank from Israel, but is a wall that snakes through the occupied Palestinian territories separating Palestinians from each other.
Barghouti's presents a chilling account of life under occupation and calls for international support for the rising non-violent movement in Palestine.
Watch part two of his speech here.
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