The Ceasefire on the recent conflict between Israel and Palestine have had no impact yet towards the termination of the ongoing annexation, occupation, and apartheid activities that Israel has unleashed onto the Palestinian people, the Palestine Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Abdal Fatah Ahmed Khalil Alsattari has said.
His Excellency made the statement when AiNET Media paid a visit to him at the Embassy to discuss the aftermath of the Ceasefire following his 19th May press released at the Embassy in Ghana that indicated that America can stop the war. The press release was done prior to the actual announcement of the cease-fire on the 21st of last month.
As part of part of plans to bring calm to the Middle East, President Biden is reported to have made some considerations to appoint a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, to undertake a Middle East role of re-enforcing and expanding the already existing country-by-country accords in the Middle East. This strategy is considered effective and if implemented will bring a halt to the Middle East conflicts.
According to the Ambassador, lands of Palestine are still being occupied by Israel, over hundred court cases are still pending, women and children are still going through the tyranny of Israeli soldiers at check points, streets, and homes.
Whiles the fires have ceased for now, the issues that led to the conflict are still pending and Palestinian families are still under siege despite the commitment of the Biden Administration to bring the conflict to an end.
After the cease fire, litigations are still going on and that in Sheikh Jarrah and the nearby neighborhood of Silwan, more than 100 Palestinian families are facing lawsuits at different stages, and that “Over 1,000 Palestinians are at risk of mass displacement from these two areas alone, despite that a lot of destruction has already displaced many.
Since 1967 Israel has extended its framework, as a nation without boundaries and map, to occupy Palestinian territories, in a process known as “creeping annexation.” Its strategic objective is the permanent control of the maximum amount of lands with the minimum number of Palestinians aimed to establish “sovereignty over the whole city” of Jerusalem”.
Using the 1970 Israeli state enacted law, under which Israel could claim Palestine Stolen lands that they have occupied. It is reported that, on last Monday, Israel’s attorney general refused to intervene in the case of Palestinians who were at the court, meaning their last recourse is the supreme court.
The last month attacks of bloodshed and bombing, he indicated, took away 280 Palestinian lives including 67 children, 37 women and 15 families were all killed from father to children.
He noted that the recent carnage resonated deeply with the Arab public in the Middle East.
The Ambassador said they really expected a lot from President Joe Biden as he has pledged his commitment to liberate groups and minorities suffering from oppression in their localities and should sincerely take into consideration the global support from international community for the Palestine state following the recent attacks.
In relations to this new intention of extending the accords, Ambassador Ahmed Khalil Alsattari, reiterated that all Arab states are sovereign states and must be allowed to make their decisions.
He noted that Arabs are enlightened and well educated and understood politics, truth, and traditions. He believed that signing of accords with Israel will not prevent them from calling a spade a spade and if the need arises for all Arabs to unite against a common enemy in the middle East, that it will take just a blink of an eye to do that.
As part of the efforts of the United States towards resolving the conflict, the Biden administration has considered the appointment of a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, to a Mideast role that would marshal and potentially expand the country-by-country accords between Israel and Mideast governments.
The peace accords termed as “Abraham Accords” include a general declaration of support for peaceful relations in the Middle east among Jews, Muslims, and Christians, all followers of religion linked to the patriarch of Abraham.
The Trump administration saw the accords as partly paving a path towards full ties with Israel by the Arab states, including security and intelligent corporations. It is on this backdrop that, some supporters of the country-to-country accords asserted that the isolating of Israel within the Middle East, failed to overcome decades of deadlock on Palestinians’ demand for their own state with its capital in East Jerusalem.
The question is that will the inclusion of Israel and the enforcement of the county-to-country accords grant Palestine this demands? But the reaction of the Arabs state following the last month crisis, indicates that all the Arab states within the Middle East are like a group of the same kind, and if you put a gun on one, all the other once will come to compromise.
Today, all the Arabian state are equally aware of it, which led to their lamentation of signing the peace accords earlier before the bombardment of the Palestine in this last crisis.
Analyst therefore noted the signing of the accords “Gave Israel the false impression that it can forge peace agreements with Arab states as a substitute for coming to terms with the Palestine.”
And also seem to have exposed the political concept of using one Arab state to tyrannize all the Arabian State, a situation that has gone on for long resulting to the stability and immunity of Israel, a Jewish state surrounded by Arabic states.
This seems to be the motivation behind the idea that peace accords carried out by nations in the Middle East will only be effective if the nations are willing to be practical by adjusting or making of enactments that will work in respect to enhancing the peace accord, otherwise they will make no impact in resolving the situation.
Despite the contrary views, the Joe Biden government has endorsed that the deals former President Donald Trump struck were “an important achievement, one that not only we support, but one we’d like to build on,” as acknowledged by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the House of Foreign Affairs Committee last two weeks.
In addition, Blinken is reported to have said, “We’re looking at countries that may want to join in and, take part and begin to normalize their own relations with Israel. That, too, has been very much part of conversations I’ve had with several of my counterparts.”
Further reports indicated that, due to the above understanding, opponents of these peace deals, however, argued that they will undermine the need for a collective Arab consensus and will only recognize Israel within the middle east, only when it resumes serious peace talks with the Palestinian people that might lead to a tangible concession. They have a strong conviction that extending the country to country accords will be effective in resolving the conflict.
Reacting to the feasibility of the country –to- country peace accord led by the United State, Ambassador AbdalFatah Ahmed Khalil Alsattari, reaffirmed the commitment and determination of the Palestinian people to fight for their political rights at all times as they are grateful for the motivations and overwhelming support from the international community.
He acknowledged the fact that both Christians and Muslims of Bethlehem, and almost everybody stood opposed to the bombardment that occurred last month between Israel and Palestine. “I want to make it clear that the conflict was not between Jews and Muslims. “It was not a Jews-Muslim conflict, it was Palestine and Israel affair,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, the Ambassador recalled the signing of the Oslo peace pact which wasn’t able to stop the encroachment and emptying of their homes.
He felt that signing a peace accord with all states, country- to- country, within the Middle East with Israel may not stop the occupation of the lands and the apartheid that is currently going on except that this time round much is expected from President Joe Biden to help put an end to the creeping annexation agenda of Israel which targeted taking over Jerusalem to be the residence of Jewish tribes alone.
As part of efforts to resolve the impasse, he noted that the role and stands of America is important in the conflict all these while, and lamenting that despite the checkered posture of Israel as against the position of the world at large all this while, they have had unflinching support from America in form of weapons and monetary support.
Aside from signing the peace accord, he believed that America is the only nation now that keep supporting Israel despite all the carnage and atrocities committed against Palestine, and that if American really wanted justice and fairness for the Palestinian people, that Israel would have no option than to grant it, highlighting that the declaration of Jerusalem as capital for Israel by former president Donald Trump on 6th December 2017, is in direct alignment of all the activities of the creeping annexation plan. A situation that has gone a long way to strengthen the Israeli government in boldly causing all the human rights atrocities against Palestine.
The strategic positioning and hunting of Palestine by Israel is in great interest of Israel to fine away of balancing power with the Arabian nations within the Middle East including Palestine, given that Israel is the only odd Jewish tribe surrounded by Arab States in the Middle East.
This seems to have captured the heart of America to rather support Israel as a Jewish community identified within Arabian states. So in effect, Palestine becomes one of the bargaining points in the Middle East once it held in hostage by Israeli forces and supported by America.
Earlier reports also showed that Marwan Muasher, a former foreign minister of Jordan charged that Israeli Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, considered the accords as an alternative to peace-making with the Palestinians. He stressed and indicated that, “These agreements were never about the peace process,” and throws a question that, “Were they helpful to the peace process? No, they were not,” This was the posture of Muasher as reported by Mouin Rabbani.
It is imperative that, the failure of the earlier accords became a precursor to last month carnage.
In reaction to this assertion, the Palestine Ambassador to Ghana said that, all the Arabs states are solidly behind Palestine, a formation that Israel tries to avoid.
He went ahead to add that, signing the peace accords doesn’t make any difference and that the love, support and respect that Arab nations have for one another will continue despite singing of peace accords with Israel, the Ambassador added.
Despite the intentions of extending the country-to-country accords by US, Ambassador Abdal Fatah Ahmed Khalil Alsattari, suggested that the two-state settlement should be facilitated specially between Israel and Palestine to bring an end to this conflict.
After the cease in the bombardments, Palestinian residents and activists say they still face a bleak future if international pressure fades. They called for foreign governments to try to pressure the Israeli government,” as claimed by Hammad, one of the resident victims of the annexation.
Hammad noted that even as there is ceasefire, still “There is no justice in their courts.”
The question is, “Has the world suddenly gone to sleep after the cease-fire? And shouldn’t the review of the 1970 annexation act to occupy Palestinian lands? Is the world just putting off the fire, or resolving the conflict that triggered the fire? In relation to what the world is doing, Palestine Ambassador to Ghana, said that reconstruction of Palestine wouldn’t really make much impact if the looting of lands and apartheid did not stop.
He acknowledged that, the ongoing discrimination, unlawful detention of Palestinians, restricting checkpoints and restricting the movement of Palestinian people whiles allowing the Israeli people to be free to do all that they wanted to do is nothing than apartheid which the Palestine State will continue to resist till justice is enforce for the liberation of Palestinian people.
“Our freedom really means a lot to us despite an equal need to rebuild Palestine,” he insisted.
According to Ambassador Khalil Alsattari, the atrocities caused by the Israeli state, are engraved on the hearts of Palestinian citizens to the extent that the Israeli Soldiers take pride in killing Palestinian children to prevent them from inheriting the memories of the enmity orchestrated by the Israeli government.
Despite this ravage against Palestine, His Excellency said that the Palestine state has no hatred for the Israeli people if they should put an end to the gradual occupation of their lands and discriminating against them.
Meanwhile, in trying to find a balanced foreign policy after the takeover of the Biden administration, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who spoke to officials in Oman on a trip immediately before last month’s Gaza war erupted, is reported to have said that, “As many ways as the Biden administration will depart from Trump policy in the region, there will be places where it sees an interest in continuity,” he said. This confirms the assertion that in matters of foreign policy, United State under Biden will not want to digress totally from what Donald Trump left despite the difference in approach and ideology.
His Excellency is therefore using this opportunity to call upon United States to be fair and balanced in their intervention to resolve the issue despite their close relationship with Israel to facilitate the peace that is needed in the Middle East as well as Palestine.
He called for all attempts to annex Jerusalem as the capital of Israel to be stopped. One option he suggested to resolve this deadlock is for the international community, the United States, and Europe in particular, to impose an end to the occupation of the Palestine lands and all attempts to continue creeping into Palestinian territories and ignite the process of the two-state-settlement.Columnist: A.G. Naeem Ahmed
Palestine Ambassador to Ghana calls for a two state settlement after cease fire
