By Jihad Abu Falah
Albawaba.com- Amman
A leading Christian leader in Palestine has said that agreements signed by the Palestinians and the Israelis are effectively null because of the Israeli practices in the Palestinian territories and its continued aggressions on the people there.
“There are no agreements holding anymore as the Israeli bullets and missiles targeting the Palestinian people have cancelled all agreements,” said Archimandrite Atallah Hanna, spokesman of the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem.
“In fact, there have been no real agreements because these were merely temporary arrangements regarding limited issues and yet they have not been implemented,” he added.
According to Archimandrite, Israel has proved to the world that it has adopted the use of force as the approach to end the conflict with the Palestinians.
“The agreements have failed and Israel has shown the world that it does not want peace. It really wants the surrender of the Palestinians and security and stability for itself without giving the Palestinians their legitimate rights. These agreements have been a complete failure”, he stressed.
The spokesman, who was in Amman to take part in the Popular Conference for Defending Jerusalem which concluded Friday, held that “All participants whether from Arab or Islamic countries or even from Arab communities abroad are keen on defending the interests of the Arab nation and Palestinian people.” According to Hanna, Israeli Likud leader Ariel “Sharon’s provocative visit to Al Haram Al Sharif was the spark, which ignited the violence, but it was not the only cause for the uprising.”
He said that there had been tension and feeling of oppression among the Palestinians due to the aggression of the Israeli occupation forces against them, and the Intifada was the natural and logical reaction to these aggressions.
“The Intifada, which is not a haphazard or temporary event, has an objective: It is a popular expression of the Palestinians’ national aspirations that will not end unless the occupation ends . It has become apparent that Israel does not understand but the language of force and resistance.
“We have a live example in Lebanon where resistance continued with all means until the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon was forced out,” the spokesman concluded.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
