Palestinian: Walls block peace
Mustafa Barghouthi, the runner-up in the recent Palestinian presidential elections, said he wants peace and democracy but can't envision it until Israel pulls settlements from the West Bank and Gaza Strip and takes down walls separating Israel from Palestinian territories.
Barghouthi was in Ann Arbor on Monday and spoke for 90 minutes at the Michigan League about his excitement over the prospects for peace but the obstacles he still sees possibly preventing it.
Barghouthi said the media has failed to show the truth about what is happening to Palestinians. His presentation showed Palestinians with 45 percent of the disputed land in 1947 and less than 11 percent in 2003 due to encroachment and settlements by Israel.
"These are colonies that were built on stolen land by Israel," he said.
He spoke about the wall the Israeli army constructed and the 703 checkpoints that restrict movement. Barghouthi said that while he was campaigning for the presidential elections he was beaten by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint.
Joan Lowenstein, a past president of the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County who has visited Israel about a half-dozen times, said Palestinian terrorists are to blame for a lot of the restrictions Palestinians face.
Lowenstein, who didn't attend Barghouthi's speech, said the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv last week that killed at least five people was a good example of why a security fence and checkpoints are necessary.
"The checkpoints are to try to keep terrorists out of Israel," Lowenstein said. "For every suicide bombing that happens, there are dozens that have been thwarted by checkpoints and other measures."
Lowenstein said the checkpoints were similar to those on the Mexico-U.S. border. She said once the entire wall is completed separating Israel from Palestine, there will be no more need for checkpoints and Palestinians will be able to move freely.
She disputed Barghouthi's claim that Israel was involved in a land grab of Palestinian territory.
"The bottom line is that all of that land is subject to negotiation," Lowenstein said. "Israel has always been willing to negotiate land for peace. ... Until now, there has never been anyone on the other side that was willing to negotiate in good faith."
Barghouthi said the recent elections were reason for optimism. He said he was a believer in nonviolent resistance to Israel's occupation. Barghouthi said the wall, which he said was three times as long and twice as high as the Berlin Wall, would hurt chances for peace.
"This is a monstrous structure," he said. "I don't know how we can anticipate peace if this structure continues to exist."
He said the walls have gates secured by Israeli soldiers that limit who can leave and enter. Barghouthi said gatekeepers at one gate only allow anyone to come or go for 50 minutes a day, spread over two 15-minute and one 20-minute period. He also said the Israeli army uses permits to restrict who is allowed to come and go.
He showed a picture of Palestinian children waiting in line to get through a gate with Israeli soldiers watching.
Barghouthi said the media doesn't get the news of scenes like that disseminated. He wondered how the world would react if Jewish children were being restricted by Palestinian soldiers.
Lowenstein said Israel began building walls and much smaller fences to protect its citizens from suicide attacks in 2002. Lowenstein said that before the walls and fences were built, suicide bombers could simply walk across the street into crowded Israeli locations.
"The government of a democratic country cannot allow its citizens to be prey to terrorists," Lowenstein said. "The Israeli citizens demanded some sort of security."
Tom Gantert can be reached at tgantert@annarbornews.com or (734) 994-6701.