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Israel to Demolish 3,000 Palestinian Homes
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“He (Abbas) will be assessed based on the way he will combat terrorism and dismantle its infrastructure,” said Sharon. (Reuters)
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OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, January 11 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – No
sooner had the Palestinians elected their next president in a poll
hailed by Washington as an opportunity to yank the peace process out of
its slumber than Israel announced plans to demolish 3,000 homes in
war-battered Rafah.
Israeli
press reports revealed Tuesday, January 11, that the Israeli occupation
army has confirmed the destruction plan, one day after senior Israeli
officials called Mahmmoud Abbas a “serious and responsible man with
whom we can talk.”
The
mass-circulation Maariv daily said the Israeli plan in Rafah is
aimed at digging a trench along the so-called “Philadelphi route” to
prevent the alleged smuggling of weapons, reported Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
It
said that the construction will be in full swing within weeks, adding
the occupation authorities have already submitted for the attorney
general's approval a plan for digging the trench that would extend to
the southern part of Rafah.
The
newspaper said the army planned to complete the project before the
Israeli government's plan to pull out of the Gaza Strip and dismantle
Jewish settlements to be implemented in June this year.
According
to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), a total of 1,728
Rafah homes have been demolished since the start of the second Intifada
by the Israeli occupation army, leaving 17,400 homeless.
“Eyes
on Abbas”
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“Israel can play and must play an important part of the development of a Palestinian state,” Bush said.
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Ironically,
the US leader Monday, January 10, said he believed Israel had
contributed to the success of the Palestinian election.
George
W. Bush said at a White House briefing that Israel had to help the
Palestinians with their economy, health care system and building a new
society.
“Israel
can play and must play an important part of the development of a
Palestinian state.”
Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, however, threw the ball on the other
direction, when he made clear that “all eyes” were now on Abbas.
“He
will be assessed based on the way he will combat terrorism and dismantle
its infrastructure,” hawkish Sharon said during a meeting with US
Senator John Kerry, who was among the international observers monitoring
Sunday's vote.
On
Tuesday, coinciding with the demolition reports confirmed by the army,
Sharon made a phone call to Abbas to congratulate him on his victory.
Abbas
was formally declared the new Palestinian president Monday after a clear
election victory.
Abbas,
the candidate of the mainstream Fatah movement, garnered 62.3 percent of
votes, while his nearest rival Mustafa Al-Barghouthi won 19.8 percent.
Israeli
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Abbas should be given a chance
but wasted no time in reminding him of the “daunting task he faces”.
He
stressed the new president of the Palestinian Authority, who was born in
what is now Israel, would have to secure a renunciation of the
Palestinian refugees' right of return and was expected to crack down on
resistance groups.
Abbas
took a rare swipe at Israel January 4, calling it the “Zionist
enemy” after an Israeli tank shot to pieces eight Palestinians,
including children, in the Gaza Strip.
He,
however, angered the Palestinian resistance factions last month when he
called again for demilitarizing the Intifada.
Palestinian
officials and experts told IslamOnline.net January 5 that only the
Palestinian people should have the final say on whether to end the armed
Intifada.
Pundits
have also said that the second Palestinian Intifada has left its indelible
marks on Palestinian society compared to the first one.
Following
the killing of four Palestinian workers at the hands of Israeli
settlers, the Palestinians launched their first seven-year Intifada
(Stone Intifada) against the occupation forces in 1987.
In
September 2000, Al-Aqsa Intifada erupted in the wake of the provocative
visit of the then Israeli opposition leader Sharon to Al-Aqsa mosque,
Islam’s third holiest site.
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