Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan
A Canadian-born lawyer of Palestinian origin, who teaches at Harvard University and practices law in Ramallah, has appealed to Canadians to promote a just peace in the Middle East.
Like Israeli journalist Jonathan Cook who visited Ottawa recently, Diana Battu asserted that Israel has no interest in seeking peace; it is pursuing peace talks only to buy time to keep pushing the Palestinians out of their homeland and grab their land. Because many governments support Israel even though their people oppose its violations of international law and its occupation and oppression of Palestinians, the people must support justice and peace, she stated - as Cook had also stated. Battu spoke at a function sponsored by Canadians for a Just Peace in the Middle East in Ottawa, warning Canadians that the situation is getting worse.
Battu cited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new demand that the Palestinians not only accept Israel but recognize it as a Jewish state as the latest evidence of Israel’s effort to sabotage a just peace. She stated that in its treaty with Egypt in 1979 and with Jordan in 1994, and other agreements and the 2003 road map, there is no mention of recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. It is a new demand to buy time to build more illegal settlements on Palestinian land, relegate non-Jews to an inferior status permanently and hoodwink the world into believing that the Palestinians are stalling a peace agreement, she declared.
It is a policy, Battu affirmed, that Israel has pursued since its inception. When the United Nations passed a resolution in 1948 to set up a Jewish and a Palestinian state in Palestine, armed Israelis immediately attacked unarmed Palestinians and ousted 75 percent of them from their homes.
The remaining Palestinians, who constitute 22 percent of Israel’s population, have been confined to two percent of the land, she said, adding that more than 50 Israeli laws discriminate against Israeli citizens who are not Jewish. They have fewer rights in their ancestral homeland and country of citizenship than have Jews who have never been to Israel.
She stated that Israel is a democracy but only for its Jewish citizens because in Israel, citizens’ rights flow from their religion and not from citizenship. Even the Supreme Court of Israel has declared that Israel is a Jewish rather than a democratic state.
Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank, she declared, are designed to make the lives of Palestinians so miserable that they are forced to leave their land in despair. To meet their basic needs, Palestinians in the West Bank and in Israel itself need state permits and these are routinely denied to them.
Since July 2013 alone, when the latest peace talks began, more than 560 Palestinians have been killed, 900 have been injured, and there have been more than 550 attacks by illegal settlers on Palestinians - no settler has been persecuted for these assaults - and thousands of new Israeli settlements have been started or announced on Palestinian land. Since the Oslo peace process started, more than 12,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished, she continued. In addition, more than 5,000 Palestinians are in jail without charges or trial.
Battu asserted that the situation in Gaza is even more desperate because of Israel’s illegal siege by land, sea and air. Israeli actions have shattered Gaza’s economy. There are serious food and medical shortages. Ninety percent of the water is unsafe for drinking. The United Nations has stated that by 2020 Gaza will become ungovernable and unlivable.
Because world opinion is taking shape against such brutality, Israel is pursuing peace talks as a cover for grabbing more Palestinian land, ousting more Palestinians and putting the blame on Palestinians for the failure of the talks. Nevertheless, Battu declared, the Palestinian people are determined to resist the occupiers and stay despite their sufferings.
The other speaker, Warren Allmand, also asked Canadians to work for justice and peace in the Middle East. Allmand is a former member of Parliament and served as Solicitor General, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs.
He stated that the Middle East suffers from great injustices but the people who are victimized the most are the Palestinians. He said that human rights are universal and must be supported for all people, even through sanctions, if necessary.
Thomas Woodley, president of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, declared that CJPME will continue its efforts to promote a just peace in the Middle East and human rights in Syria, Egypt, Israel-Palestine and other areas.
He thanked Canadians for supporting CJPME’s efforts and said he was greatly encouraged by their backing. Though the Middle East picture remains bleak, as Battu said, the efforts of conscientious people to speak out against injustices and oppression and promote peace and justice for everyone offer the light of hope in dark days.
— Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan is a retired Canadian journalist, civil servant and refugee judge.
