Radio Mundo Real

Violating the rights of the Palestinians and denying them access to natural resources is commonplace in the Occupied Territories in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and in the Gaza Strip. This situation is bordering on genocide, Xavier Abu Eid, a Chilean-Palestinian advisor to the Negotiations Division of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), told Real World Radio.

Almost 200 Palestinian civilians have died since the initial Israeli attack, 170,000 people have lost their houses and 600,000 people have been displaced as a result of the collapse of basic public services. Operation “Solid Rock” has been in force for a week, affecting the daily lives of most of the population in the area.

The State of Palestine has been recognized by nearly a hundred countries. Despite the severity of the attacks, which even consider hospitals and schools as military targets, the only reaction by the international community has been a mere verbal condemnation.

This could radically change if a military ground assault by Israel is confirmed, since all the actions are being “documented” and they could amount to a formal invasion if the case is filed before the International Criminal Court, says Xabier Abu Eid from the West Bank.

While protests are being organized around the world outside Israeli embassies and in universities calling for an “academic boycott” to stop the Israeli assault, Xabier said “what is happening right now is an attack against the Palestinian people as a whole, not against Hamas or against a specific political party. The Palestinian people with its population, its political institutions is under attack”.

Xabier also agreed with the analysis that the Israeli military operation is a reaction to the recently formed National Unity government in Palestine. “What is at the core of the problem are not the rockets, which have not killed any Israelis since the attack began, but the systematic violations of the rights of a population that still lacks a sovereign state, in spite of the resolutions by the international community”.

He added that unless the “root causes” are addressed — i.e. unless the neglected rights of the Palestinians are recognized — the same thing will happen over and over again.

“Israel was really scared by this unity and began a series of unprecedented attacks against Palestine in order to undermine the Palestinian institutions and to punish the people. This is part of the bigger picture, where Israel has no solution, because they know the solution would be to end the occupation, to accept two states living together in the same territory. But Israel is doing everything to prevent this, I am talking about the settlements and the blockade of the Gaza Strip”, said the PLO activist.

Xabier sent a message to the Latin American international community emphasizing that the countries of the region “have suffered human rights violations, but they have been able to overcome these and that is something the Palestinian people take as an example. We have to say, as you did twenty years ago: ‘Enough! Never Again’”.