Palestinians Still Suffer Inequalities under Israeli Occupation
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Israeli Violence |
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BPNIC Memo, November 2008
Israel is still unable to meet the Palestinians'
basic human needs, and a significant part of
Palestinian society continue to shelf Israeli statements as propaganda
that does not respond to their aspirations to exercise their
right of self-determination, BPNIC Executive Director Husam Bajis told Palestinian government officials and policy makers
during a recent visit to Occupied Palestine and Israel.
Despite the many Israeli promises to advance their
conditions, to not distinguish people by ethnicity,
race, religion, or nationality, starting from year 1967, and the Palestinian National Authority commitment to improve the
situation, starting from year 1993, Palestinians living
under military occupation
in the West Bank, in a state of siege in the Gaza Strip, and
specifically under civilian administration in Jerusalem,
still struggle to exercise real control over their lives and
lands, Bajis said.
During the committee’s official visit to the
Holy Land, meetings were conducted with senior Government officials, human rights experts and with representatives of civil society organizations.
Reforms are needed to the United Nations
Reforms are needed to the
United Nations to ensure that
peoples living under occupation within a State that
has ethnic divisions are better able to exercise their
right of self-determination within the framework of a State
that is respectful of diversity, that promotes identity,
inclusion, and equality, locally and internationally, stated BPNIC President
and Political
Affairs Director, Marcio Darlei Macedo, in a previous
communiqué to government staff in Brasilia.
Palestinian Refugees, Palestinians living in the
Diaspora and in Occupied Palestine
- Palestinian people universally are likely to
face
discrimination that sometimes results in hostility due
to Israel’s information for the outside world, called
hasbara in Hebrew and propaganda in English.
- Too many Palestinians are unaware of the United
Nations Rights of Indigenous Peoples, even when they
have been enshrined in the national constitution.
- Unlike their counterparts in North America and
Europe, Arab leaders in
South America and the
Caribbean’s, have confronted Israeli propaganda more efficiently.
- While communities found in Occupied Palestine
have some input into the delivery of services to them, they do not
have adequate control and sometimes suffer from
paternalistic attitudes from
non-governmental organizations.
- While rich in support,
the Palestinian National Authority in the West
Bank-Occupied Palestine, remain bankrupt economically,
without opportunities to grow even the simplest
of enterprises, and are continually suffocated by
Israeli blockades.
- Health and education for
women and children
living in Occupied Palestine remain poor at best.
It is evident that people living in Occupied Palestine frequently do not control the decisions that affect
their everyday lives and their lands
- For the Palestinians due to the
almost daily
incursions and mining of their lands and harvest by the
Israeli military in both the private-domain and the
public-domain.
- For the Israeli settlers which their lands have been officially segregated and registered.
Basic Facts Summary
- The fundamental freedoms of Palestinians living in
Occupied Palestine are still under threat 15 years after
the peace agreement of Oslo.
- Protection of local and international human rights
defenders is almost nonexistent.
- Extrajudicial killings
by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip and rural violence
by Israeli settlers in the West Bank is threatening the peace.
The Brazilian Palestinian National Interest Committee
continues to seek Pro-Palestine
activists in Brazil to meet a long term objective, to form a
national campaign of education on Palestinian issues
with respect for diversity by
building bridges of mutual understanding between
Brazil-Palestine, guided by the Brazilian Government’s partnership with the Palestinian National Authority, with the ultimate goal of establishing a separate Palestinian
State.
This memorandum serves as part of an independent
study that reports to the committee members. With the
support of its members, the Brazilian Palestinian National
Interest Committee continues to promote Brazil as key for
Palestinian-Israeli peace, and promote Brazil's interests in
the Middle East by urging its members to maintain contact
with Members of Congress, to support important initiatives
that would lead to the creation of a Palestinian State.
The Brazilian Palestinian National Interest Committee is a
non-profit organization whose principal mission is to work
with the legislative body of Brazil on legislation that
strengthens the relationship between Brazil and
Palestinians.
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