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Coverage of the Events since October 2000
Hände weg von Israel und Islam!
Palestine Obtains Observer Status In NATO PA
2005-06-01
www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/ english/details.asp? name=5078
GAZA, June 1, 2005 (IPC + Agencies) - [Official PA website]- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) agreed to grant Palestine an observer status, during the Assembly's session in the Slovenian capital city of Ljubljana.
NATO PA members voted also in favor of granting Palestine the status of participant during the next session of the Parliamentary Assembly in November.
Dr. Hassan Khreisheh, First Deputy of the Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker, thanked the members for their approval to grant Palestine this status, and called on the Assembly and the international community to help the Palestinian people attain their independent and viable state.
Dr. Khreisheh and the accompanying delegation explained to the NATO PA President, Pierre Lellouche, the systematic Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, through the continuous expropriation of lands and construction of the Apartheid Wall, not to mention besieging the city of Jerusalem and isolate it from its Arabic surrounding.
On his part, Dr. Ghazi Hananiyya, the Second Deputy of the PLC Speaker, also briefed the Assembly on the Israeli disruption of PLC sessions and the movement restrictions against its members, which forced them to hold many sessions between Gaza Strip and West Bank through a videoconference link, in spite of this system's errors and malfunctions.
Hananiyya pointed out to the continuous imprisonment of PLC members Marwan Barghouti and Hossam Khadr, despite being democratically elected Palestinian parliament members and enjoy diplomatic immunity, which was not respected by Israel.
"[Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon government's racist policies are the main reason in the current deadlock in the peace process, despite our commitment to the Road Map plan and Sharm Al Sheikh understandings. The most obvious evidence to that is that the Israeli Knesset doesn't recognize the Legislative Council as a representative of the Palestinian people, who elected its members freely and democratically," Hananiyya addressed the Parliamentary Assembly.
Source: IMRA – Independent Media Review and Analysis
