K.S. Rajan (27
Jan 2012)
"Pre
1967 BORDERS DEMAND"
Palestinian leader Barghuti demands 1967 borders
AFPBy Majeda El Batsh | AFP – Wed, Jan 25, 2012
The Middle East conflict will end only when Israel withdraws to
the pre-1967 lines and a Palestinian state is established,
jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghuti said Wednesday in a rare
court appearance.
The Day is coming when Israel will indeed be restored to it's
'pre-1967 borders', and just take a look at how much MORE land
that's going to be. Glory!
"The conflict will be finished the moment the Israeli occupation
ends, and there is a full withdrawal to the 1967 borders and a
Palestinian state is established," he said in Hebrew at
Jerusalem Magistrates Court.
Barghuti, who is serving five life sentences for his involvement
in several deadly anti-Israeli attacks, was called to testify as
part of a US civil lawsuit against the Palestinian leadership in
connection with bloodshed during the second intifada
(2000-2005).
On entering the courtroom, Barghuti, a senior official within
the ruling Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas,
immediately raised his hands to flash his trademark victory
V-sign.
"I call on the great Palestinian people to embrace unity and
cohesion and to establish a national unity government and also
to embrace popular, peaceful resistance to end the occupation,"
he said in Arabic.
Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah last year pledged to
work quickly towards elections and to form a unity government
under the terms of a reconciliation deal which has yet to be
implemented.
"Peace cannot happen without ending the occupation," he said,
adding a "salute" to those behind the popular revolutions in
Tunisia and Libya, as well as in Egypt, which on Thursday marked
the first anniversary since its uprising began.
"I don't recognise this court," Barghuti shouted to AFP as he
was led out of the courthouse. "I call on the Palestinian people
to continue their popular struggle."
Before Barghuti entered the room, his lawyer Elias Sabbagh had
told the court he would not be testifying.
"We are talking about a US lawsuit against the Palestinian
Authority and not against Mr Barghuti. Mr Barghuti is not part
of this lawsuit, that is why he is not going to say anything
about this case or any other case," he said.
"The case is against the PLO and the Palestinian Authority,"
Sabbagh told AFP, referring to the Palestine Liberation
Organisation.
"They brought Barghuti as a witness because he was in the PA and
he refused to say anything in the court about this issue."
An influential leader with widespread support among the
Palestinian public, Barghuti is known for being a lifelong
activist who supported the Oslo peace process in the 1990s. But
Israel has accused him of masterminding the second intifada, or
Palestinian uprising, which erupted in 2000. source - Yahoo News