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Reactions from Palestinian Leaders as Israeli Violence Intensifies
By Neveen A. Salem
With additional reporting by Sunni Khalid
WASHINGTON D.C., Dec. 13 (IslamOnline) - Hanan Ashrawi told IslamOnline Thursday that Israel's increased escalation of aggression against the Palestinians is beyond comprehension, as U.S. supplied Israeli missiles slammed into an American Quaker school and the Palestinian Authority's broadcasting station.
Earlier Thursday, Ashrawi's assistant told IslamOnline that the situation in Palestine was "very tense" as they attempted to cross an Israeli checkpoint near their office in the West Bank town of al-Ram.
"The situation is very difficult and I don't know if we can continue to speak. It is very noisy and we have no idea what is going to happen as we go through the [Israeli] checkpoint," said Rana Maliki.
From her home in Ramallah later Thursday evening, Ashrawi, the spokesperson for the Arab League, told IslamOnline that "The shelling has stopped now, but earlier today it was horrible. The electricity was cut off, missiles were being fired in the air. There are Israeli tanks on the streets now. There is really a lot to comprehend."
Ghassan Khatib, director of Jerusalem Media and Communications Center, also spoke to IslamOnline from his home in Ramallah, saying "I think the Israelis have taken over one-third of most of the towns that had been under Palestinian rule, including Ramallah. They're imposing a curfew and completely preventing Palestinians from traveling between any two towns.
"They've [Israelis] been bombarding places almost continuously, including Ramallah. There are no casualties so far from what I've heard in Ramallah today.
"They've been bombarding Palestinian security offices in the city and buildings next to them. In Ramallah, they bombed a Palestinian police headquarters as well as an American school next door, the Friend's School, which is a Quaker school. One of the classrooms is completely destroyed, the others are damaged.
"I think what the Israeli government is doing is reversing the situation back to the pre-peace process situation, gradually and slowly. They're getting their forces in and out of Palestinian areas whenever they want, although now they are getting in and not getting out.
"The Palestinian Authority is being put out of order gradually. What is the meaning of a central authority if it can't have its people move from one area to another?"
Asked about whether there is popular support for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and what status Hamas now enjoys, Khatib said "There has been an increase in public support for Hamas since the last year of the Intifada.
"The support has doubled over this period from 10% to 21% in a poll we conducted two weeks ago, which will be released in a few days. On the other hand, support for Fatah and the President [Arafat] has decreased from 30 to 25 percent.
"What does it mean? It means that Fatah and the President have gambled on the peace process, saying that it would end the occupation and lead to prosperity. The collapse of the peace process and the reoccupation has proved them to be wrong and Hamas to be right. Because Hamas said this way, the peace process, won't bring us any closer to our objectives."
Asked about the status of the Palestinian Authority he said, "There isn't a Palestinian Authority anymore, in the bureaucratic sense, but there is in the political sense. And there is a Palestinian leadership, which is still recognized on the street."
Mariam Shahin, a Ramallah resident, told IslamOnline that the Israeli violence has wreaked havoc on the region and on the Palestinian people, saying they are nothing short of "psychological terrorism".
"How can anyone feel safe when you have helicopters flying overhead all night and tanks are positioned everywhere, and when there is such a feeling of menace?"
Shahin also confirmed that the Friend's School was hit, adding that Israel was bombing an already destroyed Palestinian Authority police station when the missiles slammed into the school.
"Israel bombed a police station that was already out of commission, destroyed over a year ago in October of 2000. Why would they do that? What they succeeded in doing is destroying the educational infrastructure."
Asked whether she considered the current escalation to be a bid to topple the Palestinian Authority she said, "We are on the threshold of that…even though we can't make that kind of a categorical assessment. But it certainly appears to be the intention.
"When Israel destroys the Palestinian Authority's broadcasting station, the only link it [the P.A.] has with the population, essentially decapitating it, one can only assume that the intent is to topple the Authority."
Earlier Thursday, Israel released a statement saying that it "no longer considers Arafat a partner for peace" and that he is "irrelevant".
A top aide to Arafat on Thursday accused the Israeli government of having launched "an official war" on the Palestinian administration and people.
"The Israeli government led by [rightwing Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon has indeed started launching an official war against the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people," said Nabil Abu Rudeina.
"The air strikes, assassinations and destruction carried out by this government against civilian and police targets, as well as private homes with warplanes is an official war declared by Sharon and is aimed at dragging the region into an all-out explosion and more tension," he said.
"We hold Israel fully responsible for the military escalation underway and for the repercussions it will have," said Abu Rudeina. "We also call on the international community, and particularly the United States, to put pressure on Israel to stop its aggression and its war, and to make it respect and implement the agreements" reached between the two sides.
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