Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Gazans rally against buffer zone

 
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Marking the 10th anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, Gaza's Popular Committee organized a rally to voice dissent against Israel's separation wall in the West Bank and no-go zone in Gaza.

Marching toward the border area, through an Israeli-declared "buffer zone" that reaches up to one kilometer in width according to UN surveys, demonstrators said several young men managed to install a Palestinian flag on a gate in the border fence.

Popular Committee coordinator Mahmoud Az-Zaq said the event was a chance to reflect on the Al-Aqsa Intifada, and realize that there are options beyond peace talks to confront the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

"It is impossible to talk about a peace and a political track under this settlement blitz," he said, calling for factional unity for Palestinians and a uniting of national goals and strategies.

Fatah official Zakarieyah Al-Agha, who participated in the rally, took the gathering as an opportunity to speak to protesters, calling on the Palestinian leadership to request that the Arab Follow-up Committee to mandate an end to peace talks.

"There must be no talks with continued settlements," he said, adding that national conciliation was the next logical step in achieving a Palestinian state.