"Israel may have the right to put others on trial, but certainly no one has the right to put the Jewish people and the State of Israel on trial "

In less than one month as Israel’s Prime Minister, Sharon has already unveiled his familiar policy of terror and brutality against the Palestinians, a systematic campaign of military strikes on Palestinian areas; a suffocating multiple siege policy that isolates Palestinian cities, towns, and villages; and a premeditated policy of political assassinations, extra judicial killings, and abduction of targeted Palestinian political figures and activists.

On Sunday, April 1st, 2001, Israeli forces invaded the Palestinian village of Jaljilia, on the northern outskirts of Ramallah, and abducted 6 Palestinians, 5 of whom are members of Force 17, the Palestinian presidential security forces. Israel’s military operation in Jaljilia, which is under full Palestinian control (Area A), is not only a dangerous escalation of Israel’s military measures against the Palestinians, but also a clear demonstration of Israel’s self-perception as an entity above the law.

Sharon’s war mongering and unleashing of brute military force against the Palestinians is a recipe for war; it is a shortsighted attempt at suppressing the ongoing Palestinian Intifada (uprising) that will only take the conflict to new and dangerous depths.

Sharon must finally come to terms with the fact that Israel is not above the law, it is not untouchable, and it is subject to international law.