For the past nine days the world at large has been eagerly following the ‘historically’ deemed ‘Unilateral Disengagement from Gaza.’ Many world leaders especially those from the Quartet for Middle East Peace have congratulated the State of Israel for this bold move, and in particular its Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for his show of courage.

However, ever since the inception of the ‘Unilateral Disengagement Plan,’ many International and Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations, as well the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) voiced their deep concern about this plan and where it will lead. MIFTAH has repeatedly called on the international community to simultaneously monitor Israel’s settlement activity and the continued construction of the ‘Annexation and Separation Wall’ while pursuing the ‘Unilateral Disengagement Plan.’

On various occasions MIFTAH’s Secretary General Dr. Hanan Ashrawi warned the international community that the ‘Unilateral Disengagement Plan’ was in fact nothing more than a ruse to strengthen Israel’s stronghold of the West Bank, complete the full annexation of occupied east Jerusalem, and divert attention from Israel’s continued construction of the ‘Annexation and Separation Wall’.

Today, Israel’s smoke-screen was officially uncovered to the international community; the Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz gave his seal of approval for the proposed route of the ‘Annexation and Separation Wall’ to incorporate the largest West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. This plan will confiscate 62,000 dunums of Palestinian Land that will effectively isolate Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and separate the southern West Bank from its northern part.

MIFTAH urgently calls on the international community to take firm action in light of this very dangerous development, which will effectively destroy any form of viability, contiguity and sovereignty for a future Palestinian State. Furthermore, this unilateral and illegal land grab will derail any future peace negotiations making the internationally backed ‘Road Map’ obsolete.

Finally MIFTAH, would like to remind all members of the international community and in particular the Quartet that the ‘Annexation and Separation Wall’ and Israel’s settlement activity, are in complete contravention to International Law and Legitimacy. This latest development breaches the Hague Regulations, IV Geneva Conventions, United Nations Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, various General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Convent on Civil and Political Rights, International Convent on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the United Nations Convention on the Crime of Apartheid, and, legally binding bilateral agreements signed prior to the interim period between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Israel.

The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy, MIFTAH, is a non-governmental, non-partisan Jerusalem-based institution dedicated to fostering democracy and good governance within Palestinian society through promoting public accountability, transparency, the free flow of information and ideas and the challenging of stereotyping at home and abroad.