Press Statement
By DAP International Secretary and MP for Seputeh, Teresa Kok Suh Sim
in Petaling Jaya
on Wednesday, 3 April 2002
The DAP condemns the unrelenting onslaught by Israeli troops on Palestinian territory and views with deep concern the ensuing escalating violence which had left scores of innocent people dead, especially Palestinians.
The defiance shown by Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, whose government continued to persist with efforts to lay siege on the West Bank city of Ramallah in an attempt to isolate Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, in spite of international calls for Israel to show restrain, clearly highlights his arrogance.
As Arafat remained trapped inside his beleaguered headquarters in West Bank, world leaders are understandably concerned that Arafat's life may be endangered and a resultant catastrophe inevitable if there is no end to the incessant bombing and gunfire.
Such military measure by Sharon would only serve to close all doors to peace, as the unrestrained use of force can only give rise to retaliation and counter-strike in an unending cycle of increasing violence - the victims being the innocent, where 1,670 people had been killed in 18 months of crossfire, according to an APF source.
Hence, the Israeli government must come to its senses and stop its military offence immediately, in respecting the resolution passed by the United Nations Security Council on Saturday calling for the withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from Palestinian areas and full cooperation with the US Special Envoy, Anthony Zinni to negotiate a cease-fire and work towards a political settlement.
It is only through peaceful and non-violent solution that both parties can truly hope to achieve a permanent resolution and restoration of peace to the embattled land - and it must be done. In this connection, the government's effort to redefine and address the growing threats of terrorism, in whatever form, is surely laudable and it must continue to keep up the pressure on the United Nations to act more decisively to stop the violence in Palestine.