Dr. Erekat onthe Quartet Statement about Gaza: “The blockade on Gaza should be immediately lifted, not eased. That is the only appropriate and acceptable message”

Chief Palestinian Negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat criticized the statement issued by the Quartet for Middle East Peace on the situation in the Gaza Strip.

“While we support international engagement in lifting the unjust and inhumane Israeli blockade on Gaza, we would like to remind all partners that the crisis in Gaza is not about the quantity of rice, cement, and other goods that Israel allows into the Strip. Rather, the alarming humanitarian crisis in Gaza is the direct result of an illegal siege that Israel, as an occupying power, is enforcing in abject disregard of international law and as well as its own obligations. The blockade on Gaza should be immediately lifted, not eased. That is the only appropriate and acceptable message.”

“We would like to remind the international community of recent statements by senior Israeli officials, like those made by the Israeli Minister of Transportation, about their wish to further tighten the noose around Gaza.”

The situation in Gaza is not about border crossings. It is the illegally denied and internationally recognized rights of the Palestinian People to dignity, freedom, and self-determination.”

Dr. Erekat also regretted the incitement against the organizers of the second flotilla. “These are representatives of international civil society and non-violent activists who have dedicated their time, effort, and passion for a just cause. They seek what the international community has repeatedly called for: an end to the blockade. ”

The Chief Negotiator addressed the Quartet, “We invite them to focus on resolving the root cause of the conflict, which is the occupation, rather than seeking ways to manage its destructive symptoms.”

Dr. Erekat noted that the upcoming high-level Quartet meeting on 11 July “is a golden opportunity for the Quartet to represent the position of its constituents and support the overdue realization of the two-state solution based on the 1967 borders.”