Mario Vargas Llosa On PNI Solidarity Tour of the Apartheid Wall Around Jerusalem and Qalqiliya

3 September 2005 

Ramallah: Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa toured areas affected by Israel's Apartheid Wall in Jerusalem and Qaliqiliya today, led by Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, PNI General Secretary and accompanied by other PNI members.

Dr. Barghouthi illustrated to Llosa how the Palestinian people suffer due to racist separation policies and the inhuman situation of occupation.

He affirmed that Israel’s aim behind the Wall is to isolate East Jerusalem from its surroundings and separate it from what is left of the West Bank.

The group walked to the new terminal that Israel is building at Qalandia checkpoint and witnessed the procedures at the checkpoint that delay daily life for Palestinians, including walking long distances in narrow roads surrounded by razor wire.

Dr. Barghouthi emphasized that the Apartheid Wall delegitimizes Sharon’s efforts to market himself as a man of peace and to exaggerate the disengagement plan, which will transform the Gaza Strip into a giant prison if they do not hand control of the borders over to Palestinians and guarantee a safe passage between the West Bank and Gaza.

Llosa and Barghouthi discussed the importance of an international campaign of sanctions against Israel, to suspend cooperation and connections with Israel, and to divest from Israel until it complies with international law and ceases building the Apartheid Wall and expanding settlements.