Palestine's 'off the world agenda'

THE Palestinians of the occupied West Bank have been once again consigned to political oblivion by the international community now that the Gulf war is no longer in the headlines, the Catholic Institute for International Relations heard at its annual general meeting in London this week.
Rita Giacaman, a Catholic Palestinian community leader from Barnaliah in the Israelioccupied territories, reminded the meeting that Iraq had been forced to end its illegal occupation of Kuwait only months after its August 1990 invasion. The West Bank had been under occupation for 23 years and prospects for an end to the stalemate with Tel Aviv looked bleak now that international interest in the sreagiion was on the wane, she said. IVs
Giacaman described life under the frequent curfews imposed on the occupied territories by the Israelis since the Gulf war, and the damage such restrictions could do to family life. She needed to obtain travel permits when visiting her father in Bethlehem, a half hour journey from her home, she
said.