We will see more camps like Bab al-Shams

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad spoke to Arabstoday exclusively about the Bab al-Shams [“Gate of the Sun” in Arabic] Palestinian protest camp, describing the non-violent initiative as one “that unites our people as an expression of determination to confront the occupation and settlement projects.” “The village is a quantum leap in the Palestinian struggle and peaceful resistance to the Israeli government's attempts to expand settlements and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Fayyad said. The Prime Minister denounced Israeli forces, after they repeatedly stormed Bab al-Shams and evacuated its residents at night by force. Fayyad argued this was a “demonstration of the tyranny of the Israeli occupation,” as well as its defiance of international law. Repeated attacks and routine arrests would not scare the Palestinian population, he claimed. The Prime Minister also celebrated the Palestinian people’s “stubborn insistence to protect their land and move forward with their liberation and independence.” Referring to Popular Committee activists and rights groups like Against the Wall, responsible for the creation of Bab al-Shams, Fayyad said that “attacking the village and evacuating it is not the end of the battle. There will be more Bab al-Shams.” The Prime Minister exclusively told Arabstoday that the Palestinian Authority’s Local Government Minister had been assigned with appointing a special committee for this end - to manage Bab al-Shams and other Occupy-style camps like it, with “all necessary measures” being taken to protect the project. Fayyad concluded the interview by quoting Lebanese writer, Elias Khoury. "You are the Palestinian olive which shines with the sun of Justice,” he said. “You build your village, triggering the light of freedom.”