Protest in Gaza against Bush visit

Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza gathered to protest against the visit of the US president to the occupied West Bank in a bid to push forward talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The protesters gathered in Gaza City on Jan. 8, saying that President Bush is indifferent to their condition. The protest was also against the ongoing Israeli siege of Gaza. Protesters carried 62 coffins symbolizing those who have died because they have been unable to leave the area for medical treatment. Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna said: "If the US president's motorcade ever travelled in Gaza City, he would see young school pupils and their parents and teachers demonstrating against the ongoing Israeli siege. "He would see the medical supplies that have stopped coming in to Gaza, the shortage of fuel following the Israeli decision to reduce the amount of fuel piped across the border and the periodic shutting down of the power stations. "If George W Bush ever came to Gaza, he would see the ordinary people who do not fire Qassam missiles over the border into Israel. He would experience the darkness of an existence that Gazans believe results from the collective punishment of a civilian population supposedly prohibited by international law." Negotiating sessions since the gathering in Annapolis, MD, in late November have been marred by Israeli construction plans in disputed territory and violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Mustafa al-Barghouti, the head of the political movement the Palestinian National Initiative, blamed Israel for the deadlock at a news conference. "Israel's impunity has increased after Annapolis, and we fear further Israeli military escalation after Bush's visit," al-Barghouti told a news conference. "Nothing will change and the situation will not improve as long as Israel maintains its 562 checkpoints, continues the building of thousands of housing units in more than 800 settlements, and continues building the segregation wall and has not dismantled a single settlement."