A group of Israeli professors, high-ranking reserve officers, and representatives of many Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza has started a hunger strike to protest the government’s readiness to handover part of Jerusalem to the Palestinians and to negotiate despite what they called "continued terror attacks," reported the Jerusalem Post newspaper.
According to the paper, the group started its fast on Sunday afternoon, drinking only a small amount of juice each day, opposite the Jerusalem municipality building.
The group aims to continue the hunger strike until the February 6 prime ministerial elections or until Prime Minister Ehud Barak halts peace talks, said the paper.
“We feel that there is a sense of utter confusion and fear in the public. So, we decided in this non-violent, non-confrontational way to tell the prime minister: Do not continue negotiating under fire unless the public reelects you with a new mandate,” said one of those fasting, and the group’s chairman, Zvi Slonim.
“When an Israeli prime minister agrees to divide Jerusalem, to transfer the most central Jewish national heritage, the Temple Mount to the Palestinians, when the security of the citizens has never been so low... in short when the fundamental principles of Zionism are abandoned it is our duty to protest as strongly as possible and say ‘stop! this will not be!," Slonim said.
According to recent polls, many Israeli are opposed to reaching an agreement with the Palestinians.
Many have attacked Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for agreeing to give the Arab part of al-Haram al-Sharif to the Palestinians -- Albawaba.com
