Palestinian PM, top UN human rights official tour West Bank

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay toured the West Bank Monday and inspected the situation of Palestinians living in Area C.

Fayyad and Navi Pillay visited a house in a village near Ramallah city, which was surrounded by barbed wire away from a nearby Jewish settlement.

Pillay and Fayyad heard from the owner of the house about living conditions in Area C, which, according to the owner, under "harassments" from both soldiers and settlers.

"The house is an address for Palestinian steadfastness and insistence, despite it is isolated by settlement construction and Israeli military procedures," Fayyad said.

Fayyad said he will brief Pillay on the Palestinian National Authority's efforts to support residents of Area C.

Under interim peace agreements with the Palestinians, Israel exercises full military and civil control over some 60 percent of the West Bank, a zone known as "Area C". The PNA-controlled Area A and B make up nearly 38 percent of the West Bank.

Pillay started a visit to the region on Sunday. She is scheduled to visit the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, which was controlled by Islamic Hamas movement.


(2011-2-8/People's Daily)