New York, NY, September 10, 2003 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today criticized an Amnesty International report on the situation in the West Bank and Gaza as "biased and unfair," saying the assessment fails to provide context and does not take into account the toll of terrorist attacks against Israel.

"Once again, Amnesty International has presented a biased and unfair assessment of the situation in the West Bank and Gaza and has not reported fairly and even-handedly on Israel," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  "The report fails to provide proper context and does not adequately take into account that the measures undertaken by Israel are solely intended to prevent the continuous onslaught of Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians."

The Amnesty report, Surviving under siege - The impact of movement restrictions on the right to work, which was issued on September 7, justifies the current Palestinian intifada as a reaction to the frustrations experienced by the Palestinians during the Oslo years.

In a letter to Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, the League said the report implies that the Palestinians had no gains during peace negotiations with Israel, and makes no mention of Israel's peace proposal at Camp David, when Israel made extensive concessions, including a Palestinian state in 95 percent of the West Bank and Gaza.

"The Palestinians have indeed suffered, but it is the continued campaign of violence and terrorism against Israel that is to blame for the current restrictions on the lives of Palestinians," the letter said.  "Israel has demonstrated that it is willing to ease restrictions as soon as the Palestinian leadership takes steps to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure."