Protest Against Israeli Occupation and Attaks Against Civilians

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2006

Stop Israeli Occupation and Aggression!

We, concerned North Carolinians, call on the state of Israel to immediately halt its military assault on Lebanon and Palestine. Israel has bombed Beirut's airport runways, the national highway to Syria, power facilities, bridges and other targets. It has blockaded Lebanon's ports. These are forms of collective punishment against vulnerable civilian populations, and we call on Israel to cease these actions immediately.

In Palestine, Israel's rockets have killed 90 Palestinians in the last two months. Israel currently holds about 9,000 Palestinians as political prisoners, including nearly 400 children and a quarter of the Palestinian Parliaments' members. The current military assault on Gaza only represents an escalation of a continuing war on Palestinians.

We also call on the US government, which funds Israel with billions of dollars every year, to cease its sponsorship of Israel's crimes.

On Tuesday, July 18th, from 4:30-6:00pm we will rally to oppose Israel's violence against Lebanon and Palestine on the corner of Eugene and Market St. in downtown Greensboro, NC. We will be joining a worldwide condemnation, including some 1,500 Israeli's who rallied against the war in Tel-Aviv on July 15.

Sponsoring organizations include:

Muslims for a Better North Carolina
International Socialist Organization (ISO)-Greensboro
North Carolinians for Truth and Justice in Palestine
International Solidarity Movement (ISM)-North Carolina

Contact:
Olla Mustafa (336) 362-3056
Julie Southerland (336) 420-3987

Gaza Action Alert

A bridge destroyed by Israeli warplanes on a main road in the northern Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, June 28th. Credit: AP Photo/Hatem Moussa.

28th June: Last night the Israeli Occupation Forces began the grotesquely named “Operation Summer Rain” on the Gaza Strip. Rafah, scene of the May 2004 Rafah massacre by Israel, was re-occupied by Israeli tanks.

Gaza City was bombed by Apache helicopters and F16 and V58 fighter planes. Gaza's only power plant was bombed as was the water reticulation plant. Almost 750 000 of Gaza’s residents have no water or electricity today. Three main bridges which connect different parts of the Strip have been destroyed, slicing the Strip into two parts, and separating its people from each other, their places of work, schools, colleges and universities.

In addition, the Israeli military used powerful sonic bombs throughout the night and during the day. These bombs damage eardrums, create extreme feelings of fear and anxiety and prevent the whole Gaza Strip population from sleeping at night. They also induce feelings of terror in children and babies, who are already exhibiting anxious and clinging behaviour.

These air-strikes and sonic bombs which damage essential infrastructure and terrify and kill the civilian population are a form of collective punishment against the Palestinian people and are war crimes which are forbidden under international humanitarian law, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prescribes the manner in which armies must treat civilians during times of conflict.

We call on the international community to exert pressure on the Israeli military to conduct itself within the boundaries of international humanitarian law and ensure the protection of all Palestinian civilians.

We also demand the immediate halt of the Israeli Occupation Forces’ attacks on the Gaza Strip and an end to the closure and isolation of the Strip, both of which are exacerbating an already desperate humanitarian situation inside the Strip.

University Teachers’ Association

Gaza Strip


*** RECOMMENDED ACTIONS ***

- MEDIA: Please contact your local media and request that they do not act as a mouthpiece for Israel by asserting that the aim of the Gaza invasion is to rescue the captured soldier. At the very least, they can say that this is what Israel claims is the reason, or they should use the word "allegedly". It should also be made clear that the primary victim of this assault is the Palestinian civilian population, and that this constitutes collective punishment of a captive population, which is a direct (and repeated) violation of the Geneva Convention.

- LOBBYING: Please contact your elected representatives and ask them whether they support Israel's barbaric crimes against innocent Palestinian civilians. If they oppose these atrocities, ask them what they're doing about it. Make your voice heard.

- PROTEST: Protests are needed at Israeli embassies and consulates throughout the world. Even a one-person protest with a simple sign such as "Stop Israeli Terrorism" can be good at bringing attention to the situation and letting Israel know that there is widespread opposition to its continued and escalating crimes against the Palestinian people. Believe it or not, Israel does care about its image, and if the government receives reports of a number of protests, they will feel pressured to limit the operation. Please take action on this TODAY - for the sake of the innocent civilians in Gaza.

Israeli Press: Army May Ban Tourists From Holy Sites

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Israeli army says it will forbid entry foreign visitors access to all of the the occupied territories in the West Bank, according to a June 22nd article in the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv. Although the apparent goal for this seemingly impossible task is to keep international visitors from entering the occupied territories in support of Palestinian non-violent resistance, if it is implimented it could also stop tourists and religious pilgrims from visiting Biblical sites.

"The [Israeli] army will issue a decree forbidding the entry of foreign citizens into Judea and Samaria" reads a Hebrew-only print article in Ma'ariv published on June 22nd 2006. "Judea and Samaria" is Biblical terminology for the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank. Tourists including Christian pilgrims may find themselves banned from many important holy, Biblical and tourist sites, such as the Christian communities in Bethlehem, Aboud and Jericho, and the Samaritan community near Nablus. In Aboud, the shrine of St. Barbara is threatened by Israel's wall.

According to the article, the purpose of the ban is to "prevent the 'Summer of Peace' [Freedom Summer] event which is planned by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a pro-Palestinian organization which is active in the territories on behalf of the Palestinian population". Through Freedom Summer, Palestinians in communities throughout the occupied territories invite internationals and Israelis to participate in non-violent demonstrations and direct actions against the annexation of Palestinian land.

A similar ban has been in effect in the Gaza strip since April 2003. Very few foreign visitors have been allowed to visit Gaza. Certain journalists and workers for select international organisations have been granted time-limited permits by Israel, but even these are not easy to obtain. This ban has remained in effect after Israel's unilateral "disengagement" from the Gaza strip. Only Palestinians with Israeli-issued ID cards are permitted to access through the Rafah crossing, even though it was supposedly transferred to Palestinian control with European observers. All other entry and exit points to the Gaza strip remain under Israeli control.

The announcement of this ban comes at a time when foreign aid workers and foreign nationals of Palestinian origin and their families are experiencing increased Israeli restrictions on their right to reside in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. A number of individuals residing for long periods in the Occupied Territories for work or family reasons who had been renewing three month Israeli visas by periodically leaving the country and returning were recently denied entry by Israeli authorities or told they will not be allowed to return.

For more information call:
ISM media office: 02-297 1824

Updated 12:30pm, 1st of July

South Hebron Villages Persist to Resist

"We call on the international community to intervene and stop settler violence against us."

by Zadie

Today, June 30th, the people of Qawawis accompanied by people from Tuwanwi and other neighboring villages as well as Israeli and international activists demonstrated against the settlements and the wall. About 50 people gathered and marched to the wall. The Israeli group Rabbis for Human Rights also donated ten bales of hay that will be used to feed the sheep to replace what was burned by the settlers earlier this week.

The settlers have a history of aggression towards people in Qawawis and neighboring villages. They have damaged villagers' wells and harassed and attacked children and farmers.

One month ago an inner barrier was built along the road that passes Qawawis. This barrier separates farmers from their lands and makes it hard for tractors and sheep to pass.

There were very few army and Border Police present and no journalists representing any of the local or Arab media because of the attention on Gaza. Despite this fact, the people of Qawawis continued to demonstrate their resolve to resist the illegal settlements and the wall.