Palestinian Committee Against Siege (PCAS)
February 23, 2008
Millions of people in the participating countries of the Global day for Gaza Strip lived in darkness for 5 minutes in solidarity of with poor besiege people.
Around 86 cities and towns involved in this step to help the civilians in the Gaza strip.
Reporters of PCAS in UK, France and some European countries reported that most of the main cities, completely or partially switched the lights off in a response of PCAS’s call for a global day of actions to end Gaza Siege.
In France, around 10 cities marked the occasion today to convey their full support for the people of Gaza and they turned the lights off to experience what Palestinians are living now.Michelin Gurege, ISM member and PCAS coordinator in France said that all people across French cities showed that the Palestinian cause is one of their common concerns."My spirits became high while I was having a tour in these cities seeing Palestinian flags everywhere," Michelin said.It’s remarkable that around 70 countries took part in this Global day and actions are still ongoing till this moment (CET 20.00).
Russia and France witnessed ten actions of protests in nearly 10 cities for each. In Ukraine about 9 cities participated as well.
In Europe, 2 or 3 cities in most of the countries marked the occasion.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Gaza I Weep for Thee
Gaza, I weep for thee. You see, I stand over here shackled and chained and all I can do is weep. For when I scream, my screaming falls on deaf ears. When I rant and I rave I am viewed with suspicion.
My kin and my neighbors all wonder and aloud, "why do you protest the killing of vermin?"" Vermin?" I asked and the chorus responded, " the Palestinians are vermin and terrorists!" But why should that be? Israelis are free but, not Palestinians.
The Palestinians live in! camps. Concentration camps that are really the holding pens of sheep being prepared for slaughter. When the last Palestinian is slaughtered, will anyone REMEMBER? Anyone? Will anyone care? ANYONE! Oh Gaza , I weep for thee.
Weeping is all that I can do for you see, over here I am shackled and chained to my opinion that the killing of innocent men, women, and children is genocide. Oh mommy, I said the 'g' word and used that 'g' word in association with Israel. I might just have well taken a shotgun and shot a lawyer.
Genocide on Palestine by Israelis. I am a pariah and a criminal and I am a "supporter of terrorism!"
Because I questioned the slaughter of Palestinians. Well, whoops and sorry. That must have been my bad! Oh Gaza , I weep for thee! You are lost and dying and NO ONE CARES AND NO ONE LISTENS! My kin and my neighbors are blind to the horror and will NOT hear the crying of innocents being led to slaughter. My land is lost and my nation is lost and my kin are lost and my neighbors are lost.
A very great man once said, "it is better to die on one's feet in the battle for justice than to die on one's knees begging for mercy!" So let it be written, so let it be done.
Oh Gaza , I weep for thee. Stand up and die at the hands of Israel! Someday maybe in one hundred years or five hundred years, someone somewhere, will read of your slaughter and ask the hard questions that our world today ignores. "Why were the Palestinians left to be slaughtered at the hands of an unjust Israel and the complicity of our world?"
Oh Gaza, I weep for thee. You see, I am shackled in chains of censorship and mistrust. The weeping is all that I CAN do.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2437&Itemid=31
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My kin and my neighbors all wonder and aloud, "why do you protest the killing of vermin?"" Vermin?" I asked and the chorus responded, " the Palestinians are vermin and terrorists!" But why should that be? Israelis are free but, not Palestinians.
The Palestinians live in! camps. Concentration camps that are really the holding pens of sheep being prepared for slaughter. When the last Palestinian is slaughtered, will anyone REMEMBER? Anyone? Will anyone care? ANYONE! Oh Gaza , I weep for thee.
Weeping is all that I can do for you see, over here I am shackled and chained to my opinion that the killing of innocent men, women, and children is genocide. Oh mommy, I said the 'g' word and used that 'g' word in association with Israel. I might just have well taken a shotgun and shot a lawyer.
Genocide on Palestine by Israelis. I am a pariah and a criminal and I am a "supporter of terrorism!"
Because I questioned the slaughter of Palestinians. Well, whoops and sorry. That must have been my bad! Oh Gaza , I weep for thee! You are lost and dying and NO ONE CARES AND NO ONE LISTENS! My kin and my neighbors are blind to the horror and will NOT hear the crying of innocents being led to slaughter. My land is lost and my nation is lost and my kin are lost and my neighbors are lost.
A very great man once said, "it is better to die on one's feet in the battle for justice than to die on one's knees begging for mercy!" So let it be written, so let it be done.
Oh Gaza , I weep for thee. Stand up and die at the hands of Israel! Someday maybe in one hundred years or five hundred years, someone somewhere, will read of your slaughter and ask the hard questions that our world today ignores. "Why were the Palestinians left to be slaughtered at the hands of an unjust Israel and the complicity of our world?"
Oh Gaza, I weep for thee. You see, I am shackled in chains of censorship and mistrust. The weeping is all that I CAN do.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2437&Itemid=31
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Monday, February 18, 2008
IOF Escalates Acts of Murder and Destruction in the Gaza Strip
Reference: 16/2008
Date: 17 February 2008
Press Release IOF Escalates Acts of Murder and Destruction in the Gaza Strip;
Al MezanCalls for Urgent International Protection for the Civilians in the GazaStripThe IOF has escalated its acts of murder and violence against the civilianpopulation and their properties in the Gaza Strip. On 17 February 2008, theIOF killed four people during incursions and air attacks in Rafah. One ofthe victims was a police man, 28-year-old Ibrahim Salman Hussein Sabbah. Hesuffered from shrapnel wounds all over his body and died immediately. Threeother
s were injured in the same attack.At approximately 10:30am, on 17 February 2008, an IOF drone fired a missilethat landed near the UNRWA clinic on Be'r Sahy Street in Al Shouka villagein eastern Rafah. As a result, 33-year-old Abed As Salam Mohammed Salama AbuSusein, a member of the national security forces, and 23-year-old Nasser AliAbd Al Razek Abu Shabab were killed. At approximately 10:40am the same day,the IOF opened fire at 24-year-old Abd Al Karim Mohammed Hassan Al Ghalbanduring an incursion east of the Rafah crossing. While he was near his homein Al Shouka village he was shot in the chest and died.According to Al Mezan's preliminary investigations, at approximately 8:50pm,on 15 February 2008, a massive explosion in a residential house took placein Block 7 of Al Bureij refugee camp, located in central Gaza Strip. Thehouse belongs to 41-year-old Attallah Ayman Ahmed Fayed. The blast resultedin the killing of eight people, including one woman and one child, namely:o 41-year-old Ayman Atallah Fayed;o 37-year-old Marwa Azzam Fayed, his wife;o 12-year-old Basma Ayman Fayed, his daughter;o 17-year-old Ali Ayman Fayed, his son;o 5-year-old Ayoub Ayman Fayed; his son;o 17-year-old Zakaria Nabil Al Kafafy;o 16-year-old Talal Salah Abu Oun; ando 24-year-old Atallah Samir Ismail, while he was walking in thestreet.The explosion in Al Bureij also caused the injury of 57 people, includingtwenty children and twenty-two women. Two of them were reported to havesustained serious injury. The explosion also destroyed six residentialhouses completely. Sixty other homes were damaged severely, and tens ofothers received minor damages.According to preliminary investigations and other information given instatements by IOF ministers and military officials, it is believed that theIOF are responsible for this terrible incident. The most important fact inthis incident is the scope of the damage, which recalls the crime thatoccurred in the Ad Darraj neighborhood. On 22 July 2002, the IOF shelled AdDarraj and killed16 persons and destroyed eight houses completely. Theshelling also caused damage to nearby residential homes. The only differencebetween these two crimes is that the IOF admitted their responsibility forAd Darraj. The IOF Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, at that time, described itas one of their greatest successes. It is not the first time that the IOFdenied responsibility for their offenses, and in fact, they tried to get outof dozens of similar crimes previously. On 9 June 2006, they shelled BeitLahiya beach, during which seven members of the Ghalia family were killed.It should be noted that the official statements made by the IOF admit theirintention to continue their escalation of aggression on the Gaza Strip.Among them, the Israeli Minister of the Interior, Meir Sheetrit, declared on10 February 2008, that the IOF is able to exterminate an entire neighborhoodin the Gaza Strip. He pointed out that their forces have done so in asouthern suburb of Beirut. This statement was made just five days prior tothe Bureij shelling. Beside the statements made by the Israeli DefenseMinister, it was reported that Israeli intelligence agencies will carry outoperations secretly.Al Mezan Center for Human Rights renews its repeated demands for theinternational community to uphold their moral duty and responsibility toprotect Gazans, especially in relation to the Fourth Geneva Convention forthe Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War. Al Mezan warns theinternational community of the consequences of the IOF's widespreaddestruction of densely populated areas. Statements of IOF military leadersreinforce the Center's fears, in which they declared to wipe out residentialareas entirely, despite the consequential deaths of thousands of civilianvictims.End
Date: 17 February 2008
Press Release IOF Escalates Acts of Murder and Destruction in the Gaza Strip;
Al MezanCalls for Urgent International Protection for the Civilians in the GazaStripThe IOF has escalated its acts of murder and violence against the civilianpopulation and their properties in the Gaza Strip. On 17 February 2008, theIOF killed four people during incursions and air attacks in Rafah. One ofthe victims was a police man, 28-year-old Ibrahim Salman Hussein Sabbah. Hesuffered from shrapnel wounds all over his body and died immediately. Threeother
s were injured in the same attack.At approximately 10:30am, on 17 February 2008, an IOF drone fired a missilethat landed near the UNRWA clinic on Be'r Sahy Street in Al Shouka villagein eastern Rafah. As a result, 33-year-old Abed As Salam Mohammed Salama AbuSusein, a member of the national security forces, and 23-year-old Nasser AliAbd Al Razek Abu Shabab were killed. At approximately 10:40am the same day,the IOF opened fire at 24-year-old Abd Al Karim Mohammed Hassan Al Ghalbanduring an incursion east of the Rafah crossing. While he was near his homein Al Shouka village he was shot in the chest and died.According to Al Mezan's preliminary investigations, at approximately 8:50pm,on 15 February 2008, a massive explosion in a residential house took placein Block 7 of Al Bureij refugee camp, located in central Gaza Strip. Thehouse belongs to 41-year-old Attallah Ayman Ahmed Fayed. The blast resultedin the killing of eight people, including one woman and one child, namely:o 41-year-old Ayman Atallah Fayed;o 37-year-old Marwa Azzam Fayed, his wife;o 12-year-old Basma Ayman Fayed, his daughter;o 17-year-old Ali Ayman Fayed, his son;o 5-year-old Ayoub Ayman Fayed; his son;o 17-year-old Zakaria Nabil Al Kafafy;o 16-year-old Talal Salah Abu Oun; ando 24-year-old Atallah Samir Ismail, while he was walking in thestreet.The explosion in Al Bureij also caused the injury of 57 people, includingtwenty children and twenty-two women. Two of them were reported to havesustained serious injury. The explosion also destroyed six residentialhouses completely. Sixty other homes were damaged severely, and tens ofothers received minor damages.According to preliminary investigations and other information given instatements by IOF ministers and military officials, it is believed that theIOF are responsible for this terrible incident. The most important fact inthis incident is the scope of the damage, which recalls the crime thatoccurred in the Ad Darraj neighborhood. On 22 July 2002, the IOF shelled AdDarraj and killed16 persons and destroyed eight houses completely. Theshelling also caused damage to nearby residential homes. The only differencebetween these two crimes is that the IOF admitted their responsibility forAd Darraj. The IOF Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, at that time, described itas one of their greatest successes. It is not the first time that the IOFdenied responsibility for their offenses, and in fact, they tried to get outof dozens of similar crimes previously. On 9 June 2006, they shelled BeitLahiya beach, during which seven members of the Ghalia family were killed.It should be noted that the official statements made by the IOF admit theirintention to continue their escalation of aggression on the Gaza Strip.Among them, the Israeli Minister of the Interior, Meir Sheetrit, declared on10 February 2008, that the IOF is able to exterminate an entire neighborhoodin the Gaza Strip. He pointed out that their forces have done so in asouthern suburb of Beirut. This statement was made just five days prior tothe Bureij shelling. Beside the statements made by the Israeli DefenseMinister, it was reported that Israeli intelligence agencies will carry outoperations secretly.Al Mezan Center for Human Rights renews its repeated demands for theinternational community to uphold their moral duty and responsibility toprotect Gazans, especially in relation to the Fourth Geneva Convention forthe Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War. Al Mezan warns theinternational community of the consequences of the IOF's widespreaddestruction of densely populated areas. Statements of IOF military leadersreinforce the Center's fears, in which they declared to wipe out residentialareas entirely, despite the consequential deaths of thousands of civilianvictims.End
Saturday, February 09, 2008
تجرى لأول مرة في الأراضي الفلسطينية: زرع جهاز داخلي لقلب مريض محاصر في غزة
غزة - مراسل القدس - تمكن أطباء فلسطينيون من إجراء عملية لزراعة جهاز "صدمات" في قلب مريض فلسطيني في غزة لأول مرة في الأراضي الفلسطينية، وذلك بعدما منعه الحصار من السفر لتلقي العلاج. وأجرى العملية الدكتور أكرم أبو فول، رئيس قسم قسطرة القلب في مستشفى "سوروكا" في بئر السبع، وهو من فلسطينيي الداخل، بحضور طاقم طبي مساعد في مركز جولس للقسطرة.وقال الدكتور فايز شقليه، مدير مركز جولس لقسطرة القلب في غزة، إن المريض شعبان أبو عبيد (42) عاماً، من سكان دير البلح، كان يعاني من خطر توقف القلب في أي لحظة، ولم يتمكن من السفر بسبب عدم إعطائه التصاريح اللازمة لمغادرة القطاع.وأضاف شقليه لرامتان أن المريض أبو عبيد ينتظر منذ ثلاثة أشهر والخطر يتهدد حياته، إلا أنه وبعد التنسيق تم توفير المعدات اللازمة لإجراء العملية، حيث تمت زراعة جهاز "صدمات" داخل القلب لأول مرة في الضفة والقطاع. وأشار إلى أن تكاليف العملية بلغت ما يزيد عن عشرين ألف دولار، بسبب ارتفاع سعر الجهاز الذي تم تركيبه. وأعرب عن أمله أن تكلل هذه العملية بالنجاح، خاصة وأن الدكتور أبو فول متخصص في جراحة القلب، وأجرى بالإضافة إلى عمله في مستشفى سوروكا عدداً من العمليات بالتعاون مع المركز وبشكل متكرر.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Gaza Diary: Not a life for children
By Omar, a humanitarian worker in partnership with Oxfam
Feb 7, 2008
"Why us? Why are we cold? What is happening?" my children ask all the time.They are six and two. When they ask for chocolate and I cannot give it to them, they ask why. I explain to them that it is because of the closure but this does not explain things any further to them, they still ask "Why? Why us?"What they least understand is why their lives are being affected by something which they are not responsible for.It is hard for me to explain.
I am 37 years old and have spent my whole life under occupation. My father was a refugee from Barbara, my original village. He said to me the other day, "Son, we have never lived in a situation like this before.
I hope that this will be the last time that we live like this, forever".But people live in hope. They believe even after all this time that peace will return to us.
It has been five days now since I have had a shower. This is due to a lack of power to fuel the water system and to the hectic times that are upon us.It is the winter season and we are all beginning to get very cold. Without electricity, all my family and I can do to stay warm it to huddle around a gas lamp. We cover ourselves in sheets. Sometimes, I warm some water for my children to immerse their hands or feet in. But there is very little that we can do apart from hope that this will be the last time that we live like this.
The cold makes it difficult for us to get to sleep but even when we manage to, the blasts of Palestinian and Israeli rockets wake us throughout the night.
The tremors and explosions scare my children so much that they now sleep with my wife and me.They are so small and vulnerable and also very confused. They come home from school talking of Hamas and Fatah but they do not understand the situation.This is not a life for children. It is not for anyone.Stress and anxietyI try as best as I can to divert their attention away from the crisis that is continuing to unfold before them - I take them to the sea or to a relative's home.I cannot even turn on the television because we have had no electricity for five days.
To find out what's going on or whether or not there will be military operations I ask my colleagues in Jerusalem to keep me updated.I also call my family every few hours to find out if they are okay.
My children live in an area of violence and hear on a daily basis people arguing, complaining and shouting about the situation. To be honest, they need some professional support for their stress and anxiety but of course this is not available to us.Like many other children living in Gaza, they can rarely get away from the crisis, even while they sleep.
This situation is affecting a lot of children. The other day when I went to my kid's school the teacher said that 70 per cent of the children were failing their exams.The stress of the situation, whether children realise it or not, will effect their education. It is not great for school work or anything at all.
A lack of good quality food, clean drinking water, milk, sleep, fear and cold are just some of the issues that the children of Gaza face. The adults, too.There is already little hope for the future for the children of Gaza but without education, they really have nothing, Education is the only capital that we have for our future.
My third child is due in March. This is just two months away.As a father and a husband I am worried - really worried for my wife and my unborn child. How can she deliver a child when there is no electricity and little supplies in the hospitals?Will she and our third child suffer as a result? These are some of the questions that keep me awake at night.Speaking about this makes me want to cry, not just for my family but also for the people of Gaza.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Israel cuts off electricity in Gaza; thousands plunged into darkness
Gaza – Ma'an – Israel cut off part of the electricity supply to Gaza City on Friday evening, plunging thousands of people into darkness, according to Jamal Al-Dardasawi, the head of public relations and information at the electricity company in Gaza. Israel cut off the vital electricity supply line, known as the 'Baghdad line', claiming there are problems with that particular line.
Al-Dardasawi pointed out that the Israeli electiricity supply company have ben intermittently cutting off electricity since last Tuesday morning, leaving thousands of Gaza City residents battling bitter cold weather, without any means of heating.
He added that the Baghdad line is particularly important for dozens of health centres, primarily Al-Shifaa Hospital in Gaza City. Al-Dardasawi appealed to humanitarian and international human rights organizations to intervention before lives are lost.
The tiny Strip is one of the most densely populated places in the world, and already endures power outages up to 24 hours a day. Gaza's electric transformers have been bombed by the Israeli military.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
A young girl from Gaza teaches us a little about the racist zionist...
Sit down and watch....Make sure there's a box of tissues close by
http://youtube.com/watch?v=AHMDUFRVQOg
http://youtube.com/watch?v=AHMDUFRVQOg
Just Added A San Diego Demo on Friday 1/25
Emergency San Diego Demonstration!BREAK THE SILENCE ON GAZA NOW!Stop US Complicity! End All US Aid to the Zionist State!
Meet Friday (1/25) at 3:00 PM
At the corner of Broadway and Front Street,downtown in front of the Federal Building.
Demo from 3:00 to 5:30 PM.
Called by : Al-Awda San Diego, The Free Palestine Alliance, and The NationalCouncil of Arab Americans.
Co-sponsor : International Action Center (IAC-SD).
Co-sponsor : International Action Center (IAC-SD).
Monday, January 21, 2008
Coalition Calls for Emergency Protests Jan.26 in Anaheim, Wash., San Francisco
End the Criminal Israeli Siege of Gaza NOW!
Stop the Collective Punishment of the Palestinian People!
Coalition Calls for Emergency Protests Jan. 25-26 in
Washington, San Francisco, Anaheim and other cities
The A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition, joins with the National Council of Arab Americans (NCA), Free Palestine Alliance(FPA), Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, Palestinian American Women’s Association(PAWA), Al-Awda Palestine Right to Return Coalition and other anti-war and progressive organizations in calling for emergency protests demanding an immediate end to the Israeli blockade and siege of Gaza. Protests will take place on January 25-26 at Israeli embassies, consulates, U.S. federal buildings and other locations.
More than 1.5 million Palestinian people living are suffering from life-threatening shortages of food, medicines, fuel and other vital necessities, caused by the Israeli military’s sealing-off of one of the most densely populated areas of the world. Gaza City is blacked-out at night, including hospitals. Doctors must examine patients by candlelight.
The crisis is growing more severe by the day. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the World Food Programme, which together supply food to more than two-thirds of the population, have stated that unless the blockade is lifted they will be forced to stop operations by this weekend. A cut-off in aid would threaten an already food-deprived population with mass starvation. The great majority of Gaza residents are from refugee families, driven out of other parts of Palestine when the state of Israel was created in 1948.
The Israeli government imposed a blockade on Gaza after the Hamas party was democratically elected in January 2006. The Bush administration backed Israel’s action. Last week, Israel tightened the blockade, sealing off Gaza, supposedly because of Palestinian attacks by the military wing of Hamas. Yet, on December 23, 2007, Israel rejected Hamas call for ceasefire negotiations. Since then, Israeli air and ground attacks have killed dozens of Palestinians and wounded hundreds more in Gaza, most of them civilians. In 2007, 373 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and the West Bank, compared to just 13 Israeli deaths.
The Israeli blockade is in clear violation of international law, which strictly forbids collective punishment and labels it a war crime. Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) states in part: “No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.”
Collective punishment is a war crime. Imposing a blockade on the population in Gaza is undeniably a form of collective punishment. The U.S. government, which gives billions of dollars in military and economic aid to Israel every year, shares the guilt for this war crime.
Among the cities where emergency protests will take place are:
Washington DC: Friday, Jan. 25 (time tba), at the Israeli Embassy, 3514 International Dr. N.W.
San Francisco, CA: Friday, Jan. 25, 4 6 p.m., Israeli Consulate, 456 Montgomery St. (near California)
Anaheim, CA: Saturday, Jan. 26, 1 p.m. 512 S. Brookhurst St. (Bet. Orange Ave. & Broadway)
New York, NY: Saturday, Jan. 26, 1 p.m., at the Israeli Embassy, 43rd St. and 2nd Ave.
Chicago, IL: Tues., Jan. 29, 5pm at the Lakeshore Theater, 3175 North Broadway (at benefit for the Friends of the Israeli Defense Force). Initiated by ISM, endorsed by ANSWER and others. Call 773-463-0311 for more information.
Seattle Demo: Friday, January 25, 4 p.m., Westlake Park, 4th & Pine Sts.
If you are planning your own protest, please let us know so we can post information about your event on the ANSWER website.
AL-Haq Action Alert: End the Siege of the Gaza Strip
AL-HAQ ACTION ALERT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ref.: 01.2008E
21 January 2008
End the Siege of the Gaza Strip
On Sunday 20 January 2008, Israel’s ongoing siege of the Gaza Strip, including the blocking of fuel supplies, forced Gaza’s only power plant to shut down, plunging over 800,000 Palestinians into darkness. According to the General-Director of the plant, the shortage of electricity caused by the lack of fuel will affect the provision of medical care and water and sanitation services. On Sunday morning, the Gaza Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, which normally operates 130 wells as well as sewage treatment plants, stated that if the fuel supply is not restored by Tuesday, these services will cease to function throughout the Gaza Strip. Since Friday 18 January, Israel has also closed all Gaza’s border crossings and blocked all humanitarian aid, except in exceptional circumstances. With some 80 percent of Gaza’s population requiring food aid, the impact of these measures will be catastrophic. This escalation has also been accompanied by an intensifying of Israeli military attacks on the Gaza Strip in the first 19 days of 2008, costing the lives of 69 Palestinians, including four children and eight women, and the injury of over 190.
Israel’s current policy in relation to the Gaza Strip and its 1.5 million inhabitants constitutes an unmitigated violation of international humanitarian law including, but not limited to, Israel’s obligation as an Occupying Power to, at a minimum, ensure the basic needs of the population under its effective control, and the prohibitions on collective punishment, coercion and unlawful reprisals.
Israel’s current policy and recent actions have shown a casual disregard for the lives and dignity of the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, treating their suffering and the violation of their fundamental rights as little more than an inconvenience that will earn gentle reprimand from the international community and Palestinian National Authority, but will otherwise be irrelevant. With the intolerable conditions and constant state of fear that the Gazan population is now forced to live under, it is time for this position to change. Israel must not be allowed to shield itself from the implementation of its international legal obligations, nor should the international community shy away from enforcing such implementation. Inarticulate fears of disrupting a “peace process” that exists only in vague declarations and diplomatic handshakes, that treats the Gaza Strip as separate from the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Palestinians as a divided people, cannot be an excuse for allowing the continued siege of the Gaza Strip. In fact, if any “peace process” is to succeed, the conclusion reached must embody a sense of justice. This requires, as an unavoidable starting point, that the fundamental rights of all parties be recognised and protected.
Al-Haq therefore calls upon,
- Israel to immediately cease all military operations in the Gaza Strip and to end its policy of collective punishment, including the opening of border crossings to allow the movement of goods and people, and restoring the supply of fuel and humanitarian aid.
- the Palestinian Liberation Organisation to establish Israel’s obligations under international law in respect of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, including ending the collective punishment and ensuring access to essential medical services, food and water and sanitation, as an integral part of any negotiations.
- regional organisations and individual states to take concrete measures, including economic and diplomatic sanctions, to ensure Israel’s compliance with international law.
- all international agencies, including the UN, present in the OPT to actively draw the attention of international decision makers to the impact of Israeli policies on the Palestinian civilian population of the Gaza Strip.
- the UN Secretary-General immediately bring the situation in the Gaza Strip to the attention of the Security Council.
- concerned individuals and civil society groups to raise Israel’s violations of international law with elected officials in their home counties.
- Palestinian armed groups to immediately cease the launching of rockets targeting civilian population centres in Israel.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
All Out to Break the Siege of Gaza Now!
At this time, when outright Zionist criminal actions are directed against the Palestinian Arab people of Gaza, amounting to mass starvation, spreading of disease and suffocation in the most vile manner, we ask what does it take for the Palestinian Authority and Arab regimes to break their servitude and have some courage and an ounce of dignity - just an ounce?
We will get right to the point: this leadership is corrupt to its core and has sold every ounce of its dignity. Nothing is left! It is time for the Palestinian people and for the Arab masses to hold these war criminals and profiteers accountable.
Zionist actions are well known to our people - from Deir Yassin, to Kufr Qasem, to Sabra and Shatila, to Qana, to Janin, to Gaza and a whole lot of suffering and death in between. But the overt servitude by Arab leaders that has now reached outright complicity in the starvation of children and the killing of the sick and needy is a new low below which there is no lower filth. It is time for Zionist war criminals and their Arab servants to be held accountable.
The fig leaf charade of UN Security Council meetings amounts to nothing.
At the very least:
1. Egypt must open the Rafah crossing and immediately send adequate fuel, food and medicine at any cost. Not doing so is a but another blot of shame in that regime's history.
2. All political, economic and diplomatic relationships and normalization steps with the Zionists must be terminated.
3. Zionist leaders and their Arab servants must be tried for war crimes.
We call on all people to hold mass mobilizations worldwide to break the siege on our beloved people. We also call for holding war crimes tribunals for all responsible.
It is time to isolate and expose all those who continue to benefit from our misery while shedding crocodile tears; and, certainly, it is time to hold them accountable for their devastating crimes.
Let history record that the voice of our people can never be silenced and that our cry for freedom will surely pierce through all bastilles of hunger.
All Out to Break the Siege of Gaza Now!
Enough is enough!
The Free Palestine Alliance - USA
January 20, 2008
الظلام يلف غزة
فلسطينيون يتناولون الطعام على الشموع في غزةIn the 21Th Century, the Palestinians go back to using candles for light
Picture by AF
Break the Silence on Gaza....
For Immediate Release
January 20, 2008
BREAK THE SILENCE ON GAZA!DON'T DELAY! TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, calls on its chapters,supporting organizations and individuals to organize to break the silenceabout the ongoing Israeli war crimes being committed against Palestinians inGaza.
Organize street actions and protests, community meetings anddelegations to religious leaders and educators. Call and write the media andyour congressional representatives.
People of the world watch in horror as the racist state of 'Israel', withthe support and encouragement of the US government, engages in a genocidalproject to eliminate the indigenous Arab people of Palestine.
The world community has denounced the government of 'Israel' for using itsmilitary for the purpose of collectively punishing the civilian populationof the Gaza Strip, a clear war crime and violation of the 4th GenevaConventions.
The only power plant in Gaza was shut down today leaving the1.5 million inhabitants without electricity, water, or any functionalmedical facilities.Palestinians continue to endure starvation, aerial bombings, US CIAinterventions, and Israeli army brutality.
This murderous endeavor hascaused the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian civilians and the alreadyfragile economy of Gaza has been decimated.
NO FOOD, NO WATER, NO BREAD!
appeal to all people living in the US:SPEAK OUT TO DEMAND ONCE AND FOR ALL AN END TO THE SIEGE OF GAZAAND THE OCCUPATION OF ALL OF PALESTINE!ORGANIZE STREET ACTIONS AND PROTESTS, CALL AND WRITE THE MEDIA ANDYOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES.ORGANIZE COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND DELEGATIONS TO RELIGIOUS LEADERS ANDEDUCATORSDONATE TO HELP THE PEOPLE IN GAZA!
For information to contact your congressional representatives, go tohttp://www.congress%20.org/congressorg%20/home
For writing to the media, go to http://newslink.org/ for contact information.
To make a donation to help the people in the Gaza Strip go tohttp://www.al-awda.org/donate.html and simply follow the instructions.Please indicate that your donation is for the GAZA EMERGENCY FUND.BREAK THE SILENCE ON GAZA!DON'T DELAY! TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return CoalitionPO Box 131352Carlsbad, CA 92013, USATel: 760-685-3243Fax: 360-933-3568E-mail: http://us.f807.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=info%40al-awda.orgWWW: http://al-awda.org/Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (PRRC) is the largestnetwork of grassroots activists and students dedicated to Palestinian humanrights. We are a not for profit tax-exempt educational and charitable501(c)(3) organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ofthe United States of America. Under IRS guidelines, your donations to PRRCare tax-deductible.To make a donation simply go tohttp://www.al-awda.org/donate.html and simply follow the instructions.
January 20, 2008
BREAK THE SILENCE ON GAZA!DON'T DELAY! TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, calls on its chapters,supporting organizations and individuals to organize to break the silenceabout the ongoing Israeli war crimes being committed against Palestinians inGaza.
Organize street actions and protests, community meetings anddelegations to religious leaders and educators. Call and write the media andyour congressional representatives.
People of the world watch in horror as the racist state of 'Israel', withthe support and encouragement of the US government, engages in a genocidalproject to eliminate the indigenous Arab people of Palestine.
The world community has denounced the government of 'Israel' for using itsmilitary for the purpose of collectively punishing the civilian populationof the Gaza Strip, a clear war crime and violation of the 4th GenevaConventions.
The only power plant in Gaza was shut down today leaving the1.5 million inhabitants without electricity, water, or any functionalmedical facilities.Palestinians continue to endure starvation, aerial bombings, US CIAinterventions, and Israeli army brutality.
This murderous endeavor hascaused the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian civilians and the alreadyfragile economy of Gaza has been decimated.
NO FOOD, NO WATER, NO BREAD!
appeal to all people living in the US:SPEAK OUT TO DEMAND ONCE AND FOR ALL AN END TO THE SIEGE OF GAZAAND THE OCCUPATION OF ALL OF PALESTINE!ORGANIZE STREET ACTIONS AND PROTESTS, CALL AND WRITE THE MEDIA ANDYOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES.ORGANIZE COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND DELEGATIONS TO RELIGIOUS LEADERS ANDEDUCATORSDONATE TO HELP THE PEOPLE IN GAZA!
For information to contact your congressional representatives, go tohttp://www.congress%20.org/congressorg%20/home
For writing to the media, go to http://newslink.org/ for contact information.
To make a donation to help the people in the Gaza Strip go tohttp://www.al-awda.org/donate.html and simply follow the instructions.Please indicate that your donation is for the GAZA EMERGENCY FUND.BREAK THE SILENCE ON GAZA!DON'T DELAY! TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return CoalitionPO Box 131352Carlsbad, CA 92013, USATel: 760-685-3243Fax: 360-933-3568E-mail: http://us.f807.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=info%40al-awda.orgWWW: http://al-awda.org/Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (PRRC) is the largestnetwork of grassroots activists and students dedicated to Palestinian humanrights. We are a not for profit tax-exempt educational and charitable501(c)(3) organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ofthe United States of America. Under IRS guidelines, your donations to PRRCare tax-deductible.To make a donation simply go tohttp://www.al-awda.org/donate.html and simply follow the instructions.
Death and Darkness in Gaza, People are dying, Help us!
A humanitarian crisis is underway as the Gaza Strip's only power plant began to shut down on Sunday, and the tiny coastal territory entered its third full day without shipments of vital food and fuel supplies due to Israel's punitive sanctions. The Gaza Strip's power plant has completely shut down on Sunday because it no longer has the fuel needed to keep running .
One of the plant's two electricity- generating turbines had already shut down by noon. This will drastically reduce output to 25 or 30 megawatts, down from the 65 megawatts the plant produces under normal conditions.
By Sunday evening the plant will shut down completely, leaving large swaths of the Gaza Strip in darkness.
Omar Kittaneh, the head of the Palestine Energy Authority in Ramallah, confirmed that by tonight, the one remaining operating turbine will be powered down, and the Gaza power plant will no longer be generating any electricity at all. "We have asked the Israeli government to reverse its decision and to supply fuel to operate the power plant", Dr. Kittaneh said. "We have talked to the Israeli humanitarian coordination in their Ministry of Energy . We say this is totally Israel's responsibility, and that reducing the fuel supplies until the plant had to shut down will affect not only the electrical system but the water supply, and the entire infrastructure in Gaza – everything." After months of increasingly harsh sanctions, Israel imposed a total closure on the Strip's border crossings, even preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The Israeli government says the closure is punishment for an ongoing barrage of Palestinian homemade projectiles fired from the Gaza Strip. "Famine"180 fuel stations have shut down after Gaza residents to buy gas for cooking. A Palestinian economist Hasan Abu Ramadan said the current humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip will be deepened by the blockade on fuel and food supplies. He warned that Gaza Strip could go from a situation of deep poverty to all out famine, disease, and malnutrition. Abu Ramadan said that more than 80% of the Strip's 1.5 million residents have been surviving with the help of food aid from international organizations such as UNRWA for Palestinian refugees.International condemnation Most international actors in the region believe there already is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator, the Undersecretary- general for humanitarian affairs John Holmes, who said at a press conference at UNHQ in New York on Friday that "This kind of action against the people in Gaza cannot be justified, even by those rocket attacks".
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon expressed particular concern, in a statement issued later on Friday through his spokesperson, about the "decision by Israel to close the crossing points in between Gaza and Israel used for the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Such action cuts off the population from much-needed fuel supplies used to pump water and generate electricity to homes and hospitals".
The UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied territories, John Dugard, also issued a much sharper statement on Friday, saying that Israel must have foreseen the loss of life and injury to many nearby civilians when it targeted the Ministry of Interior building in Gaza City.
This, and the killings of other Palestinians during the week, plus the closures, "raise very serious questions about Israel's respect for international law and its Commitment to the peace process", Dugard said.
He said it violates the strict prohibition on collective punishment contained in the Fourth Geneva Convention, and one of the basic principles of international humanitarian law: that military action must distinguish between military targets and civilian targets.
Source:
Maan
http://www.freegaza.ps/
http://us.f807.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=freegaza.ps@gmail.com
Source:
Maan
http://www.freegaza.ps/
http://us.f807.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=freegaza.ps@gmail.com
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